Chemical Food Additives and Their Effect on the Human Body

Human beings survived in the distant past without the usage of these chemicals in our foods and I believe the additives in our foods are there and still not banned mainly because of economics and power and multi million dollar corporations who profit from placing these chemicals in foods that we consume, because the cost of production is lowered so much more for these corporations for exploiting these cheap unhealthy chemicals in the foods people consume and they are the only ones benefiting from placing these harmful chemicals in peoples foods and drinks. It has been proven from the studies mentioned in this paper that food additives and preservatives cause many disorders such as ADHD and I ask myself why are the chemicals still in the foods we eat? while majority of people know that it is unethical to use chemicals in the foods that human beings consume that cause and trigger many problems and disorders in certain people with certain age

Most Americans love the low cost, prepackaged, great tasting food that is convenient to buy and prepare. These prepackaged or processed foods are normally made to be faster, cheaper and usually taste great but they are loaded with bizarre, unpronounceable chemicals that, if you saw them in their pre-processed state, you would never consider putting in your mouth. Emulsifiers, preservatives, colorants, stabilizers, artificial sweeteners, texturizers and even bleach can be found in most processed foods. On average, Americans spend 90% of their food budget on these types of foods which is found to contribute to the leading causes of obesity, auto immune disease, diabetes and even cancer.

The state of the American Health in the U.S has become an increasing concern of many Americans. An article entitled “11 Facts about American Eating Habits,” addresses the state of food in the U.S by stating, “Healthiness of the food we eat decreases by 1.7 percent for every hour that passes in the day.” Experts and scientists in the U.S has raised questions about regarding the different ways food is now being produced. While individuals are usually not aware of the ingredients that food contains, many people continue to have unhealthy eating habits. In the past few decades, food production has included numerous artificial ingredients that are said to be the cause of various health problems. Various artificial ingredients that are commonly

Eating healthy is very important for people, and modern supermarkets can make this difficult with thousands of new products flooding the market every year. Countless numbers of the products that hit the market are considered food, nevertheless is it the food needed for proper nutrition? Most of the food that fills up the supermarket shelves each year isn’t the healthy real food our bodies need to get proper nutrition. Several edibles obtainable appear healthy or normal enough to call wholesome. Think about processed deli meats, for example, particularly the ones that say “no preservatives” on them. Several of the processed meats you find contain nitrates, a preservative. Nitrates are viewed as harmful, so people don’t want them in their sandwich meats. Hence some deli meat companies made their product more appealing to the public, by labeling “no preservatives.” This

Would you eat your favorite breakfast cereal if you knew that it contained Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT), a product also used in jet fuel and embalming fluit food processing revolution, which began soon after World War II, manufacturers did not bother to hide the newly added synthetically made food additives. After all, the perception was that as women joined the workforce, their available time for cooking would be greatly diminished, and that most everyone would quickly adopt the newly invented convenience foods.

Through extensive research, scientists have concluded that artificial sweeteners are carcinogenic; a cancer causing agent. Scientific research has revealed that cyclamate in combination with saccharin, the two main ingredients in artificial sweeteners, caused bladder cancer in laboratory rats. Though test where not done on humans scientist believe that the long-term effect of using artificial sweeteners would lead to the same complications in humans. Amino acids are biologically important organic compounds composed of amine and carboxylic acid functional groups. The human body needs amino acids to thrive. It is documented that ingestion of high amounts of artificial amino acids found in artificial sweeteners can have adverse effects on the human body such as cancer.

With this increase in the productivity of farmers, came a proliferation of food processing industries and fast food restaurants. These food processing industries and restaurants capitalized on the abundant, overly cheap commodity crops to their advantage; to make profit, and to the disadvantage of poor Americans. During processing of these commodity crops, the natural nutrients that give these foods their natural flavors are destroyed. To replace these, food additives and flavorings are added to restore their taste and prolong their shelf life. Often these chemicals contain some harmful elements that affect the way our bodies use food. These highly processed foods, dense in calories,

You can have the most fantastic, nutritious thing in the world, but if it looks bad and smells bad, you're not going to eat it"(37). Brominated vegetable oil is used to make the food dye stick to liquids like sports drinks or citrus-flavored sodas. However, when not utilized in drinks, Bromine helps to prevent carpets from catching on fire. The chemical is known for causing major organ system damage, birth defects, growth problems, schizophrenia, and hearing loss and is banned in over 100 countries (Perez). The food industries refuse to label the warning signs of these products. The list of ingredients on a Gatorade bottle is so long that people do not take the time to read and understand them all. It should be up to the food companies to help Americans know what they are putting in their bodies. Chemicals like Azodicarbonamide, which is used to bleach both flour and foamed plastic, is too complicated of a name for people to understand. It can be found in most bread and is known to induce asthma, but American companies still process it (Kim). In response to an article that addressed the list of banned food, Julie Jones, author of Food Safety, wrote "all of the ingredients on the list pose a potential danger to consumers and we feel the consumer should be made aware so that they can make an informed decision as to whether or not they want to buy a product with these

Food color additives are dyes, pigments or substances that impart color when applied to a food, drug, cosmetic, or the human body. The Food and Drug Administration

To begin with, food additives should be clearly explained and understood that food additives are any substances found in food that is not a part of the normal ingredients. (Chris Hayhurst, 2002) There are six kinds of additives. The six kinds are nutrients, flavoring agents, coloring agents, preservations, emulsifiers, stabilizers, thickeners, acids and alkalis. (Graddy W. Chism, 2006) These six are both good and bad. Nutrients such as minerals and vitamins, which make food more nourishing. For instance, adding of the B-complex vitamins folic acid and niacin to flour, pasta, and rice has helped reduce the

The government masks what is put into our food. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) certifies the use of partially hydrogenated oils, high-fructose corn syrup, butylated hydroxyanisole, propyl gallate, potassium bromate and many other additives for a sustained shelf-life and stabilization of flavors. These additives have been directly

Everywhere you look, you'll find foods loaded with preservatives, fillers, chemicals and other substances. Even though they may taste good, these additives are not only unnatural, but they're detrimental to our waistline. With each additive and preservative that you put into your body, you're wreaking havoc on your natural metabolic system, making it difficult for your body to maintain a healthy body weight.

No additives, no preservatives; nothing is added to these products that is not naturally present in their growing process. This is what makes organic so expensive. Without the aid of GMO's, herbicides, pesticides and preservatives added later, these food products have lower yield rates, lower shelf life, longer growth rate,

Studies have been completed, showing that 10% of birth defects are caused by chemicals in industrial products.("Birth Defects and Environmental Causes." ) The chemicals in industrial products come from many things, however, food is one of the largest contributors to birth defects. Therefore, it is important that consumers understand how the industry 's use of chemicals can affect one’s, health through their use of packing, synthetic chemicals, and the alternatives to chemical filled foods.

Food preservatives are described as natural means or man-made chemicals that are used in foods to prevent them from spoiling. A subgroup of preservatives are food additives, which differ from preservatives in the way that additives are not only used to lengthen the life of food, but also to improve taste and appearance. The ultimate goal of preservatives and additives are to improve the quality and lifespan of food by slowing down the decomposition process using chemicals or natural methods, such as salt and dehydration.