What is their purpose?
Food additives are known for preserving a food's shelf life, boosting flavor, making the food more appealing or helping balance the nutritional benefits of the food.
Even though it sounds like a great idea to have "extra" nutrients in your food, some food additives can be hazardous to your health.
One of the additives that is banned in many other countries is artificial food dye. Manufactures use dyes to make foods look more appealing. Unfortunately, food dyes are found in a lot of common foods; primarily children's foods. These foods range from sports drinks and cake mixes to your beloved mac-and-cheese.
Another additive is Axodicarbonamide, mainly found in bread, frozen dinners and boxed foods. This additive is used to bleach flour and also used to bleach foam plastic yoga mats.
What are some of the additives that are banned in other countries but widely used throughout the United States?
- Artificial food dye
- Olestra (Olean)
- Brominated vegetable oil
- Potassium Bromate
- Axodicarbonamide
- BHA & BHT
- Synthetic growth hormones
- Arsenic
Mira Calton, CN, and Jayson B. Calton, PhD, discuss the eight food additives that are legal and used in the U.S. but are banned in many other countries, why food additives can cause health problems and why you should try your best to avoid foods with additives.
The Caltons are among the world's leading experts on the topics of weight management, lifestyle medicine and micro-nutrient deficiency.