AUSTRALIAN DIET: 100 TOXIC FOOD CHEMICALS EACH DAY

Source: HealthyTimes Blog.

Source: Nutrition and You
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The so-called "healthy average Australian diet" can easily provide you with over 100 toxic food chemicals each day. Many of these are suspect carcinogens and proven to cause nervous system damage, hyperactivity, damage to babies, children, pregnant and breast feeding women

If you really knew what food additives were in the food that you pay hard earned dollars for, would you make some simple changes in the way that you shop and eat? It seems that for the average Australian child and teenager good nutrition is a thing of the past, with food chemicals lodging in their growing bodies in place of vitamins and minerals. As a parent you may coax and try your hardest to get the kids (and you) into better eating habits, but when chemical flavouring agents are corrupting taste buds, fresh vegetables and fruit are much less appealing. All of the children that I have seen in clinical practice are dehydrated and lacking vital nutrients to promote good digestion and liver detoxification. The focus needs to be on good preventative medicine today (and tomorrow), rather than to wait for the disease to overcome the bodys ability of a favourable healing response.

Thanks to advertising that speaks louder than good nutrition and the availability of junk food, Australia now has one of the highest asthma rates in the world at 14%. One in five Aussie adolescents are estimated to have significant mental health problems and teen suicide rates in males have quadrupled since the 1960s. At the rate the obesity epidemic is going it is said that by 2025 every second child will be obese  not overweight but largely obese! Heart disease is now Australias biggest killer and by the time they reach 15 years, 40% of our children will have early heart disease. Over the last five years brain cancer has skyrocketed by 21% and continues to rise. The high use of mobile phones and other high radiation devices also has a lot to do with this. For further information on this subject and the WillauTronic e-Smog protection chips please see www.nutritionandyou.com.au.

Whilst food labelling will disclose how much salt, sugar, carbohydrate, protein and fat solids are in the food, the really dangerous food additives can fail to appear on the label. Some of the worst additives are found in packet chips, rice crackers, cheese crackers, two-minute noodles, luncheon meats, cordial drinks, chocolate flavoured milk, frankfurts and sausages. The chocolate coating in Tim Tams is not made from cocoa, but a mixture of artificial colours of Tartrazine (102), Sunset Yellow (110), Allura Red (129), Brilliant Blue (133) and Caramel (150). These additives are all suspect carcinogens. Fruit juices and juice drinks are common offenders of artificial colours. No artificial preservatives does not mean that the product is preservative free and natural colour doesnt mean that the product is safe for asthmatics.

There is also a 5% loophole in the law, which allows manufacturers to get away with not listing 5% of the additives in their product. This is regardless of how toxic the chemical is to human health including pregnant and breast feeding women, babies and school children. Even though the labelling can state that there are no added artificial flavouring or colouring agents used, this information can be very misleading. For example a packet of a popular cheese-flavoured snacks that contains three of the most dangerous flavour enhancers of MSG (621), disodium guanylate (627) and disodium inosinate (631) that are linked to asthma, sleep disturbances, behavioural and learning problems in children, has an attention grabbing label of:

No artificial Colours

No Preservatives

No Artificial Flavours

The wording Natural Colour relates to Cochineal which is derived from crushed insects this is suspected of embryo toxicity and is linked to hyperactivity. Caramels 150(1), 152(11) 153(111) and 150(1V) are a chemical concoction that has nothing to do with caramel or brown sugar. Whilst these are said to be seemingly safe, more research is needed.

An extraordinarily high amount of known carcinogens are present in artificially flavoured and packaged foods, which are forming the basis of our Aussie kid's diet today.

Just because there is no immediate effect it doesnt mean that the body is coping with the toxin. It is the cumulative effect of food additives over the long term that creates a real cause for concern. Growing children have immature bodies that are more susceptible to chemicals than adults. A huge majority of children today eat absolutely insufficient fresh vegetables and fruit to soak up even a small portion of the chemicals that they regularly ingest. Some of the food additives banned in baby food are heavily impregnated in foods that are commercially marketed at small children. In fact most of the food-less food advertising is directed at the vulnerability of todays school kids and teenagers.

Pressure from food manufacturers has meant that regulating authorities have not been keeping up with safeguarding our health for some considerable time. Many food additives previously declared safe are recalled and banned when the damaging effects are well entrenched in the bodies of humans and animals. Chemical companies can discredit research by claiming that the adverse affect in animal studies does not translate to humans. In his book Health and Nutrition Secrets That Can Save your Life, Professor Russel Blaylock says that "the effect of food chemicals on humans is five times more than that of mice and rhesus monkeys". Food additives are also tested in isolation for major physical damage and not for neurological effects or effects on learning and behaviour. Alarming results from a study at Liverpool University in 2005 showed that when four common additives were eaten together the damage from each additive was significantly greater. It was also demonstrated that the excessive and unnecessary amount of additives in a typical child’s snack of choc milk and rice crackers or cordial and chips, stopped nerve cells growing and interfered with proper nerve signalling systems.

