We all need a little sodium in our diets, but our food is overloaded with it. Not only can it cause bloating and extreme thirst, an overabundance of sodium in the blood can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. As great as salty foods like chips, sausage, and pickles taste, it's important to limit the amount of these foods we eat. We should only consume about 2 grams, or 2000 milligrams of sodium per day. To put this in perspective, a Big Mac has over a gram of sodium and a large fry has about 300 milligrams. So with as much salt as there is in all of our foods, the amount of sodium we consume on a daily basis can very quickly add up.
MSG (monosodium glutamate)
This amino acid is a flavor enhancer that is found in many foods. Many types of Chinese food are high in MSG. Some studies have shown that it destroys brain cells in mice, and can cause headaches and fatigue in humans. Some people are very sensitive to MSG, and it can cause them to suffer severe headaches and nausea. It's another ingredient that hasn't had any definitive studies done on it, but it seems to be rather unsafe for consumption in large amounts.
Sodium Nitrate
The nice, red meat you see in your grocer's fresh beef section would be more of a grayish, unappetizing color without this additive. It's another ingredient that some studies have tied to cancer, but, once again, no one can seem to get anything conclusive done.
It's going to be nearly impossible to avoid these ingredients all the time, especially if you're on a budget. But we should all at least limit our intake of them and opt for fresh fruits and vegetables whenever possible. It's very scary that science has come up with all of the additives and chemicals and added them to our food supply with no definitive studies done on them. Perhaps in the future this will change and the government will crack down on food companies about adding such bad things to our food, but, until then, we have to do our best to take care of ourselves.
SOURCES: www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine (list of food additives)
MSG (monosodium glutamate)
This amino acid is a flavor enhancer that is found in many foods. Many types of Chinese food are high in MSG. Some studies have shown that it destroys brain cells in mice, and can cause headaches and fatigue in humans. Some people are very sensitive to MSG, and it can cause them to suffer severe headaches and nausea. It's another ingredient that hasn't had any definitive studies done on it, but it seems to be rather unsafe for consumption in large amounts.
Sodium Nitrate
The nice, red meat you see in your grocer's fresh beef section would be more of a grayish, unappetizing color without this additive. It's another ingredient that some studies have tied to cancer, but, once again, no one can seem to get anything conclusive done.
It's going to be nearly impossible to avoid these ingredients all the time, especially if you're on a budget. But we should all at least limit our intake of them and opt for fresh fruits and vegetables whenever possible. It's very scary that science has come up with all of the additives and chemicals and added them to our food supply with no definitive studies done on them. Perhaps in the future this will change and the government will crack down on food companies about adding such bad things to our food, but, until then, we have to do our best to take care of ourselves.
SOURCES: www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine (list of food additives)
Comments
Niki
(Guest)
(Guest)
05/16/2009
This is a good starter list of ingredients to avoid, MSG and trans fats top my list. For specific reasons to avoid some of these things, and for studies to back them up, check out this site: http://spilledingredients.com.
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