One of the most important enemies of a healthy lifestyle is the consumption of processed foods. Yes, it may seem easier to buy an already made meal, put it in the oven and have a delicious dish ready in 10 minutes. You’d better think twice, nutritionists say, because this type of foods have a lot of food additives to avoid.
Bad Food Ingredients to Avoid
High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
This is definitely among the top ingredients to avoid in food. It’s very similar to table sugar, although this represents the cheaper alternative. What’s HFCS? Well, this is the processed form of glucose transformed into fructose. Why are we totally against it? You should know that this additive inhibits leptin, it can have toxic levels of mercury and can damage the tissues.
You should stay away from it because a larger sugar quantity affects your body process: it can increase the risk of diabetes, metabolic disorders or even obesity.
MSG
It’s known under different names, from monosodium glutamate to autolyzed vegetable protein. This is considered to be a neurotoxin because researches have indicated that it can damage the nerve cells so that it can result in the cells’ death. Moreover, it can provoke obesity, type II diabetes or metabolic syndrome.
Where you can find it: it’s normally present in diet beverages, canned soup, some popular fast food products or instant soup.
Partially Hydrogenated Oil
This is probably one of the main sources of trans fats. These are more difficult to dissolve than saturated fats. They increase the bad cholesterol (LDL) and help decreasing the good one (HDL). This type of oil can increase the risk of heart diseases, diabetes or cellular deterioration.
So, we would recommend avoiding the foods high in trans fats such as margarine, baked goods, salad dressings, crackers or chips.
Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT)
This is commonly used to prevent oxidation in both foods and cosmetics. Other usage: rubber petroleum products or jet fuels. You should also know that according the the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), it can cause liver damage and it shouldn’t be allowed to be used in the environment.
Propylene glycol alginate (E405)
This is a food thickener that is derived from the combination between alginic acid and propylene glycol. Although the latter is used as a food additive, it can also be used for industrial purposes such as automotive antifreezers.
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