Preservatives or food additives are everywhere. What’s new is the data showing their harmful effects on our health. In the past 18 years I’ve been a clinician, almost everyone I saw suffered from bloating, puffiness, inflammation, type 2 diabetes, and often chronic fatigue. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you’re not alone. It could be what’s added to your food. Food preservatives are known to be endocrine disruptors. They can cause diabetes, thyroid problems, and infertility. Furthermore, they can increase appetite and cravings for food that contain additives or sugar and lead to inflammation and weight gain or weight loss resistance.
You will find a lot of information about healthy foods, and an equal amount of websites, shorts and videos of foods to avoid. But here is what you won’t find a lot of information about: UPF or Ultra-processed foods. We commonly refer to them as preservatives, but they do more than that and come in all shapes and colors.
You know, those ingredients on food labels that are so difficult to read, so impossible to pronounce that you only glance at when shopping? Those are called UPF and they can wreak havoc on your gut, your endocrine system, and your waistline.
While there are thousands of preservatives added to packaged food, I’d like to bring one in particular to your attention: benzoic acid. This is an antimicrobial and antifungal additive that prevents the development of harmful bacteria in foods and beverages.
Scientific research has confirmed that when benzoic acid is combined with vitamin C and exposed to high temperatures (cooking) or exposed to light (while sitting on supermarket shelves) it fosters the formation of a carcinogenic chemical called benzene (1).
The FDA considers BA safe when the amount used doesn’t exceed a maximum of 0.1 percent of the food it’s added to. But BA is ubiquitous and you could consume it several times a day at each meal and with your favorite beverage. You could accumulate more than you bargained for.
Many animal studies have shown genotoxic effects of benzoic acid on fetuses. The use of benzoic acid can impair DNA and lead to genetic defects. Chromosomal changes have also been observed in human lymphocytes. “Based on the results, they suggested that pregnant women do not consume foods containing benzoic acid as an additive (Adams et al., 2017, Del Olmo et al., 2017, Pongsavee, 2015)” (2).
Who Should Avoid Food Preservatives?
It may take years for most people to feel the harmful effects of food additives such as BA. But there are particular vulnerable groups who will develop symptoms quickly after ingestion. Are you in one of these categories of vulnerable people?
- Children with autism. They have a hard time detoxifying and hold on to toxins more than the average person. Benzoic acid can accumulate in their bodies and cause allergic reactions, increase hyperactivity, or induce gastrointestinal distress (diarrhea, cramps, vomiting)
- Cancer survivors who have received chemotherapy. Chemotherapy changes human biochemistry and these patients can develop all kinds of symptoms after ingesting food preservatives, medication, or even certain foods, such as fruit
- Children with ADHD. Regular consumption of BA can make them more hyperactive
- Lymphedema patients with an impaired lymphatic system and prone to inflammation. They may experience more swelling, fatigue, and weight gain.
- People with autoimmune disease and sensitive to inflammation
It’s worth noting that benzoic acid occurs naturally in fruits, herbs, and spices, such as cranberries, prunes, plums, blueberries, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and thyme. However, it’s harmless because it’s present only in trace amounts and it’s unlikely you’d binge on any of these items. But BA added to food as a preservative is a synthetic form, and you will most likely find it in these products:
Beverages: soft drinks, fruit juices, beer, and energy drinks
Sauces and Condiments: ketchup, pickles, and salad dressings, particularly those with cheese.
Jams and Preserves: fruit-based products to maintain texture and taste and improve mouth-feel.
Baked Goods: fillings, toppings, pastries
Other foods: canned food, processed meat, cosmetics, such as makeup, lotions, and moisturizers.
But BA is not the only toxic additive. I put together a small list for you of the most toxic additives you will most likely see in your grocery store and their adverse effects.
Twelve Food Preservatives known to carry health risks
- BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole )
- BHT(butylated hydroxytoluene) Sodium benzoate
- Sodium nitrite
- Sodium Nitrate
- Food coloring (red, blue, green, yellow)
- Sodium metabisulfite
- Aspartame, acesulfame potassium (often listed as acesulfame K)
- Artificial sweeteners: Splenda (sucralose), Sweet & Low, stevia, aspartame etc..
- Potassium bromate
- Propyl gallate
- Hydrolyzed protein (msg)
- Trans fats (hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils)
Adverse Effects
- Headaches
- Type 2 diabetes
- Asthma
- Inflammation
- Chronic illness
- Digestive problems
- Behavior problems in children (ADD, Autism)
- DNA damage (tumors)
- Fertility
Inflammation
It’s an established fact that refined sugar causes inflammation. However, refined sugar doesn’t act alone. It’s always accompanied with additives to enhance its flavor, preserve shelf life, and increase umami. These additves alter the bacteria population in the gut by making a few stronger and killing others. There result is dysbiosis and strong colonies of bacteria that turn parasitic. This change in the microbiome can cause damage to the layers of the gut, triggering the immune system to release cells that neutralize the injury. These cells, when released repetitively will cause inflammation.
Processed food is also poor in fiber which is the food of the gut bacteria. Without it, it dies and leaves the gun unprotected giving a chance to pathogens to thrive. Another reason for the immune system to attack.
How to Prevent Gut Inflammation
Your first step to a healthy GI is fiber. Always include high fiber foods with meals. Try to avoid fried foods, refined sugar, and dairy products as much as possible. Then move to eliminating as many food preservatives from your diet as you can.
Avoiding benzoic acid and the additives in the above list can be an arduous task, as they are found in a lot of foods we consume every day and can sneak in undetected. If you buy a loaf of bread from a bakery or if you make a batch of cookies, that flour has been treated with an antibacterial chemical, benzoic acid or something similar.
However if you make it a habit of reading labels of every product you buy that is packaged, jarred, or bottled, you will learn to detect them, reduce the toxic burden on the body by avoiding them, and it will be able to deal with tiny amounts. Finding a preservative-free replacement for your favorite foods isn’t too difficult. Many manufacturers are opting for natural preservatives, such as vitamin C and E.
More importantly, to ensure that your body can handle toxicity (free radicals), include a lot of antioxidants in your diet. To learn more about antioxidants and anti-inflammatory diet, you may read my previous article, entitled Anti-inflammatory Diet to Optimize Your health.
Here is a little homework for you. Go through your kitchen pantry and refrigerator and make a list of every food that has benzoic acid. Take your list to the grocery store and try to find replacement products that have as few preservatives as possible.
Share your findings with us.
Find us on Facebook, or just click contact Zizania.