Many additives such as vibrant colours, flavour enhancers and thickeners are used purely as cosmetic agents to improve sales of poor quality and cheaper foods. Food colourings (especially brilliant blue 133) are suspect carcinogens and known to induce hyperactivity. Sulphate food preservatives are dangerous to asthmatics and MSG food flavour enhancers are associated with adverse side effects such as asthma, behavioural and learning disorders in children, obesity, anger rages, brain tumours, sleep disturbances, unbearably itchy skin rashes and migraines. To add to this disturbing list, Parkinsons, Alzheimers and other brain aging diseases, hormonal and endocrine health problems can be directly related to MSG and similar glutamate food additives.

No MSG claims can really mean that food contains MSG under another name!

 Despite its proven toxic effects on human health, MSG can still be used under the disguise of other glutamate flavour enhancers 620 through to 635. Hydrolysed vegetable protein is a concentrated form of MSG, and there are several thousand other permitted flavours that are left off labels because the chemical composition is too complex to describe. It is best to avoid all products that have flavour enhancers, even if it is labelled nature identical flavour. MSG has been recognised as causing obesity as early as 1968 even small amounts of MSG can increase the appetite by 40%.

 All packaged and take away commercial foods containing fats today are bound to be in the form of the deadly trans fats that cause heart disease. So dont be fooled that commercial and processed food that contains fat will not cause heart disease. The very best natural oils that are organic and cold-pressed (aim for these where possible) have short shelf lives. They are not used in commercial cooking for this reason and of course they are more expensive than refined vegetable oils, which contain some of the worst food additives 310, 319 and 320, that have been linked to cancer and other serious side effects. High carbohydrate, trans fats and food intolerance causes inflammation in the body and sets insulin levels at record highs. So the diabetic epidemic keeps going up because high carbohydrate and reactive foods keep one locked into the same bad eating routine. Chapters 12, 13 and 14 in A WAKEUP CALL explain how you can eat your way back into the Zone of Good GI control and chapter 10 (called The Real Killers) has an easy to understand discussion on preventative medicine for heart disease.

Aspartam sweetener! Money definitely spoke louder than human health!

For 20 years scientists radically opposed the use of aspartam in food due to its proven toxicity. Would you believe that the US manufactures Searle Laboratory proved in their own two-year study that aspartam was clearly linked to brain tumours in rats! In 1981 the US Food and Drug Commissioner Arthur Hull Hayes rallied to have it approved. Then one month later resigned to become a senior executive that managed Searle’s accounts!!!!! Well apartam toxicity is now widespread in not just diet drinks, but other foods such as sausages, rice crackers, yogurts, snacks, desserts, mints, cordials, juices, instant coffee drinks, vitamins and medicines. Over 75% of reported adverse reactions are linked to aspartam. Aspartam’s "crime to fame" is linked with adverse side effects such as depression, mood swings, rages and headaches. These symptoms quickly subsided when aspartam was removed from the diet. In 2005 cancer research at the Ramizzini Institute in Italy published alarming results, confirming that aspartam caused lymphomas and leukaemia in female animals.

From what I read it would appear that other artificial sweeteners such as Saccharin, Acesulphame Potassium, Sucralose and Cyclamates which may appear on labels as Nutrasweet, Equal, Splenda or Sweet and Low are definitely suspect to good health. There is also conflicting information about the safety of the new breed of "natural" artificial sweeteners such as Sorbitol (420), Mannitol (421), Isomalt (953), Maltitol (956), Lactitol (966), Xylitol (967), Erythritol (968) and Polydextrose (1200).

How much prepacked food and chemical additives are there lurking in your pantry, fridge and freezer? If there are packet chips, rice crackers, fruit juice, cordial or fruit juice drinks, two minute noodles, cheese crackers, darker coloured biscuits, microwave dinners, savoury biscuits, frankfurts, processed cereals or anything chocolate flavoured, it is time to take a serious look at food labels and make better food choices. Food manufactures have a vested interest in profit and persuasive powers over government authorities have won (in the past) over the right and protection of you, the consumer. There is currently no government body or assistance from Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) for consumers to report adverse effects of food additives.

What you can do to reduce unnecessary and harmful food additives.

