From the high fructose corn syrup in ketchup to the titanium oxide found in some coffee creamers to the modified palm oil in protein bars, American food is stuffed to the brim with suspect ingredients. And if Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has anything to say about it, certain artificial dyes will be dimmed for good. Sayonara red dye No. 3, maybe.
I’m not defending the use of artificial dyes and added sweeteners – no one needs more petroleum products and added sugar in their diets – but focusing a gargantuan amount of attention on a small number of additives, some of which likely carry very little health risk, allows others to fly under the radar which can lead to troubling consumption patterns. We don’t hear enough about the potential health pitfalls of certain ingredients found in a wide variety of foods so we fail to try to limit their intake. Seriously, you would think seed oils are going to cause a population collapse, when there are other things you should be fretting more about.
Parents may feel reassured that lunchboxes of the future might be artificial dye-free, but this dietitian would sleep better at night if people consumed lesser amounts of these ubiquitous additives. No amount of time in the gym can squash the potential health ramifications of eating these common ingredients in liberal amounts.
Though few people give them much thought, these are the sneaky ingredients that could be messing with our health. Emerging research is certainly questioning whether we should be eating them so liberally.
Emulsifiers are used by food and beverage manufacturers to extend shelf-life, alter the taste of the final product, improve structure, and, most importantly, produce a consistent blend of two or more ingredients such as oil and water allowing for a better texture. There is a reason why store-bought almond milk doesn’t separate and instead has a creamy texture. Emulsifiers also reduce stickiness and help foods like ice cream maintain a smooth texture. Yes, it’s likely your protein bars and protein powder are made with emulsifiers. So wide is their use emulsifiers might be the most common food additive in the American food supply.
Emulsifiers, which is a very lengthy list, include polysorbate, lecithin, mono and diglycerides, carrageenan, and anything with the word “gum” in it including xanthum gum, gellan gum, locust bean gum, and guar gum. Emulsifiers can be man-made or naturally occurring in plants, animals and, aquatic sources.
Though the Food and Drug Administration has deemed the various guises of emulsifiers in our foods and drinks as being Generally Recognized as Safe, which gives companies the green light to pump them into everything from salad dressing to bread to hot sauce, some concerning research is coming online that suggests they aren’t so benign.
Recent studies suggest that consuming emulsifiers found in processed foods may increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes, certain cancers including prostate cancer, and heart disease. This potential health downfall might be attributed to how consuming too many emulsifiers can mess with our gut microbiome. An investigation of 20 commonly used emulsifiers by food manufacturers published in the journal Microbiome found that many of them appeared to have a negative impact on intestinal microbiota composition and function in a way that could drive up inflammation. Not good. This could spiral into other health issues including irritable bowel syndrome and heart disease. Emulsifiers could be one reason why lofty intakes of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have been linked to a wide range of maladies including heart disease and cognitive decline. Yes, emulsifiers are found in the vast majority of UPFs.
Before we should deem emulsifiers as a total health pariah, there are a few things you should keep in mind. We don’t know if certain emulsifiers are more detrimental than others or how much we need to eat to become problematic. Pre-existing conditions may make a person more susceptible to the ill effects of emulsifiers. So if a person already has irritable bowel syndrome then high intakes of these additives may compound the problem. Responses could be highly personalized.
It would be wise not to brush off this preliminary research and instead use it as a good motivator to trim some of the emulsifiers from your diet until we have a better grasp on their role in our long-term health. Your number one way to do so is to limit your intake of multi-ingredient processed packaged foods. You can read food labels looking for options that are made without these food additives. For instance, many protein powders are made with emulsifiers but there are some brands including Naked and Drink Wholesome that produce muscle-building powders without them.
You can also take a DIY approach to reduce your intake of emulsifiers. This means getting in the kitchen and preparing homemade protein bars, salad dressings, baked goods, and dairy-free milk. It is not likely that a lot of home cooks are reaching for the gellan gum when making a batch of chocolate chip cookies.
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photobuay/Adobe Stock
We can think of nitrates as the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of food compounds. Their bright or dark side depends on the source.
Nitrates are compounds that are composed of nitrogen and oxygen molecules. They occur both naturally in some plants which source them from the soil they grow in and are also legally added by food manufacturers to processed meats—in the form of sodium nitrate or sodium nitrite—as a preservative, or to enhance flavor, color, and texture.
