Important: Read Those Ingredient Labels!

I went to the dentist today and on my way out I had the choice to pick a sugar-free treat from their office offerings, all of which carried the American Dental Association "Seal of Acceptance". Things like tic-tac's were in the mix.

All these so-called "healthy" sugar-free treats contained chemical additives, which from my research are better left outside of the body. Funny that I would find this at my doctor's office and that the products are promoting good health, yet contain chemicals known to cause harm to humans.

The box of orange tic-tac's listed "Yellow #6 dye (E110)" in the ingredients. Here are some details about this food dye:

Banned in Norway and Sweden. Increases the number of kidney and adrenal gland tumors in laboratory animals, may cause chromosomal damage.

 So you can have healthier teeth and gums, at the price of some damaged DNA. Sound like a good deal?

Along the same lines the other day I'm shopping at Sunflower Market, a local health food grocery store, looking for a healthy snack. I'm thinking it is safe buying from the store's bulk section, since it is a health food supermarket. I picked up some large shaved coconuts flakes and didn't bother to check the ingredients. It contained two things: Coconut and the preservative "sulphur hydroxide".

Here is some info on sulphur hydroxide, a preservative which allows stores to keep food on the shelves longer at the price of consumer health:

Sulfur additives are toxic and in the United States of America, the Federal Drugs Administration have prohibited their use on raw fruit and vegetables. Adverse reactions include: bronchial problems particularly in those prone to asthma, hypotension (low blood pressure), flushing tingling sensations or anaphylactic shock. It also destroys vitamins B1 and E. Not recommended for consumption by children. The International Labour Organization says to avoid E220 if you suffer from conjunctivitis, bronchitis, emphysema, bronchial asthma, or cardiovascular disease.

So the take home message is: Check your ingredient labels! Be smart about what you chose to put into your body. You are not going to find warning labels on foods with poison in them. Those are reserved for things like cleaning products, anti-freeze and cigarettes. Most people don't consume those chemicals. If they do, at least they know what they are getting.

It seems there are more stringent requirements for what can be labeled as "organic" versus food with poisonous additives. Consumer health interests definitely come second to business interests in this country and most others. The healthcare "war machine" keeps the greenbacks flowing and business is booming, so why mess with a good thing?

Of the many changes Laura and I have been adopting into our daily lives is the avoidance of processed foods whenever possible. We don't beat ourselves up about perfection when it comes to diet, but we are also no longer ignoring the fact that most processed foods contain poison (yes, I'm not mincing words) and that these toxins add up over time. It is my belief that processed foods and the inclusion of harmful additives are a large contributing factor to the "health epidemic" we are seeing in westernized parts of the world.

Ingredients we try to avoid include: High fructose corn syrup, refined sugar, most things with chemical names, food coloring and dyes, things with the words "hydrogenated", "refined", "trans fat" or "artificial".

For your reference here is a handy article from Gaiam on the 10 worst food additives to avoid and another article from the Livestrong site listing dangerous additives. Another useful resource is the Environmental Working Group's Dirty Dozen/Clean 15 guide to pesticides in produce. There is a handy printable PDF info sheet on their site.

Be healthy, be good to yourself, you deserve it!