All things well

Food chemicals to avoid

There are simply too many to list in full. General advice is to avoid processed food wherever possible. In Australia and New Zealand there is a legal loop-hole which means that manufacturers do not have to list the contents of an ingredient which comprises 5% or less of the total product. Common examples are anti-oxidants in vegetable oil and preservatives in bread-crumbs. Most processed foods contain vegetable oil containing anti-oxidants – some of which are quite dangerous but unlisted on the product’s contents.

Calcium proprionate (now banned in the UK) – a common bread preservative (282) introduced about 20 years ago and now widespread in the baking industry and even in some cheese, fuit-juice and dried fruit. Implicated in behavioural and learning problems (including ADHD), lethargy, gastro-intestinal problems, migraines, irritability, depression, sleep disturbances and growing pains. Can also produce these symptoms in babies through breast-milk when the mother is consuming 282. All mainstream bread-crumbs contain 282, thus it may be present (though not listed) in products such as fish fingers, sausages, pasta parcels etc.

Flavour enhancers . Most commonly, monosodium glutamate (MSG). Also known as flavour enhancer 621. Prohibited in Australia from use in baby foods and infant formulas because of its proven ability to damage the brain and developing nervous system. Linked to learning disorders, brain tumours, hyperactivity, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimers disease asthma, sleep disturbances, migraine, irritability and depression. Because it makes food so tasty it may also be linked to the obesity explosion. Rats fed on foods laced with MSG showed a 40% increase in appetite. Thailand has banned MSG in all school foods.

Because of the bad-press that MSG has developed, food manufacturers find various ways to disguise it, or use chemically similar products with different names but the same harmful effects such as hydrolysed vegetable protein, calcium caseinate, plant protein extract, yeast extractand textured protein, and flavours 620, 622, 623, 624, 625, 627, 631 and 635.

Soy products – some may be surprised to see this staple of the ‘health-food’ industry listed here. Among the many problems with soy beans is the fact that it contains numerous phytoestrogens which mimic the female hormone oestrogen and can play havoc with the delicate balance of the hormone system. The Swiss health service estimates that 100gm of soy protein contains the oestregenic equivalent of one contraceptive pill. Isoflavones, a sub-class of the phytoestrogens found in soy, can also depress thyroid function and cause cancer. Other problems include the high levels of alumium and manganese found in soy beans, which are linked to Alzheimers’ disease and ADHD. And as if that wasn’t enough, another soy component, phytic acid, inhibits the body’s absorbtion of calcium leading to osteoporosis. This is only the tip of the iceberg of soy’s problems. Elaine Hollingsworth devotes a whole chapter to it in her book Take control of your health and escape the sickness industry. Another recent article on Alternet surveys ‘the dark side of soy’

For a list of research articles on the harmful effects of Soy, see here.

Aspartame a sweetener that is thought by some to be the most dangerous of all additives commonly found in foods, and responsible for three-quarters of adverse reactions reported to the US Food and Drug Administration. It is widespread in diet and low-calory foods and even in children’s vitamins and medicines. Aspartame is an excitotoxin that breaks down to release the poisons methanol, formadehyde and formic acid . It has been shown to produce brain cancer in rats and is linked to brain damage, depression, mood swings, headaches, Parkinson’s disease, lymphomas and leukaemia. People who regularly consume large amounts of aspartame can show symptoms of chronic methanol poisoning, including blindness and symptoms similar to multiple sclerosis and lupus. Some people who have been diagnosed with MS find that their symptoms disappear when aspartame is removed from the diet. See www.dorway.com and www.aspartame.com for more information.

Other chemicals

If the slackness of rules governing what poisons can be put into food is bad enough – it only gets worse when we consider the products that our skin is exposed to. Don’t forget that chemicals can easily be absorbed through the skin as well. There are about 17000 different chemicals in ordinary household cleaning products, mostly untested for toxicity.

In Dangerous Beauty, Peter Dingle B.Ed, BSc (hons) PhD, lecturer at Murdoch University, Perth, writes: ‘none of the chemicals in cosmetics and personal care products are fully tested, and for most there is only very basic information available on their health affects. The magnitude of their potential adverse effects is therefore unknown. Increasingly, there appear to be large numbers of the population affected by many of the chemicals contained in these products. Our research results indicate that between 15 and 20% of people are acutely affected.’

Beware of products labeled ‘organic’, ‘pure’, ’safe’ etc. The loopholes in Australian law mean that products can be labelled ‘organic’ if only part of the contents are organic. Always read the labels. Some chemicals such as sodium lauryl sulphate and sodium laureth sulphate (see below) may only be listed as coconut or plant-oil derivatives.

Propylene glycol – commonly used to make extracts of herbs, this primary skin irritant widely used in cosmetics is strong enough to remove barnacles from boats. It penetrates the skin and can weaken protein and celular structure causing dermatitis. Inhalation and ingestion can lead to depression, blood and kidney disorders, brain damage and death.

Sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) – originally designed as an industrial de-greaser and stripper of floor wax – now widely used in shampoos, hand-soaps, toothpaste and other personal care products. Linked with cancer, vision dissorders, dandruff, rashes, hair loss, breakdown of cell membranes and allergies. Use in toothpaste can be linked to mouth ulcers.

Sodium laureth sulphate and Ammonium laureth sulphate – similar usage and problems to SLS. In addition, when combined with other chemicals they can produce nitrosamines, a potent carcinogen.

Paraben preservatives (methyl, propyl, butyl and ethyl) – widely used preservatives in skin-care products. Highly toxic, can cause skin rashes and allergic reactions.

For a list of toxic ingredients common in cosmetic and skin-care products see here..

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Useful books

Fed Up by Sue Dengate, ISBN 0 09 183698 0 (Random House, Australia)

Additive Alert by Julie Eady, ISBN 0-9775176-1-6

Take control of your health and escape the sickness industry by Elaine Hollingsworth. This book is an invaluable resource when researching just what is happening chemically in our environment. (The books is also available directly from us at $35 including postage within Australia)