When we eat nitrates that occur naturally in plants like beets and spinach, our body transforms them to nitric oxide, which has been shown to help relax blood vessels which can then have several health benefits, such as reducing blood pressure and improving circulation. This, in turn, can improve overall heart and brain health. So, what about those nitrates in bacon and hot dogs?
The nitrates added to animal-based products are converted to nitrites by bacteria in your mouth. A compound abundant in meat (and absent in veggies) called heme, which lends red meat its color, seems to react with the newly formed nitrites resulting in the formation of a molecule called nitrosylated-haem. It’s this molecule that likely interacts with degraded bits of amino acids—protein fragments our body produces during the digestion of protein—to form nitrosamines, which are compounds that have been associated with health issues including an increased risk of certain cancers. Mainly by damaging DNA which is essentially the first step in cancer development. Whew, that was a lot of chemistry.
A recent and well-publicized World Health Organization report found that each 50-gram portion of nitrate-containing processed meats a person eats per day (that’s about 3 slices of deli meat) the odds of colorectal cancer rises by about 18%. WHO classifies these foods as a Group 1 carcinogen—the same designation as tobacco. (Note: It’s still worse to smoke a pack of cigs than does eat some crispy bacon.) It might be an uptick in nitrosamines as to why studies suggest that higher intakes of red meat, and processed versions in particular, can be detrimental to long-term health. A 2021 study using data from 21 countries published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that consumption of processed red meat – but not unprocessed meat like beef, pork, lamb, and veal – may raise the risk of major heart disease and death.
It’s important to keep the dangers of processed meat in context. As always, the poison is in the dose. The dangers are going to be more real for people eating processed meats every day compared to having the occasional grilled hot dog or roast beef sandwich. You have to look at things in the context of the overall diet. Eating a small amount of processed meat as part of a diet that is rich in nutritious whole foods is likely not of serious concern. With that said, it’s still wise to tread lightly with this additive.
The easiest way to limit animal-sourced nitrate exposure is to cut back on the intake of processed meats including deli meats, bacon, sausages, ham, hot dogs, pepperoni, and jerky. Get your protein more often from uncured meats like steak, chicken breast, and pork chops.
Since high heat can contribute to nitrosamine formation, it’s recommended to cook processed meats at lower temperatures. An example would be to microwave bacon instead of sizzling it in a frying pan. Also, consuming plenty of vitamin C and other antioxidants could help block the production of nitrosamines in the body—and offset some of the potentially negative effects of processed meats. So serve a big salad alongside that sausage.
And don’t give processed meats labeled “natural” or “nitrate-free” a free pass. Some natural and organic ways of preserving meat, such as using celery salt, can contain nitrates and still lead to
nitrosamine production. In fact, some “nitrate-free” meats like bacon may contain more nitrates than conventional options.
Healthy Eating
Bad news for deli turkey lovers, but there are alternatives.
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Monmeo/Adobe Stock
With all the hoopla surrounding added sugars, artificial sweeteners, food dyes, and seed oils, it seems that the focus on salt intake and health has been displaced. Perhaps to our peril.
For the record, salt isn’t inherently unhealthy. Consuming the necessary amount is absolutely essential for your health. It’s involved in many important processes, including muscle and nerve functioning and blood volume regulation. The body requires about 500 mg daily of sodium to function properly. Problems can surface when people consume much higher amounts than this. Though we need updated data, according to the Centers for Disease Control, the average American gets 3,600 milligrams of sodium per day, which is considerably more than the recommended daily limit, 1,500 to 2,300mg daily. Long ago, food manufacturers used salt primarily as a food preservative, but today they add it mainly to improve taste and texture. Americans love their salty food and most underestimate how much they are consuming.
Research in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology showed that the higher participants’ sodium intake was during the more than two decades of study period, the greater their 20-year mortality risk was. Overall, each 1,000 milligrams a day increase in sodium intake was associated with a 12% increase in mortality risk from conditions like heart disease. High levels of salt consumption was associated with an increased risk of atherosclerosis, even for people who did not have hypertension, according to a study involving 10,788 adults published in European Heart Journal Open.
