In last week’s blog, I talked about some specific spices to add to your diet that could help improve your health and add tons of flavor to your food.
In today’s blog, we are exploring five ingredients that could be making you sick and even causing cancer. These are certainly ingredients Grandma never used.
In the February 20, 2023, CBS news article, US food additives banned in Europe: Expert says what Americans eat is “almost certainly” making them sick, Holly Williams and Erin Lyall talk about 5 food additives that were banned for human consumption in Europe, China, and India, but not in the United States.
Is it possible you are consuming these and not even knowing it?
The main ingredient that was discussed is one often used in making bread – Potassium Bromate (E924). Many food makers in the United States use this ingredient; it has been found in more than 100 U.S. products even though Europe found it to be toxic.
“There is evidence that it may be toxic to human consumers, that it may even either initiate or promote the development of tumors,” Professor Erik Millstone, an expert on food additives at England’s University of Sussex, told CBS News.
In addition to Potassium Bromate, these additional four ingredients are banned for human consumption in Europe but were given a thumbs up by the FDA to be used by the food industry:
Titanium dioxide (also known as E171)
Brominated vegetable oil (BVO) (E443)
Azodicarbonamide (E927a)
Propylparaben (E217)
What can we do?
Since the FDA gave a thumbs up for the food industry to use these ingredients, we – as consumers – get to decide if we want to eat them or not. This is definitely within our circle of influence. We need to start reading food labels and avoid purchasing foods with these five ingredients. Better yet, skip all highly processed and packaged food stuff with any ingredient you can’t pronounce or that sounds like a chemical. Another way to think of it is only purchase items that your grandmother would have included in her recipes. These are positive steps we can all take to help us live longer and feel better.
Sources:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-food-additives-banned-europe-making-americans-sick-expert-says/
