What You Don't Know, CAN Hurt You

In some ways ignorance may be bliss, but not when it comes to your health. Many people want to make the assumption that if a food additive or drug has been FDA approved then it can’t hurt you. Why would the government approve something that could cause harm to the public?

Everyone seems to have their own take on that question, but while admitting that I’m no Oliver Stone, I’ll give you mine...

Money, filthy lucre, the almighty buck – whatever you want to call it. People want attractive, sweet, fast foods with long shelf-lives and not many calories, and food companies try to give it to them.

This has resulted in a bewildering variety of food additives - artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, preservatives and on and on. You have to be a rocket scientist just to be able to pronounce the stuff on labels anymore. Let’s look at just two really common ones.

MSG: AKA monosodium glutamate
A lot of people would describe it as a “flavor enhancer”, but it actually works by lying to your brain and simply telling it that whatever you’re eating is fabulous and that you must have more of it. Some people know that it’s present in most snack foods (remember the potato chips - “Bet you can’t eat just one”? They certainly hedged that bet!), but most people don’t know that now MSG is in virtually everything.

Look at the label on nearly any frozen dinner, boxed dinner or side dish, and even good old healthy soup! Soup! That bastion of purity – the thing you eat when you’re sick! Those miserable… Well, you get the picture. No wonder 60% of Americans are overweight.

As far as safety is concerned, as of 1999 there were well over 100,000 complaints regarding MSG actually filed (not just reported) to the FDA. The FDA says that MSG only negatively affects “very sensitive people”. Apparently there are a lot of us sensitive types out there.

ASPARTAME: Under numerous pleasant-sounding trade names
An artificial sweetener offering zero calories, but also a culprit in the dramatic increase in the number of cases of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and a MAJOR carcinogen. The year that aspartame came on to the market there was a 400% increase in cancerous tumors in the United States alone. 400%! Not only does it remain on the market, it’s in everything - chewing gum, candy, food, soda, powdered drinks, sports drinks – everything. I looked at a breath mint package the other day and it actually had both sugar and aspartame on the label. How sweet does something have to beω In Japan, diet sodas have Stevia (a natural herb) used as a calorie free sweetener. Why not here in the U.S.?

Truthfully, I could go on and on here. There are big thick books dedicated to food additives. Do yourself a favor and read one. But mostly, just use your head.

Remember simple facts – like there are no blue foods in nature (even blueberries are actually purple). If a drink or a food is blue, it’s loaded with artificial colors. Don’t consume it yourself, and definitely don’t let your kids have it.

Here’s an even easier rule of thumb. If you read a label and you can’t pronounce what’s on it, don’t eat it.

Just remember in general that anything that is not natural will cause at least some adverse reaction and damage within your body.

Buy food without a laundry list of harmful chemicals. Get a deodorant without aluminum chlorhydrate and a toothpaste without fluoride (both carcinogens).

Let's face it, you can’t always control what’s in our air and water, so at least make a responsible effort to control the things that you are able.