When there’s extra sodium in your bloodstream, it pulls water into your blood vessels, increasing the total amount (volume) of blood inside them. With more blood flowing through your blood vessels, blood pressure can increase. This makes the heart pump harder because it has to circulate more blood in a given time. This puts a strain on various organs including your heart, kidneys, and even your brain. And, over time, this can lead to cardiovascular and other health issues.
As we age, our resistance to excessive sodium intake is diminished. Kidney function tends to decline with age making it more difficult to excrete excess salt. Luckily, it appears that reducing sodium intake is one of the best things we can do to drive down blood pressure numbers.
A study, published in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension, determined that generally healthy adults with high sodium sensitivity were 43% more likely to develop high blood pressure in response to a higher sodium diet than those with moderate sensitivity. Unfortunately, there is not a reliable method or laboratory test to tell if you are salt sensitive and if you should steer clear of the salty pizza.
While consuming some sodium isn’t bad, it’s a good idea to keep tabs on your intake, even if you are a fit guy.
Perhaps the best way to reel in your sodium intake is to dine out less since restaurant food is a major source of sodium in the American diet. Home cooked food rarely achieves the lofty sodium levels found in what you would order at Applebees or the Golden Arches. Secondly, going easy on highly processed packaged foods will surely reduce your sodium intake. It’s always important to check out nutrition labels when grocery shopping as a way to keep your overall sodium intake on the down-low. Levels can vary greatly among similar products including pasta sauce, bread, sauces, and chips.
Beyond salt, various food additives including sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and monosodium glutamate (MSG) also contain sodium and contribute to the total amount of sodium in a product. A side benefit of following a lower sodium diet is that the quality of your overall diet may improve as you’ll be eating fewer processed packaged and restaurant foods.
Also, consider making your own versions of high-sodium supermarket foods. For instance, roast a turkey breast and slice it for a low sodium version of sandwich deli meat. Homemade tomato soup, salad dressings, dips like hummus and even bread will likely give you less sodium.
If you regularly work up a sweat through exercise or happen to be going all-in on sauna life, you will likely have more leeway when it comes to the ideal amount of sodium in your diet. That’s because sodium is the major electrolyte lost in perspiration. So the more you sweat the more sodium you will lose from your body, and, in turn, the more you can consume in your diet.
Nutrition
Know the signs that you're eating too much sodium.
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I’m not defending the use of artificial dyes and added sweeteners – no one needs more petroleum products and added sugar in their diets – but focusing a gargantuan amount of attention on a small number of additives, some of which likely carry very little health risk, allows others to fly under the radar which can lead to troubling consumption patterns. We don’t hear enough about the potential health pitfalls of certain ingredients found in a wide variety of foods so we fail to try to limit their intake. Seriously, you would think seed oils are going to cause a population collapse, when there are other things you should be fretting more about.
Parents may feel reassured that lunchboxes of the future might be artificial dye-free, but this dietitian would sleep better at night if people consumed lesser amounts of these ubiquitous additives. No amount of time in the gym can squash the potential health ramifications of eating these common ingredients in liberal amounts.
SunnyS/Adobe Stock
Emulsifiers
Though few people give them much thought, these are the sneaky ingredients that could be messing with our health. Emerging research is certainly questioning whether we should be eating them so liberally.
Emulsifiers are used by food and beverage manufacturers to extend shelf-life, alter the taste of the final product, improve structure, and, most importantly, produce a consistent blend of two or more ingredients such as oil and water allowing for a better texture. There is a reason why store-bought almond milk doesn’t separate and instead has a creamy texture. Emulsifiers also reduce stickiness and help foods like ice cream maintain a smooth texture. Yes, it’s likely your protein bars and protein powder are made with emulsifiers. So wide is their use emulsifiers might be the most common food additive in the American food supply.
Emulsifiers, which is a very lengthy list, include polysorbate, lecithin, mono and diglycerides, carrageenan, and anything with the word “gum” in it including xanthum gum, gellan gum, locust bean gum, and guar gum. Emulsifiers can be man-made or naturally occurring in plants, animals and, aquatic sources.
Though the Food and Drug Administration has deemed the various guises of emulsifiers in our foods and drinks as being Generally Recognized as Safe, which gives companies the green light to pump them into everything from salad dressing to bread to hot sauce, some concerning research is coming online that suggests they aren’t so benign.
