Think you can trust the government? Think again. Myriad ingredients banned in other countries are still in our food supply, mixed into your meal so corporations can get a little more out of every buck.
I tell people, “Our food supply is being poisoned.” Then I usually follow with, “I know that sounds like I am a conspiracy theorist, but really, if you start reading labels and doing some research, you’ll find it out for yourself.”
Our food supply is contaminated with tons of food additives: color additives, emulsifiers, faux fats, flavor enhancers, preservatives, stabilizers, thickeners, binders, and more! The total market value of food additives in the U.S. increased from $4.3 billion in 2007 to $4.8 billion in 2012. The projected market value of these food additives will increase even more rapidly during 2013 through 2018, from $4.9 billion to $5.8 billion.
“For numerous, suspicious and disturbing reasons, the U.S. has allowed foods that are banned in many other developed countries into our food supply,” says nutritionist Mira Calton who, together with her husband Jayson Calton, Ph.D., wrote the new book Rich Food, Poor Food.
Banned Food Additives In Our Food Supply
Here are the five banned ingredients that are still showing up in our food supply. Read the labels and be sure to always avoid these.
1. Counterfeit Colors (Blue 1, Blue 2, Yellow5, and Yellow 6)
Colors appeal and tempt the eye; hence, we have so many brightly colored cakes, candies, sport drinks and sodas. But don’t let the appearance of things fool you. These colors are carcinogenic and can mutate our DNA. Surprisingly, these bright, gimmicky ingredients won’t be disappearing anytime soon unless we create a fuss, read the labels in the food supply and share this article!
2. Olestra (aka Olean)
“It took a quarter of a century and a billion dollars to create this Frankenfat but it didn’t take the U.K. or Canada very long to ban it completely,” says Jayson Calton, Ph.D.
This faux-fat depletes the body’s ability to process and absorb fat soluble vitamins, which we need for good health. It can also cause serious issues with your gastrointestinal tract. So don’t be surprised if you eat olestra-infused chips and have irritable bowel syndrome. In order to bring relief to your body, get yourself a Squatty Potty and a super dose of probiotics to start repairing any damage done to your gut.
3. Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVO)
Found in sports drinks and citrus-flavored sodas, “this emulsifier prevents flavoring from separating and floating to the surface of beverages,” says Calton. High levels of this lovely additive mess up your thyroid and can cause thyroid cancer, since it prevents the thyroid from absorbing iodine. The main function of the thyroid in the endocrine system is to regulate your metabolism. The endocrine systme is your body’s ability to break down food and convert it to energy. BVO has been banned in 100 other countries; however, the United States regards it as safe when consumed on an interim basis. Long live America!
4. Potassium Bromate (aka Brominated Flour)
Always make sure your food doesn’t come with a warning label! “This flour-bulking agent can be found in rolls, wraps, flatbread, bread crumbs, and bagel chips to help strengthen dough, reducing the amount of time needed for baking, which results in lowered costs,” says Calton. Manufacturers use potassium bromate, a carcinogen, which is made with the same toxic chemical found in BVO (bromine), even though the Food and Drug Administration “encourages” otherwise. If you want to screw up your tummy, destroy your nervous system, and/or devastate your kidneys, eat up.
5. Azodicarbonamide
While most countries wait a week for flour to whiten naturally, the American food supply processors prefer to use azodicarbonamide to bleach flour immediately. This ingredient has quite a range of uses. Unfortunately, it’s found in bread and sneaker soles alike, adding a certain bounce factor to foods or foamed plastics. Read more about this additive here.
It’s up to us to leave these nasty ingredients on the shelves. Do not let big corporations continue to poison our food supply and you for a quick buck! Fortunately, perceived loopholes in the FDA’s additive approval process are stirring public concern and political will to revise their policies. Let’s keep pressuring them until we see significant and positive changes.
Listen to the authors of Rich Food, Poor Food here:
Maryam Henein is an investigative journalist, professional researcher, and producer of the award-winning documentary Vanishing of the Bees.
