4.03 Food Additives

Introduction

Do you know what you are eating? Do you have any idea what is in that Pop-Tart, Little Debbie snack cake, or the Kraft macaroni and cheese? If you eat a diet heavy in processed foods you may be missing out on naturally occurring vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other nutrients you need.

• Processed foods are items that have had a series of mechanical or chemical operations performed on it to change or preserve it in some way.
• They typically come in a box or bag, and they contain more than one item on the list of ingredients.

Over the years, food manufacturers have found certain chemicals, spices, altered sugars, colorings, and flavorings have made their products more appealing to a large market. The food additives are added for many reasons. The safety of many food additives has come under scrutiny in the recent past. Many have already been banned because of their side effects.

There have been scientific studies that “prove” an additive causes cancer or impacts behavior, then there is a follow-up study that “proves” the first study was flawed. Experts agree, then change their minds. You need to educate yourself about food additives and decide what you can put up with and what you want to avoid.