Food additives, used by mankind for centuries, are chemicals that are applied to food at home or in the food industry to improve the taste, color, texture and longevity of food. Salt, sugar, and vinegar were among the first food additives discovered and were used both to enhance flavor and to preserve foods. Although salt, smoke, spices and sugars have been used sparingly for millennia, in the last 30 years, with the advent of processed foods, there has been a massive explosion in the chemical adulteration of food with additives. Food additive technology through research and development has become big business.
Considerable controversy has been associated with the potential threats and potential benefits of food additives. Commercial food additives are regulated in the US by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and food additives tend to receive the most detailed scientific attention due to regulatory scrutiny. There are literally thousands of chemical additives used in our food today, and many of them are considered harmful elements. A brief discussion of the most popular additives will serve to illustrate potential health concerns and hopefully get you started thinking about avoiding these harmful substances:
Sulphites (sulfites) are used as bleaching additives, antioxidants, and preservatives in foods. They have been implicated as allergens due to the fact that a typical sulfite reaction involves flushing, dizziness, shortness of breath, or wheezing. Sulfites can trigger asthma attacks, and some deaths have also been attributed to their use. Unfortunately, sulfite sprays have been used extensively on fresh produce in stores and restaurants to prevent browning from exposure to air. The great American favorite, French fries, are also treated this way. As preservatives, sulfites were once found in processed foods, alcoholic beverages (wine and beer), and medications. Even sprays used to treat asthmatics contained sulfites as preservatives in the past. The growing notoriety of sulfites in 1985 led to new regulations limiting their use, and the FDA banned the use of six sulfite preservatives in fresh fruits and vegetables. However, the ban still allows manufacturers of processed foods, dried fruit, wine, and beer to use sulfites, although if these manufacturers are prudent on behalf of their customers, they will voluntarily restrict or reduce their use of sulfites.
Nitrates and Nitrites – Various chemicals used as food additives are also found naturally in many foods. Nitrates and nitrites are always present in plants. They are part of the essential chemistry of soils and plants, and as every gardener knows, nitrogen is essential for plant growth, which is why nitrogen fertilizers containing nitrates are the most abundant agricultural chemicals. Surprisingly, some very beneficial foods like beets, radishes, spinach and lettuce contain the highest levels of nitrates. We know that daily nitrate intake is estimated to be in the range of 100 mg per day.
Although nitrites are found in nature, they are less common in the food supply, but are produced in the mouth and intestine by bacterial action on proteins and nitrates. Its intake is in the range of 2-3 mg per day. Nitrites, usually as sodium salts, have been widely used as preservatives, especially in bacon and other processed meats. Saltpeter is the best known nitrite with its undeserved reputation as a sexual drive inhibitor. The main concern is the ability of nitrites to combine with amino acids in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) to form nitrosamines, potentially carcinogenic molecules. Vitamin C inhibits the formation of nitrosamines and is believed to protect against GIT cancer. Vitamin C as an antioxidant preservative can replace desirable preservatives in some foods. Tobacco smoke is the main source of human exposure to nitrosamines.
Salicylates are common in vegetables and fruits. Medicinal salicylates (aspirin) come from plant sources such as willow bark methyl salicylate. Like oil of wintergreen, methyl salicylate has been rubbed on many cold-stricken chests and inhaled by coughing children for years. Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), or aspirin, is one of the most popular and useful drugs of all time. ASA is an effective drug with several benefits, but it commonly causes GIT irritation and bleeding. It is a major allergen and causes many rashes and hives and can occasionally trigger asthma. Dr. Feingold postulated that salicylates and food dyes caused hyperactivity in children, popularizing low-salicylate diets. Feingold recommended avoiding foods that contain natural salicylates or chemically similar substances. His lists excluded foods like peaches and cucumber, for example, which are low on our list of foods that cause symptoms.
Food colors and preservatives have been suspected of causing allergic reactions and behavioral disturbances for many years, and their exclusion was part of Dr. Feingold’s program for the treatment of hyperactive children. Food colors are used extensively throughout commercial food manufacturing and are also very popular in home use. We know that the yellow dye tartrazine, and the preservative benzoate, can cause hives. In the study of hyperactive children by Egger et al, tartrazine and benzoate were the most common substances to cause abnormal behavior in children, although they were never the only cause of behavior problems. Tartrazine is a yellow food dye that is commonly found in a wide variety of manufactured foods. It produces a variety of symptoms, usually within 90 minutes of ingestion, including asthma, hives, generalized swelling, headache, and behavioral changes (usually hyperactivity). Colorants derived from natural plant and animal sources are generally exempt from FDA control in the US and are generally recognized as safe (GRAS). Beet pigment, beta-carotene, grape skin extract, paprika, saffron, turmeric, and vegetable juices are examples of GRAS colors. While these substances are not known to be toxic or carcinogenic, there is no guarantee that they are not allergenic or problematic for some people. Certified colors are approved under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and carry the certification name FD&C Red No. 2 and so on, tartrazine being FD&C Yellow No. 15. Of the nine currently certified colors, seven can be used in quantities consistent with good manufacturing practice.
Monosodium glutamate, known as MSG, is perhaps the most reviled additive. MSG is blamed for just about everything that goes wrong in Chinese restaurants, with many people scanning food product labels and rejecting any sign of MSG. However, glutamate is a respectable and normal amino acid that is continuously present in all of our cells and always available in the blood. One possibility of MSG acting negatively in the body would occur with the sudden absorption of a large amount. In this case, a person may experience a rapid rise in glutamate in the blood, which activates receptors that sound alarm bells and cause the headache and throbbing pain associated with MSG. A variety of other symptoms are commonly reported, including redness, numbness and tingling, chest pains, rapid heartbeat, abdominal pain, and behavioral changes such as irritability, hyperactivity, and outbursts of anger. In pure form, we wouldn’t expect MSG to trigger allergic effects; however, MSG products may contain allergenic contaminants from plant sources such as corn, beets, and wheat. MSG is often mixed with a common enzyme (papain) in commercial food enhancers like “Accent.” Papain is derived from papaya and is a protein allergen, so monosodium glutamate may often be blamed for papain’s allergenicity. Papain is sometimes injected into ruptured intervertebral discs as an alternative to back surgery. The injection is potentially dangerous if the patient has previously been sensitized to papain by ingestion.
Aspartame, a well-known artificial sweetener, contains two normal amino acids, phenylalanine and aspartic acid, and is well tolerated in reasonable doses. The fact that combining them produced a sweet taste was a surprising (and lucrative) discovery. Problems with ingestion of large amounts may occur in people with a known intolerance to phenylalanine. Additionally, excess phenylalanine could negatively affect brain function by increasing brain cell excitability and, in the worst case, promoting seizures. The occasional reports of “allergic” reactions to aspartame are surprising since this molecule should not act as an allergen.
As we all become informed and educated about how chemical additives in our food affect our bodies, we will be able to make better informed decisions to ensure our health and well-being. It is this author’s hope that more and more Americans will make healthy, organic, unprocessed foods a larger part of their daily diets.
