CANCER: Avoid these and live healthier

Processed Foods Depend on Additives

When foods are processed, not only are valuable nutrients lost and fibers removed, but the textures and natural variation and flavors are also lost. After processing, what's left behind is a bland, uninteresting "pseudo-food" that most people wouldn’t want to eat.
So at this point, food manufacturers must add back in the nutrients, flavor, color and texture to processed foods in order to make them palatable, and this is why they become loaded with food additives.
Most commonly, additives are included to slow spoilage, prevent fats and oils from going rancid, prevent fruits from turning brown, fortify or enrich the food with synthetic vitamins and minerals to replace the natural ones that were lost during processing, and improve taste, texture and appearance. When reading product packages, here are some of the most common food additives¹ to watch out for:

• Preservatives: sodium benzoate, sodium nitrite, potassium sorbate, BHA, BHT, TBHQ
• Sweeteners and artificial sweeteners: fructose, high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame potassium (acesulfame-K)
• Artificial colors: FD&C Blue Nos. 1 and 2, FD&C Green No. 3, FD&C Red Nos. 3 and 40, FD&C Yellow Nos. 5 and 6, Orange B, Citrus Red No. 2
• Artificial flavors
• Flavor enhancers: monosodium glutamate (MSG), hydrolyzed soy protein, autolyzed yeast extract

Top Offenders to Avoid

According to the Caltons, the following 13 additives are the worst of the more than 150 individual ingredients they investigated during their six-year long journey, which took them through 100 different countries.²

Ingredient	Found in	Health Hazards
Coloring agents: blue 1, blue 2, yellow 5, and yellow 6	Cake, candy, macaroni and cheese, medicines, sport drinks, soda, pet food, and cheese	Most artificial colors are made from coal tar, which is a carcinogen
Olestra (aka Olean)	Fat-free potato chips	Depletion of fat-soluble vitamins and carotenoids. Side effects include oily anal leakage
Brominated vegetable oil (aka BVO)	Sports drinks and citrus-flavored sodas	Competes with iodine for receptor sites in the body, which can lead to hypothyroidism, autoimmune disease, and cancer. The main ingredient, bromine, is a poisonous, corrosive chemical, linked to  major organ system damage, birth defects, growth problems, schizophrenia, and hearing loss
Potassium bromate (aka brominated flour)	Rolls, wraps, flatbread, bread crumbs, and bagel chips	See bromine above. Associated with kidney and nervous system disorders,  gastrointestinal discomfort
Azodicarbonamide	Breads, frozen dinners, boxed pasta mixes, and packaged baked goods	Linked to asthma
BHA and BHT	Cereal, nut mixes, gum, butter, meat, dehydrated potatoes, and beer	BHA may be a human carcinogen, a cancer-causing agent. BHT can cause organ system toxicity
Synthetic hormones: rBGH and rBST	Milk and dairy products	Linked to breast, colon, and prostate cancers
Arsenic	Poultry	EPA classifies inorganic arsenic as a "human carcinogen"