Nine Horrible (yes, horrible) Ingredients in Processed Food
A few months ago I started going to a Naturopathic Physician to get rid of some strange allergic reactions which started just a few years ago.
Along with introducing two Tablespoons of Flax Seed to my morning ritual, I’m also extra careful to cut most processed food out of my diet.
When I was reading Shine, there was a great list of nine god-awful ingredients stuck in processed food. For the most part, it’s a lot of stuff we already know. But isn’t it always good to remind ourselves why we should stick to natural foods?
| Ingredient | Why it is Used | Why it is Bad |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial Colors |
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| Artificial Flavorings |
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| Artificial Sweeteners (Acesulfame-K, Aspartame, Equal®, NutraSweet®, Saccharin, Sweet’n Low®, Sucralose, Splenda® & Sorbitol) |
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| Benzoate Preservatives(BHT, BHA, TBHQ) |
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| Brominated Vegetable Oil(BVO) |
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| High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) |
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| MSG(Monosodium Glutamate) |
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| Olestra |
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| Shortening, Hydrogenated and Partially Hydrogenated Oils (Palm, Soybean and others) |
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Have you checked your ingredient lists recently? Do they contain any of the above? Have you tried cutting
I’ve never heard of benzoate preservatives, but now I know to avoid them like the plague!
OMG, preservatives, etc are SO BAD for you. Our bodies aren’t designed to process them! We know how to digest proteins, fats and carbs. Not Monosodium Glutamate. Ew.
(BTW, welcome back to the Blog World! You were missed!
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It’s amazing how pervasive these ingredients are in the “average American diet”. I bet at least 50% of the items at the grocery store contain one or more of these.
Wow, Ann! I knew about most of these, but I was unaware how bad artificial coloring is for you!
Want some good news? They now make trans-fat-free shortening! This means you can still make those old recipes of your grandmother’s that call for shortening without poisoning yourself!
Ah, Ann, must you spoil things for me?! Haha, I love my processed meat….but I’ll try to keep them to the minimum!
Isn’t it amazing the things that companies (and the government) allow to be passed off as food? It just shows that we need to be responsible for our own health – be food detectives and always read labels.
Soy is in most processed foods (and some you wouldn’t think like salad dressing) – I highly advise avoiding any kind of soy (except maybe edamame and fermented soy,) especially if you’re trying to get pregnant as soy provides a plant based estrogen which messes with your hormones. If you’ve been having especially bad PMS/mood swings, are unable to conceive etc – or if like Jeremy Piven you’re getting man boobs from consuming too much soy you should back off from soy milk, soybean oil, anything in the soy family.
Ann… I mean isn’t this like making a post like… 9 bad things about getting punched in the face? Everyone knows getting punched in the face ain’t sexy so you avoid it if you can. I try to stay away from most processed foods. The soy caution is a good heads up though. I love chai tea (with soy milk) so I might wanna slow that train down. Seems like the only thing you can chew nowadays is water. LOL
Travis – I disagree. Most people in this country are either overweight or unhealthy, which means common sense doesn’t equal common practice or common knowledge.
Most people either stick their heads in the sand when it comes to their Nutrition (or lack thereof), simply don’t care, or sometimes just don’t know.
While many people have a vague understanding that “natural is better” as far as food goes, they delude themselves into ‘forgetting’ the results that can come from eating crap, such as allergic reactions, hallucinations and even Cancer.
So whether this educates or simply serves as a reminder to people, I don’t equate this post as being as obvious as why not to get punched in the face. (unless somebody is really stupid. Then they might need that reminder, too
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What I am saying is that I agree with you. People KNOW that most processed foods are bad for you. The problem is it’s so readily available that people often do it out of sheer convenience. If there were some way healthier alternatives could be made available and be just as quick people would make BILLIONS. I think the problem is food that is just bad for you is the easiest to locate.
Sorry I made the assumption that quite a few “smart” people make… that common sense is “common.” I wish natural foods weren’t marketed the way they are. Goin into “Whole Foods” sometimes makes me want to punch people in the face. You would think because they do nothing do “natural” foods they would cost less too.
WRONG
WRONG
Thanks for sharing this. I live on processed foods, and I really need to cut that out!
Wait! No more sweet n low? AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
This is horrifying! Oy vey. Whole Foods, here I come…
I don’t like processed foods and try to avoid most of them for these reasons. And because I think the food and all the chemicals are impacting our children so negatively. All childhood diseases are at an all time high. Scary.