• Getting back to basics with more simple and healthy home cooked meals using medicinal herbs and spices for natural flavour is the answer to the self help preventative medicine plan. As suggested in my recipe book, cooking larger quantities, freezing casseroles, soups, legumes and hamburgers and preparing extra salad for the next day, means that there is less time spent in the kitchen and less to wash up.
• Give the pallet the privilege of tasting real live foods with more fresh vegetables and fruits.
• Shop loudly with your shopping dollars, read labels and avoid all flavoured, coloured and sweetened foods.
• Subscribe to Additive Alert www.additivealert.com.au for more information about safer shopping.
• Eat more fish and use olive and cold pressed oils, avocado, coconut oil and tahini.
• Avoid trans fats found in processed vegetable oils, chips, cheese and rice snacks, take-away and fried foods.
• Voice your concern en masse requesting that only the safer food preservatives be used in your food and insist that more warning signs are shown on chemicalized foods that are proven detrimental to health and should be avoided by pregnant women, babies, school children, adults and your animal friends.
• For healthier children, start with good nutrition six months before conception, and maintain this for the duration. Prepare your own baby food from natural ingredients, organic where possible and maintain the good health suggestions as given in my book A WAKEUP CALL.

A sensitivity to a chemical and/or food compound develops when there is more residue in the system than the body can clear through the liver, lymph, skin pores, bowel and kidney detoxification channels. Food additives accumulate in the body over the years and it can be like the ‘last straw on the camels back’ that finally triggers a reaction to a chemical additive or food substance. Chemicals can begin to accumulate in the body very early in life. Babies and small children are more susceptible because their young bodies are unable to filter toxins efficiently. It is in the best interest of everyone today to reduce their amount of harmful food additives by reading food labels and making some simple dietary changes to avoid the worst food additives. Remember that food-labelling laws allow food manufactures to not disclose 5% of food additives that are in their produce, regardless of how dangerous the additive is to your health.

Foods that are less adulterated and in nature’s original packaging are your best choices. For example unprocessed (and organic wherever possible) whole grains such as brown rice, rolled oats, rye, millet or barley grain and flour. Eat more fresh fruit and vegetables, fish and buy free-range meat and poultry. Legumes are great for economy and help to balance female and male hormone levels and uncooked nuts and seeds are good sources of minerals and natural oils. Avoid all flavoured and coloured food, even if they say natural flavouring agents (MSG under another name) on the label. Eat whole fresh fruit in season instead of dried or tinned fruits and substitute cordial drinks and fruit juice with more clean water during the day.

It is not just babies, pregnant or breast-feeding women, or the people who already have allergies, asthma, and ADD/H symptoms who need to be very aware of chemical additives. As part of a good preventative medicine plan we all need to reduce our exposure to some of the worst food chemicals with more simple and home-prepared foods.

These examples of high additive food are taken from pages 92, 93, 94 of Julie Eady’s book ADDITIVE ALERT.

Breakfast	Number of additive	Number of additives linked to health risks
Kellogg's Corn Pops	500 150 102 110	3
Buttercup Cheese and Bacon Muffin	472e 200 282 554 621 102  110 150	7
Country Gold Soft and Light Butter	440 322 470 471 202 160a 320	3
Cottees Raspberry Conserve Diet	1220 440a 401 407 330 331 951 202	3
Daily Juice Co Orange Fruit Drink	330 300 202 211 160b	3
Total	32 additives	19
Lunch	Number of additive	Number of additives linked to health risks
Buttercup Molenberg Soy & Lindseed	471 481 472e 412 282	1
Devondale Extra Soft	440 471 202 220 635 320	4
Kraft Sweet Chilli Mayonnaise	1430 1412 1422 415 330 320 124 101 160a	4
Dorsonga Shaved Pressed chicken	621 451 452 316 223	2
Kraft Free Singles Cheese Slice	339 341 220 160b 171 200	3
Nestle Diet Yoghurt Juicy Nectarine	441 950 415 412 440 951 296 202 160b 120 509	6
Arnott’s Tim Tam Chewy Caramel	322 476 422 471 322 102 110 129 133 150 503 500	5
Pure Classic Chocolate Flavoured Milk	407 133 155	3
Totals	57 additives	28
Dinner	Number of additive	Number of additives linked to health risks
Gravox Ready Meals Apricot Chicken	422 262 621 627 631 410 471 433 412 150c 102 104	8
Continental Rices Chicken	621 635 100 150 508	5
Paul's Extra Cream Chocolate Ice Cream	102 110 133 150 155 471 407 410 412 466	6
Homebrand Apple Pie	202 223 327 471 102 122 160b 306 500 320 100  160a 450 330	7
Totals	41 additives	26

Food additives that are banned in other countries.

The following numbers are those of food additives that are banned in other countries because of their link to cancer, birth defects or other serious safety concerns.

102 104 110 120 122 123 124 127 129 131 132 133 142 151 153 155 173 174 175 320 385 635 952 954

Reference: Additive Alert by Julie Eady ISBN 0-9775176-1-6

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100 Toxic Food Chemicals in One Day is Easy to Do

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