8 Ingredients You don't want in your food

Eight Ingredients You Never Want to See on Your Nutrition Label.source:Wake Up World

1. BHA
This preservative is used to prevent rancidity in foods that contain oils. Unfortunately, BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) has been shown to cause cancer in rats, mice, and hamsters. The reason the FDA hasn’t banned it is largely technical—the cancers all occurred in the rodents’ forestomachs, an organ that humans don’t have. Nevertheless, the study, published in the Japanese Journal of Cancer Research, concluded that BHA was “reasonably anticipated to be a carcinogen,” and as far as I’m concerned, that’s reason enough to eliminate it from your diet.

2. Parabens
These synthetic preservatives are used to inhibit mold and yeast in food. The problem is parabens may also disrupt your body’s hormonal balance. A study in Food Chemical Toxicology found that daily ingestion decreased sperm and testosterone production in rats, and parabens have been found present in breast cancer tissues.

3. Partially Hydrogenated Oil
I’ve harped on this before, but it bears repeating: Don’t confuse “0 g trans fat” with being trans fat-free. The FDA allows products to claim zero grams of trans fat as long as they have less than half a gram per serving. That means they can have 0.49 grams per serving and still be labeled a no-trans-fat food. Considering that two grams is the absolute most you ought to consume in a day, those fractions can quickly add up. The telltale sign that your snack is soiled with the stuff? Look for partially hydrogenated oil on the ingredient statement. If it’s anywhere on there, then you’re ingesting artery-clogging trans fat.

4. Sodium Nitrite
Nitrites and nitrates are used to inhibit botulism-causing bacteria and to maintain processed meats’ pink hues, which is why the FDA allows their use. Unfortunately, once ingested, nitrite can fuse with amino acids (of which meat is a prime source) to form nitrosamines, powerful carcinogenic compounds. Ascorbic and erythorbic acids—essentially vitamin C—have been shown to decrease the risk, and most manufacturers now add one or both to their products, which has helped. Still, the best way to reduce risk is to limit your intake.

5. Caramel Coloring
This additive wouldn’t be dangerous if you made it the old-fashioned way—with water and sugar, on top of a stove. But the food industry follows a different recipe: They treat sugar with ammonia, which can produce some nasty carcinogens. How carcinogenic are these compounds? A Center for Science in the Public Interest report asserted that the high levels of caramel color found in soda account for roughly 15,000 cancers in the U.S. annually. Another good reason to scrap soft drinks? They’re among The 20 Worst Drinks in America.

6. Castoreum
Castoreum is one of the many nebulous “natural ingredients” used to flavor food. Though it isn’t harmful, it is unsettling. Castoreum is a substance made from beavers’ castor sacs, or anal scent glands. These glands produce potent secretions that help the animals mark their territory in the wild. In the food industry, however, 1,000 pounds of the unsavory ingredient are used annually to imbue foods—usually vanilla or raspberry flavored—with a distinctive, musky flavor.

7. Food Dyes
Plenty of fruit-flavored candies and sugary cereals don’t contain a single gram of produce, but instead rely on artificial dyes and flavorings to suggest a relationship with nature. Not only do these dyes allow manufacturers to mask the drab colors of heavily processed foods, but certain hues have been linked to more serious ailments. A Journal of Pediatrics study linked Yellow 5 to hyperactivity in children, Canadian researchers found Yellow 6 and Red 40 to be contaminated with known carcinogens, and Red 3 is known to cause tumors. The bottom line? Avoid artificial dyes as much as possible.

8. Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein
Hydrolyzed vegetable protein, used as a flavor enhancer, is plant protein that has been chemically broken down into amino acids. One of these acids, glutamic acid, can release free glutamate. When this glutamate joins with free sodium in your body, they form monosodium glutamate (MSG), an additive known to cause adverse reactions—headaches, nausea, and weakness, among others—in sensitive individuals. When MSG is added to products directly, the FDA requires manufacturers to disclose its inclusion on the ingredient statement. But when it occurs as a byproduct of hydrolyzed protein, the FDA allows it to go unrecognized.

Read more: http://wakeup-world.com/2012/10/05/eight-ingredients-you-never-want-to-see-on-your-nutrition-label/

9. Splenda
A biologically alien synthetic chemical whose
presence on this planet did not predate 1976, and whose structure is
only a few atoms away from the deadly pesticide DDT, with no long term human safety studies performed but linked to liver, spleen and thymus abnormalities, DNA damage, abnormal mineralization of the pelvis, decreased red blood cell count, spontaneous abortion & decreased fetal weight, Crohn's disease, migraines, and abnormal HbA1C.

So in layman's terms it kills you dead- That's a good time-NOT!!

Nah not dead, at least not right away .... make you wish you were dead perhaps, but ....

I don't use the stuff anyway, and look for different ingredients in food when i grocery shop- My wife thinks I go too far, but better that than dying slow, I figure-

That's right- I feed my babies Purina, 'The One', but I think I will change them over to Blue Buffalo, it is alot better grade of food, and no by products or gluten- They both are hitting 11 years old, thereabouts, and want them to live the best life they possibly can, Other than my wife, My kitties are my life, and my 'kids'-And I spoil them both rotten, They get fed what ever human food they want, like chicken, tuna, salmon, turkey,hamburg, bacon, pork chops cut up, and lowfat milk ocassionally, and they like cottage cheeze,and vanilla ice cream things like that but no bad foods-

My dogs made the switch to Blue Buffalo a couple of years ago. They love it, and their coats are in better shape than ever!

I'd say your kitties are very lucky to live with you, where they are cherished, pampered and fed great cuisine.

Our cats bed down on the bed at night, and both 'tell' us to wake up, with their little 'meows'-My Calico cat 'Nannee' will sit, play catch with her small stuffed mouse, I'll tell her to 'mind your business' when she gets up in my lap she will lay down when I say that, or, 'Come make comfies', she'll lay down on my chest in my arm chair, I'll hang my hand down in front of her, and say 'don't like 'em spooks', and she will whip her head to one side so she doesn't see the 'spooks', she'll give me 'kisses' when I ask her to, she is a very loving and understanding kitty cat-I started teaching her things when she was about a year old- My Maine Cooncat could care less what you tell her, but if she is laying on her side on the floor, you say'roll over KayKay', and she'll do it IF she's in the mood- She's very different, and a 'One person' cat, she tolerates me, but that's about it- It has to be 'her' idea, if she comes to you out of the blue, or wants to be scratched and petted- She loves to be combed and brushed, but when she's had enough, she'll 'hiss' and swat at you-You could say she has a bit of an 'Altitude' problem-

I showed pictures of them last year around Xmas time, I think, or a little after, can't recall which-

10. GMO plant or meat products! which is about everything in a commercail grocery store.

Indeed- Just like 'good' weed, you gotta grow your own!! Whether it's 'corn', or walking with 'horns'-

Hey, Seb, you could probably find some a LOT bigger than that dog in the picture, if that's your dog. My sister-in-law has some dogs like that, and I nicknamed them Rip. You know, tiny little needle teeth. Rip your arm right open.