Recent studies suggest that consuming emulsifiers found in processed foods may increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes, certain cancers including prostate cancer, and heart disease. This potential health downfall might be attributed to how consuming too many emulsifiers can mess with our gut microbiome. An investigation of 20 commonly used emulsifiers by food manufacturers published in the journal Microbiome found that many of them appeared to have a negative impact on intestinal microbiota composition and function in a way that could drive up inflammation. Not good. This could spiral into other health issues including irritable bowel syndrome and heart disease. Emulsifiers could be one reason why lofty intakes of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have been linked to a wide range of maladies including heart disease and cognitive decline. Yes, emulsifiers are found in the vast majority of UPFs.
Before we should deem emulsifiers as a total health pariah, there are a few things you should keep in mind. We don’t know if certain emulsifiers are more detrimental than others or how much we need to eat to become problematic. Pre-existing conditions may make a person more susceptible to the ill effects of emulsifiers. So if a person already has irritable bowel syndrome then high intakes of these additives may compound the problem. Responses could be highly personalized.
How To Reduce Your Emulsifiers Intake
It would be wise not to brush off this preliminary research and instead use it as a good motivator to trim some of the emulsifiers from your diet until we have a better grasp on their role in our long-term health. Your number one way to do so is to limit your intake of multi-ingredient processed packaged foods. You can read food labels looking for options that are made without these food additives. For instance, many protein powders are made with emulsifiers but there are some brands including Naked and Drink Wholesome that produce muscle-building powders without them.
You can also take a DIY approach to reduce your intake of emulsifiers. This means getting in the kitchen and preparing homemade protein bars, salad dressings, baked goods, and dairy-free milk. It is not likely that a lot of home cooks are reaching for the gellan gum when making a batch of chocolate chip cookies.
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photobuay/Adobe Stock
Nitrates
We can think of nitrates as the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of food compounds. Their bright or dark side depends on the source.
Nitrates are compounds that are composed of nitrogen and oxygen molecules. They occur both naturally in some plants which source them from the soil they grow in and are also legally added by food manufacturers to processed meats—in the form of sodium nitrate or sodium nitrite—as a preservative, or to enhance flavor, color, and texture.
When we eat nitrates that occur naturally in plants like beets and spinach, our body transforms them to nitric oxide, which has been shown to help relax blood vessels which can then have several health benefits, such as reducing blood pressure and improving circulation. This, in turn, can improve overall heart and brain health. So, what about those nitrates in bacon and hot dogs?
The nitrates added to animal-based products are converted to nitrites by bacteria in your mouth. A compound abundant in meat (and absent in veggies) called heme, which lends red meat its color, seems to react with the newly formed nitrites resulting in the formation of a molecule called nitrosylated-haem. It’s this molecule that likely interacts with degraded bits of amino acids—protein fragments our body produces during the digestion of protein—to form nitrosamines, which are compounds that have been associated with health issues including an increased risk of certain cancers. Mainly by damaging DNA which is essentially the first step in cancer development. Whew, that was a lot of chemistry.
A recent and well-publicized World Health Organization report found that each 50-gram portion of nitrate-containing processed meats a person eats per day (that’s about 3 slices of deli meat) the odds of colorectal cancer rises by about 18%. WHO classifies these foods as a Group 1 carcinogen—the same designation as tobacco. (Note: It’s still worse to smoke a pack of cigs than does eat some crispy bacon.) It might be an uptick in nitrosamines as to why studies suggest that higher intakes of red meat, and processed versions in particular, can be detrimental to long-term health. A 2021 study using data from 21 countries published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that consumption of processed red meat – but not unprocessed meat like beef, pork, lamb, and veal – may raise the risk of major heart disease and death.
It’s important to keep the dangers of processed meat in context. As always, the poison is in the dose. The dangers are going to be more real for people eating processed meats every day compared to having the occasional grilled hot dog or roast beef sandwich. You have to look at things in the context of the overall diet. Eating a small amount of processed meat as part of a diet that is rich in nutritious whole foods is likely not of serious concern. With that said, it’s still wise to tread lightly with this additive.
Tips To Reduce Your Nitrates Intake
The easiest way to limit animal-sourced nitrate exposure is to cut back on the intake of processed meats including deli meats, bacon, sausages, ham, hot dogs, pepperoni, and jerky. Get your protein more often from uncured meats like steak, chicken breast, and pork chops.
