The food additive issue is one very talked about by health enthusiasts these days, considering one lives in a world where reaching for processed foods is way easier than fresh produce. This blog takes the science of additives to food and their possible implications for health a little deeper. It highlights various reasons why clean eating would want nothing to do with such additives, at least not traceable ones, in the U.S.A.
What are food additives?
Food additives are those substances added to the food products to enhance flavor, texture, or color or to increase their shelf life. Generally speaking, the major classes of food additives include preservatives, colorants, flavor enhancers, and emulsifiers. While there is some practical use of additives, issues of safety and health have also been debated.
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Preservatives: Those are preventing spoilage because growth has been arrested in bacteria, moulds, and yeasts. The examples are sodium benzoate and nitrates.
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Colorants: these are substances added to make the food look more appealing. Examples include artificial dyes such as Red 40 and Yellow 5.
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Flavor Enhancers: increase taste; a common one includes monosodium glutamate, or MSG.
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Emulsifiers and Stabilizers: enhance the food texture and stability, lecithin and carrageenan being great examples.
These additives, while they have made life easier in food production, many times compromise health and nutritional integrity.
Health Concerns of Food Additives
The usage of food additives in daily food has also incensed health authorities and consumers for some of the following reasons listed below:
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Allergies and Sensitivities
A few additives, such as sulfites, MSG, and artificial colorants, may trigger an adverse reaction from sensitive individuals in the form of allergic reactions and intolerances. For example, it is found that sulfites cause asthma-like attacks in a few people.
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Links to Chronic Diseases
Long-term consumption of such artificial additives is suspected of causing various chronic disorders. Food artificial sweetener has been labeled to cause metabolic syndrome. Added nitrate and nitrite in the diet, particularly in processed meats are known as carcinogens.
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Effects on Gut Health
Recent research studies indicate that food emulsifiers such as polysorbates have now been found to impair gut bacterias. These types of chemicals tear a fragile balance of gut flora, thereby creating inflammation in the gut leading to many ailments.
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Behavioral Disorders
Food additives such as specific artificial colorants also have been blamed to cause hyperactivity amongst kids. FDA has conceded to this fact, and the same is controlled in some nations.
What is Clean Eating?
Clean eating is the best way of life which involves the foods that are whole and also unprocessed. It looks for natural ingredients with no additives, refined sugars, and unhealthy fats. In the U.S.A., the idea has taken on a movement encouraged by growing awareness about health and the environment.
Key Principles of Clean Eating:
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Whole Foods: Emphasize on the fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and also whole grains.
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Minimum Processing: Foods are also to be left as close as to their natural state as possible.
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Transparency: Any products chosen are ones in which there are very limited and simple ingredient lists which include real, recognizable food ingredients.
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Organic Choices: Whenever available foods are organic, U.S.-made products. The potential for pesticide consumption also greatly decreases, along with any GMO consumption.
Why Does Clean Eating Avoid Additives?
Clean eaters avoid food additives, as such stops paying more respect to health, the quality of life, and life quality. It is for the following reasons:
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Watch Out for Nutrition Level
Most often, additives reduce nutritious value in food. In its place, clean eating gives a way to nutritionally dense choices which fuel the human body naturally.
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Stay Away from Hidden Risks
The side effects of many food additives are not yet known. Besides, by avoiding the intake of processed foods, clean eating reduces exposure to potentially noxious substances.
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Fostering Mindful Eating
Clean eating rhymes with mindfulness in that it preaches being fully aware of what is being consumed. This, other than being good for one's health, it has allowed a greater consciousness about food being consumed.
The Emergence of Clean Eating in the U.S.A.
In the U.S.A., eating clean has become a common trend for more than the past decade now, all because of emerging awareness concerning diet and health interrelationships. Farmers' markets, organic stores, and plant-based diets all reflect this societal shift toward more aware eating.
Organic Food in the U.S.A.
Organic produce has become the cornerstone of clean eating in the U.S.A. since it is a trusted alternative to conventionally produced food. Organic certification ensures products have no synthetic pesticides, hormones, or GMOs.
Tips to Avoid Food Additives
Transitioning into clean eating can be overwhelming; thus, these practical tips shall make it doable:
1. Read Labels
Learn to decode ingredient lists. Avoid foods that contain lengthy unreadable ingredients, the words "artificial flavours" and "added preservatives."
2. Cook at Home
Cooking your own meals helps you avoid additives. Give flavour to your foods by using fresh herbs and spices.
3. Support Local Farmers
Buying from local farmers assures freshness and keeps your food free from additives. Most farmers' markets today in the U.S.A have taken a stand to become organic and sustainable.
4. Opt for Whole Foods
Focus your nutrition around whole foods-fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds- because these foods are inherently free of additives and packed with nutrition.
5. Buy Organic
When it comes to packaged food products, rely on the USDA Organic seal. That means that the products were manufactured according to the highest standards of purity.
How Happy Earth Organic Supports Clean Eating?
Happy Earth Organic is happiness and health, leading with sustainability into a clean food revolution. We manufacture additive-free, only organic goods for the great people of the U.S.A. with full transparency, which guarantee health in every taste for one-self and for the whole planet.
Well, the 'trend' of clean eating in the U.S.A. has come to mean much more than just a word. It is a commitment to health, sustainability, and conscious living. It will be only by embracing organic food in the U.S.A. and keeping away from the processed options of food and thereby taking nature as the key to life that the road to health in times to come will be paved.
Welcome, then, into the organic life, take a sneak peek at Happy Earth Organic, among other brands, for your own taste of this magic called real food. Your body and the Earth will thank you!