What's In Your Food?

In the past few years or so, I've become increasingly interested in nutrition. While I've always been very interested in science, in the past I had never thought of applying my habits of research to my own health issues. But now I truly believe that healing cannot come without understanding (at least for me). If I understand how the food I eat affects my body, I can better consume foods to heal myself.

A lot of the revelations I've had about nutrition were just simply "Duh!" moments. For example, yesterday when I went grocery shopping, I picked up a bottle of this sparkling "all natural" juice drink that I've always liked. I just took for granted that the drink was natural, since it said so on the label. But when I looked at the list of ingredients, I saw a lot of not-so-natural chemicals there... like Red #40. After wikipedia-ing Red #40, I still can't really say I understand what it is... except for the fact that it's banned in France, Switzerland, Sweden, and other European countries. Hmm.

For example, consider this chart concerning the additives in Flaming Hot Cheetos, taken from a Yale course curriculum. The chart compares the additives found in the snack, as regulated by the US FDA, and its European sister, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

As you can see, Red #40 makes the list of banned food additives, being seen as not fit for human consumption. Now, while the EFSA takes a much more precautionary approach to its evaluation of food additives, the FDA is infamous for being lax or uniformed concerning what's in American food.

But to me, this comes down to simple logic for consumers. If you don't know what an artificial chemical is (even after having researched it!), why would you want to put it in your body?

The truth is, many of the chemicals in our food have only been around for the past few decades. The long-term effect of the continued consumption of these chemicals simply hasn't been researched. But considering the obesity epidemic that is occurring in America, it makes one wonder if the two trends are linked (processed food + obesity). Of course, correlation is not causation, but it's certainly food for thought.

For someone like me (aka someone with recurring gastroenterological issues), there's no way to know how these food additives and chemicals have been affecting my biochemisty. In reality, almost no comprehensive research has been done on the effects of processed foods on digestive conditions. On the other hand, people have been eating whole foods since the dawn of our species. Our bodies were made to ingest food in its natural form - not with dozens of laboratory-crafted, artificial chemicals added.

Now, I'm not going to pretend like I've always thought this way. As a kid, I was a processed food princess. I ate Doritos and potato chips by the bagful - and my favorite junk food was Flamin' Hot Cheetos! But just as I would never take medicine that wasn't thoroughly researched (including for the long term), so should I avoid chemicals that haven't been properly studied. I know better now. And armed with the knowledge that the EFSA thinks that most of the additives in Flamin' Hot Cheetos are not fit for human consumption, it'll make it a lot easier to pass them by in the snack aisle.

So what is the point of this post? I may sound like a broken record (because I say this in nearly every post), but this is the point: Question Everything. Look at the ingredients in the food you buy. What is butylated hydrozyttoluene, or disodium inosinate? Do you know what that is? Do you want that in your food? Research it!

Your best bet - buy whole foods (like whole fruits, vegetables, dairy, and proteins); and for foods that have to be processed (like bread), check the ingredients. Do you know what's in there? Try to buy foods that contain as many whole ingredients as possible. Know what goes in your body!

ॐ Namasté