Artificial ingredients lurking in your food and how to avoid
When was the last time you looked at the back of a food pack? If the answer is ‘never’ or ‘so long ago I can’t remember,’ I urge you to turn over the next item you pick up and analyse the ingredients list carefully. If you can tell me what each of them is and where it has derived from, then perhaps you can skip this blog altogether! If you can’t, and there are twenty ingredients, most of which look like they belong on the periodic table, I’d argue that this isn’t food you are eating. It is a chemically created ‘food like product.’
We live in an age where sickness and dis-ease are at a record high with a huge lack of education on how important diet choices are in maintaining optimum health. We cannot continue to collectively ignore our food choices any longer whilst never aligning our health issues with what we are putting in our bodies. Yes, it is an information war zone out there, and there will be so much conflicting information you will find on just about everything! But I think everyone can agree that the over-consumption of artificial chemically created ingredients is clearly not good for our health in the long or short term and something we should all be looking to limit, if not completely eliminate, from our diets.
Common highly processed and artificial ingredients to look out for in your food items:
Maltodextrin
- Made from GMO corn
- Has been linked to Alzheimer’s, kidney damage, reproduction difficulties and allergies
Dextrose
- Derived from Corn or Wheat to re-create Glucose
- is known to lead to dangerously high blood sugar levels and can cause fluid to build up in the body, especially around the lungs
- It can also worsen depression and acne, along with other skin conditions
Citric Acid
- Found naturally in fruits and vegetables which isn’t harmful to health
- Most processed food items that contain citric acid contain a manufactured, synthetic version of citric acid, which CAN be harmful to health
- Made from Aspergillus Niger (Black Mold) which is a known allergen from GMO corn
Soy Lecithin
- Derived from Soybean Oil
- Used as an emulsifier in hundreds of processed foods, including baby formula
- It is the sludge waste residual of Soybean oil (highly inflammatory), dried out to create lecithin
- Research shows that mice fed GM soybean developed a decrease in pancreatic function and cellular changes
- Has also been linked to breast cancer by promoting an increase in Estrogen levels
High Fructose Corn Syrup
- Made from GMO Corn Starch
- Causes Obesity, diabetes, heart problems, arthritis and insulin resistance
How can you avoid these harmful ingredients?
Eat WHOLE organic foods. It really is that simple. If more than 20% of your diet is coming from highly processed, packaged foods and drinks, then I would recommend to start working out if this is due to convenience, lack of time or just not knowing where to start and, if so, how you can start to plan better to ensure you are able to prepare whole, natural foods to nourish your body.
Be vigilant and get in tune with the foods you are consuming. Look at the ingredients list and start to question and research what you are putting in your body. If there are a lot of chemical-based, artificial ingredients in the majority of the products you consume, then I would suggest trying to avoid these as much as possible.
It is a hard reality to face that food manufacturers have little to no concern about the ingredients it uses in their products and the harm these do to human health. But there is also a level of accountability and responsibility we need to take individually in relation to the food we eat.
When we decide to make a stand for our own health and take our power back by questioning every choice we make for ourselves, that is when we can start to make a true difference. If we chose not to buy and support food manufacturers that use toxic ingredients and started to support local farmers producing whole foods, then this would be the beautiful revolution the food industry wholeheartedly needs!
