On ABC News, I saw a story on childhood cancer that said the rate of pediatric cancer has risen 30% in the last twenty years. Not comforting news for parents or for those of us who work with and love children. Then I came across an article by the Daily Beast. The Daily Beast consulted national food-safety experts to find out which ingredients, hormones, and additives found in pantries across the U.S. are the worst for consumers. I have summarized the list below.
Here is the list:
Aspartame, Artificial Sweeteners "I wouldn't touch that stuff with a ten foot pole," says Rick North, project director for the Campaign for Safe Food.
BHA, BHT "preservatives in products like soups, cereals, oils and crackers that may cause allergic reactions and neuro-toxic effects, including hyperactivity," says Deanna Minich, a clinical nutritionist.
Food Coloring (marker for a really inferior product)
Gluten “Due to improved testing methods and greater awareness, people are finding they can be ‘gluten intolerant' without having celiac disease. Various reasons for this rise may include changing strains of wheat through genetic modification, impaired immunity, or simply the sheer number of products that contain it and the frequency with which they are eaten—or a combination of any of these factors," says Minich.
rBGH recent research has shown conclusively that the levels of a hormone called "insulin-like growth factor-1" (IFG-1) are elevated in dairy products produced from cows treated with rBGH. Canadian and European regulators have found that the FDA completely failed to consider a study that showed how the increased IGF-1 in rBGH milk could survive digestion and make its way into the intestines and blood stream of consumers. These findings are significant because numerous studies now demonstrate that IGF-1 is an important factor in the growth of cancers of the breast, prostate and colon. The Center for Food Safety
Ractopamine This is the stuff they're shooting into pigs to make them grow faster right at the end of their life before they're slaughtered so that when they're slaughtered it hasn't even had any time at all to work through the pig's system and excrete it, so it's just a disaster," North says. "160 countries have banned the use of this but not the U.S."
High-Fructose Corn Syrup "We're just getting too much sugar in our foods. For years, manufacturers have been taking fat out of foods and putting sugar in," says Minich.
Nitrates, Nitrites "Nitrites are added to hot dogs and cured meats in order to preserve that red color so they don't turn grey, but when you consume [them] they form nitrosamines, which cause cancer...Studies have shown that kids exposed to nitrites have higher rates of brain cancer and leukemia and adults have higher rates of brain cancer," says David Steinman.
Potassium Bromate Used to increase the "fluffiness" of bread products, Potassium Bromate is a known carcinogen that's banned in other countries, and requires a warning label in products sold in California. "The FDA should ban bromate immediately," said Dr. Michael F. Jacobson, the executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest in 1999.
Sulfites "preservatives found in fruits (especially grapes and wines, dried fruits) that may cause allergic reactions like respiratory difficulty, headache, nausea, and digestive complaints," says Minich.
White Flour "White flour has typically been refined and chemically bleached with peroxides or chlorine to the point where it needs to be enriched or have synthetic nutrients added back to it. The problem is that it doesn't get close to resembling its natural state—full of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Foods containing predominantly white flour may raise blood sugar and make your body work harder to metabolize it due to its high-glycemic index," says Minich.
