INGREDIENTS TO AVOID

INGREDIENTS TO AVOID

There are many ingredients (listed and not listed) that we should avoid in packaged foods, and I'll start The Snack Life with my dealbreakers.

With over 10,000 additives allowed in food today, this list is not exhaustive but focused on very common ingredients in everyday packaged foods that I try to eliminate from my kids’ diets. Beyond issues with the ingredients themselves, these are all markers for highly processed foods, so avoiding these helps you avoid a lot of other “stuff”.

ARTIFICIAL COLORS

  • Linked to hyperactivity in children
  • Disrupt gut microbiome
  • Most are made from petroleum and many are banned in other countries
  • Ingredient Watch List: Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Red 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, FD&C Lakes, Citrus Red 2

ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS & SWEETENERS

  • Non-nutritive sweeteners often increase cravings for sugar
  • Disrupt gut microbiome
  • Other reported side effects include headaches and nausea
  • The WHO recently declared aspartame a possible carcinogen (i.e. there is evidence that it may cause cancer)
  • Ingredient Watch List: Acesulfame potassium (acesulfame-K, or Ace-K), advantame, aspartame (Nutrasweet, Equal), neotame (Newtame), sucralose (Splenda), saccharin (Sweet ‘N Low), vanillin (synthetic flavor)

      ARTIFICIAL PRESERVATIVES

      • Disrupt gut microbiome
      • Nitrates and nitrites (added to preserve meats) are linked to cancer
      • Several preservatives that we see in US foods are banned in other countries, including BHA & BHT (common in cereals) and propylparaben
      • Food manufacturers are required to list a chemical preservative’s purpose within ingredients (e.g. “to preserve freshness”), but it’s not always clear!
      • Ingredient Watch List: Benzoic acid, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), calcium disodium EDTA, calcium propionate, calcium sorbate, methylparaben, potassium benzoate, potassium sorbate, propylparaben, sodium nitrate/nitrite, sodium benzoate, sodium citrate, sodium diacetate, sodium propionate, sorbic acid, TBHQ

          HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP

          • Cheaper and sweeter than regular sugar
          • More rapidly absorbed into the blood stream than table sugar, and studies strongly suggest that HFCS is associated with more weight gain than table sugar
          • Damaging to the liver and overconsumption of fructose is linked to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (which is now seen in children!)
          • Linked to obesity, diabetes, and other health problems
          • 90+% of corn is GMO, which also means it’s almost certainly been treated with Glyphosate (active ingredient in Roundup)
          • Ingredient Watch List: HFCS, glucose-fructose, glucose-fructose syrup, isoglucose, fructose syrup, fructose isolate

              OTHER ADDITIVES

              • Azodicarbonamide (ADA)
                • Whitening agent and dough conditioner
                • Breaks down into carcinogenic compounds
                • Banned in other countries
              • Brominated Vegetable Oil
                • Mostly removed from foods/drinks in US at this point
                • Banned in several counties
              • Potassium Bromate
                • Used in bread to improve flour and strengthen dough
                • Linked to cancer in animal studies
              • Titanium Dioxide
                • Coloring and anti-caking agent
                • Highly controversial and potential carcinogen
                • Banned in other countries
              • Emulsifiers linked to gut microbiome disruption (ideally no emulsifiers, stabilizers or thickeners)
                • Polysorbate 60, 65, 80
                • Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC)
                • DATEM (Diacetyl Tartaric and Fatty Acid Esters of Mono And Diglycerides)
                • Carrageenan

               

              SCREENSHOT/COPY BELOW FOR QUICK REFERENCE

               

              SOURCES

              https://publichealth.berkeley.edu/news-media/research-highlights/new-report-shows-artificial-food-coloring-causes-hyperactivity-in-some-kids/

              https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-35309-y

              https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892765/#!po=59.3750

              https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/do-no-calorie-artificial-sweeteners-have-any-effect-on-gut-health-or-metabolism

              https://newsroom.clevelandclinic.org/2023/07/14/aspartame-declared-possible-carcinogen-by-world-health-organization/

              https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6843281/

              https://progressreport.cancer.gov/prevention/nitrate

              https://health.clevelandclinic.org/avoid-the-hidden-dangers-of-high-fructose-corn-syrup-video/

              https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/how-high-fructose-intake-may-trigger-fatty-liver-disease

              https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/2022/05/cancer-causing-chemical-may-be-lurking-your-bread

              https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2022/07/23/titanium-dioxide-food-skittles-lawsuit-health/10106708002/

              https://microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40168-020-00996-6

               

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