Quote:
Originally Posted by kelly315
I can't believe some of the example foods on the list! I eat Amy's brand soups all the time. Also who would have though V8 would have chemical additives? Eeek!
Thanks for posting.
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Many of the ingredients listed are actually natural ingredients that are prefectly safe and some even healthy as long as you know WHAT they are, and why they're in there (such as the evaporated cane juice and other natural sugars that made the list and the casein milk protein).
The "chemical additive" listed in the V-8 was vitamin E. A "natural" ingredient, and one that is perfectly safe in the amount added to V-8 (unless you're taking mega-doses of vitamin E by way of supplement pills).
While it is true that vitamin E (like all fat-soluble vitamins) can be toxic in large doses, what the author doesn't say is that it would be virtually impossible to get a toxic dose from V-8. Unless you're taking megadoses from supplements (vitamin pills), vitamin E isn't a substance to avoid in foods, even supplemented foods. Even drinking gallons of V-8 per day is unlikely to result in vitamin E toxicity. If you take a vitamin E supplement and take many times the recommended dosage, then yes, but from drinking V-8? No.
Likewise, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) also made the list, but the rationale wasn't that it was an unhealthy ingredient, but that it was used to make unhealthy foods "seem healthy," not because it was an ingredient to avoid.
Vitamin C has few if any unpleasant side effects (and all those are associated with truly massive doses). It was once taught that you couldn't overdose on vitamin C. It's now suspected that massive doses of vitamin C can cause some health issues (of the inconvenient, not deadly variety). For example chewable vitamin C can erode tooth enamel if taken in excess (many more than one tablet daily), and may increase the chances of bladder stones).
If you read the information that accompanies the slide show, you see that for many of those listed, the author isn't saying the ingredient is bad or unhealthy (at least not for everyone) just that you should know what's in your food so that you can decide whether or not you want to avoid it (For example, if you're a strict vegan you'd want to avoid the casein and the carmine because they're animal products).
A good example is the casein, a milk protein. If you're not allergic to milk, this isn't a health threat. Though if you are allergic to casein, or if yo're a vegan, you would want to know that casein is a milk protein.
Likewise the carmine and other insect-derived food dyes, there's no danger to these foods, it's just a perception problem. The insect food taboo in many western cultures including the US, is not based on health, it's based on taboos and squeamishness. Insects are actually some of the healthiest foods on the planet, but many of us have just been taught that eating insects is "gross." The fact is that even if you think you're not eating insects and insect parts, you're wrong (even if you buy all your food from the local farmers' market, you're still getting an occasional insect or insect egg in your food).
The carrageenan write up is a bit misleading too. Many natural foods and food derivatives have been implicated in the digestive problems listed. People who have these issues or are prone to them, must be aware of these foods. Carrageenan is a natural, seaweed food product, and those who don't have health digestive health issues, don't need to be concerned.
The article can give the impression that all these ingredients are harmful, but I don't think that was the intent of the writer (and if it was, shame on him or her).
Food additives...
