My chiropractic guide to food additives

Guide to food additives

 

Here is a list of additives to eliminate from your diet:

1. Nitrites and Nitrates
2. Potassium Bromate
3. Propyl Paraben
4. Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA)
5. Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT)
6. Propyl Gallate
7. Theobromine
8. Diacetyl
9. Phosphates

  10. Aluminum additives

Natural and Artificial Flavors

What’s particularly alarming when you see a word like “artificial flavor” or even “natural flavor” on an ingredients label is that there’s no way to know what it actually means. It could mean that one unnatural additive is included, or it could be a blend of hundreds of additives. Strawberry artificial flavor can contain nearly 50 chemical ingredients, for example.8

Most people assume that a natural flavor describes something like strawberries, garlic, or chili pepper used to naturally season food. In reality, most natural flavors are created in a laboratory, just like artificial flavors. The only difference is that natural flavors must be sourced from a natural product, whereas artificial flavors do not. According to the Code of Federal Regulations:9

“The term natural flavor or natural flavoring means the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis. These contain the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.”

In the end, natural flavors often bear little resemblance to the natural product from which they came. Many times, the resulting chemical may even be identical to those created synthetically to make artificial flavors, yet it will likely be more expensive. Some natural flavors even contain propylene glycol, a solvent, or the preservative BHA! Genetically engineered flavor enhancers can also be listed under the artificial flavor (or natural flavor) label. One exception is certified organic natural flavors, which must meet more stringent guidelines and cannot contain synthetic or genetically engineered ingredients

My suggestion to the easiest way to eliminate processed foods from your diet:

·         Read labels.

·         Buy fresh whole foods and prepare them yourself.

• Buy 90% fresh whole foods and only 10% processed foods.

Be strong and healthy,

drshawnie.com

Chiropractor in Broken Arrow

918.249.1535