I have moved my blog to another page. Please visit me here!
Carrie
Hi there, hello, and how are ya? Before you FREAK, the answer is YES. You are probably eating and feeding your family large amounts of artificial ingredients without even knowing it.
This absolutely amazed me when I first started on this "All Natural" Journey. SO MANY PEOPLE ask me what is wrong with artificial Color and Flavors...
I've decided to define them for you and let you make your own decisions :)
BTW, the following Quotes and definitions are from a book by Elizabeth Strickland, MS, RD, LD. It's one of the simplest explanations I've found in my research.
ARTIFICIAL COLORS
The SEVEN artificial colors now permitted in our food (in the USA) are:Blue #1
Blue #2
Green #3
Red #40
Red #3
Yellow #5
Yellow #6
"There's an additional issue that many parents are not aware of [earlier she linked artificial color to Autism, ADD, and ADHD]. Most Artificial colors are made from a mixture of phenols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and heterocyclic compounds called Coal Tar."
Here are some definitions from www.thefreedictionary.com
Phenol
1. A caustic, poisonous, white crystalline compound, C6H5OH, derived from benzene and used in resins, plastics, and pharmaceuticals and in dilute form as a disinfectant and antiseptic. Also called carbolic acid.
2. Any of a class of aromatic organic compounds having at least one hydroxyl group attached directly to the benzene ring.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon
Any of a class of carcinogenic organic molecules that consist of three or more benzene rings and are commonly produced by fossil fuel combustion. Also called polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon.
heterocyclic compound/Coal Tar
A viscous black liquid containing numerous organic compounds that is obtained by the destructive distillation of coal and used as a roofing, waterproofing, and insulating compound and as a raw material for many dyes, drugs, and paints.
More about Coal Tar:
"According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, any product with a certain percentage of crude coal tar is considered a Group I carcinogen."
ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS
"Artificial Flavors are chemically synthesized compounds added to foods to either imitate or enhance a natural flavor. There are currently 1,700 artificial flavors approved by the FDA."
MSG is one of the worst (monosodium glutamate).
"It's used commercially as a flavor enhancer and found in many common food products such as canned soups, beef and chicken stocks, flavored potato chips, snack foods, frozen dinners, instant meals with seasoning mixtures, and foods from fast food restaurants."
Here is the Ringer!
MSG isn't always easy to spot on a food label.
It can be labeled as spices, natural flavorings, disodium inosinate, or disodium guanylate !!!
"[MSG] is classified as an exitotoxin, and animal studies indicate that ingesting high levels of it causes brain damage."
Here are a few links about MSG:
msgtruth (Okay, this one seems a bit radical, but it gave me some good ideas about more things to google!! lol. )
ARTIFICIAL PRESERVATIVES
More to Come - I'm Working on it!
ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS
More to Come - I'm Working on it!