Since high heat can contribute to nitrosamine formation, it’s recommended to cook processed meats at lower temperatures. An example would be to microwave bacon instead of sizzling it in a frying pan. Also, consuming plenty of vitamin C and other antioxidants could help block the production of nitrosamines in the body—and offset some of the potentially negative effects of processed meats. So serve a big salad alongside that sausage.
And don’t give processed meats labeled “natural” or “nitrate-free” a free pass. Some natural and organic ways of preserving meat, such as using celery salt, can contain nitrates and still lead to
nitrosamine production. In fact, some “nitrate-free” meats like bacon may contain more nitrates than conventional options.
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Monmeo/Adobe Stock
Salt
With all the hoopla surrounding added sugars, artificial sweeteners, food dyes, and seed oils, it seems that the focus on salt intake and health has been displaced. Perhaps to our peril.
For the record, salt isn’t inherently unhealthy. Consuming the necessary amount is absolutely essential for your health. It’s involved in many important processes, including muscle and nerve functioning and blood volume regulation. The body requires about 500 mg daily of sodium to function properly. Problems can surface when people consume much higher amounts than this. Though we need updated data, according to the Centers for Disease Control, the average American gets 3,600 milligrams of sodium per day, which is considerably more than the recommended daily limit, 1,500 to 2,300mg daily. Long ago, food manufacturers used salt primarily as a food preservative, but today they add it mainly to improve taste and texture. Americans love their salty food and most underestimate how much they are consuming.
Research in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology showed that the higher participants’ sodium intake was during the more than two decades of study period, the greater their 20-year mortality risk was. Overall, each 1,000 milligrams a day increase in sodium intake was associated with a 12% increase in mortality risk from conditions like heart disease. High levels of salt consumption was associated with an increased risk of atherosclerosis, even for people who did not have hypertension, according to a study involving 10,788 adults published in European Heart Journal Open.
When there’s extra sodium in your bloodstream, it pulls water into your blood vessels, increasing the total amount (volume) of blood inside them. With more blood flowing through your blood vessels, blood pressure can increase. This makes the heart pump harder because it has to circulate more blood in a given time. This puts a strain on various organs including your heart, kidneys, and even your brain. And, over time, this can lead to cardiovascular and other health issues.
As we age, our resistance to excessive sodium intake is diminished. Kidney function tends to decline with age making it more difficult to excrete excess salt. Luckily, it appears that reducing sodium intake is one of the best things we can do to drive down blood pressure numbers.
A study, published in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension, determined that generally healthy adults with high sodium sensitivity were 43% more likely to develop high blood pressure in response to a higher sodium diet than those with moderate sensitivity. Unfortunately, there is not a reliable method or laboratory test to tell if you are salt sensitive and if you should steer clear of the salty pizza.
How To Reduce Your Salt Intake
While consuming some sodium isn’t bad, it’s a good idea to keep tabs on your intake, even if you are a fit guy.
Perhaps the best way to reel in your sodium intake is to dine out less since restaurant food is a major source of sodium in the American diet. Home cooked food rarely achieves the lofty sodium levels found in what you would order at Applebees or the Golden Arches. Secondly, going easy on highly processed packaged foods will surely reduce your sodium intake. It’s always important to check out nutrition labels when grocery shopping as a way to keep your overall sodium intake on the down-low. Levels can vary greatly among similar products including pasta sauce, bread, sauces, and chips.
Beyond salt, various food additives including sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and monosodium glutamate (MSG) also contain sodium and contribute to the total amount of sodium in a product. A side benefit of following a lower sodium diet is that the quality of your overall diet may improve as you’ll be eating fewer processed packaged and restaurant foods.
Also, consider making your own versions of high-sodium supermarket foods. For instance, roast a turkey breast and slice it for a low sodium version of sandwich deli meat. Homemade tomato soup, salad dressings, dips like hummus and even bread will likely give you less sodium.
If you regularly work up a sweat through exercise or happen to be going all-in on sauna life, you will likely have more leeway when it comes to the ideal amount of sodium in your diet. That’s because sodium is the major electrolyte lost in perspiration. So the more you sweat the more sodium you will lose from your body, and, in turn, the more you can consume in your diet.
Nutrition
7 Signs You're Eating Too Much Salt
Know the signs that you're eating too much sodium.
Read article
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