Top 5 Ingredients to Avoid at All Costs

With the technology that we have today, it’s easier than ever to produce large amounts of food at a low cost.

Companies are trying to keep their costs low, so they can keep profits up. There are now over 6000 ingredients that are added to our food to preserve their quality and to have a longer shelf life.

These ingredients are inexpensive and can be put in large amounts of food that can last for several months. Most people want products that last, so these items sell often and very quickly, which brings the company a good profit.

But what do these ingredients do to our bodies?

These ingredients are not doing our bodies any good; they are only harming them. We eat these things because everyone else eats them and thinks they are doing no harm. They don’t have any major health issues…yet. Just because the product is in the store, it doesn’t mean it’s okay for you to consume. Over time, these ingredients are contributing to a number of issues that increase by the day. You need to think about what you put in your body and take ownership of your health. So how do you know what to avoid and understand why it is bad for you? Read the ingredient list.

These are the top ingredients to avoid at all costs.

1) Hydrogenated Oil (Partially or fully hydrogenated)

What it is

Naturally healthy oils such as palm, kernel, soybean, corn oil or coconut oil and that can be heated to as high as one thousand degrees, under several atmospheres of pressure. A catalyst is injected into the oil for hours. The catalyst is typically a metal such a nickel, platinum or even aluminum. As this bubbles up into the oil the molecular structure changes and increases in density and rearranges it’s molecules, so that instead of a liquid at room temperature we now have either semi-solid or solid oil.

Why it hurts your health

It makes your blood thicker, which makes it more difficult for the heart to pump blood throughout your body. This can cause high blood pressure and clogged arteries.
High cholesterol is another concern due to the fact that it damages the walls to the arteries.
Hydrogenated oils can also slow the micro circulation of blood through the brain further causing various emotional and physical ailments such an Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and ADHD. One of the metals used is Aluminum, which has been linked to Alzheimer’s in several studies.
Hydrogenated oil is only one molecule away from being plastic. When your body digests hydrogenated oil, your internal temperature rises to break it down. Plastic can take thousands of degrees to break down which makes it difficult for your body to digest this.
Hydrogenated oil also contain trans fats, which have a number of health risks.

Studies

One 2007 study found, “Each 2% increase in the intake of energy from trans unsaturated fats, as opposed to that from carbohydrates, was associated with a 73% greater risk of ovulatory infertility.”
Spanish researchers analyzed the diets of 12,059 people over six years and found those who ate the most trans fats had a 48% higher risk of depression than those who did not eat trans fats.
An increased intake of trans fatty acids may raise the risk of breast cancer by 75%, according to the results from the French part of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition.

Risks

High Blood Pressure
High Cholesterol
Cancer
Diabetes
Decreased Immune Function
Reproduction Problems
Alzheimer’s Disease
Parkinson’s Disease
ADHD
Coronary Heart Disease
Infertility
Major Depressive Disorder

2) High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)

What it is

Corn syrup that has gone through a process of enzymatic processing that takes the glucose and turns it into fructose to produce a desired sweetness. Table sugar is made of sucrose, which comes from sugar cane or sugar beets. Sucrose contains equal amounts of fructose and glucose, but HFCS has more fructose. This makes HFCS much sweeter. This helps stabilize processed foods.

Why it hurts your health

“There is evidence that the body struggles to metabolize large amounts of fructose that does not come from fruit, and there is a risk for type 2 diabetes”, because “fructose and sucrose are not metabolically equivalent,” says Stanley Ulijaszek, Director of the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Oxford he explained inGlobal Public Health on the 27th of November.
Fructose may also affect diabetes risk. Though insulin levels remain relatively unperturbed by fructose, there are indications that fructose, even more than glucose, can lead to insulin resistance. (Such resistance is caused when the body loses sensitivity to insulin, prompting the pancreas to work harder to pump out higher and higher amounts of the hormone.)
Mercury has been found in samples of High Fructose Corn Syrup.
The nervous system is very sensitive to mercury. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, exposure to high levels of metallic, inorganic, or organic mercury can permanently damage the brain, kidneys, and developing fetus. Effects on brain functioning may result in irritability, shyness, tremors, changes in vision or hearing, and memory problems. Short-term exposure to high levels of metallic mercury vapors may cause effects including lung damage, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, increases in blood pressure or heart rate, skin rashes, and eye irritation.

Studies

In a study published in current issue of Environmental Health, researchers found mercury in 9 of 20 samples of commercial High Fructose Corn Syrup.
A trial comparing insulin sensitivity in young men after consuming either glucose, fructose or sucrose appeared in January in Diabetes Care. Sucrose and fructose, even in moderate amounts, rendered insulin less potent.
“We found that increased consumption of high fructose corn syrup was associated with scarring in the liver, or fibrosis, among patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD),” said Manal Abdelmalek, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology/Hepatology at Duke University Medical Center. Her team of researchers at Duke, one of eight clinical centers in the Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Clinical Research Network, looked at 427 adults enrolled in the network. They analyzed dietary questionnaires collected within three months of the adults’ liver biopsies to determine their high fructose corn syrup intake and its association with liver scarring.

Risks

Metabolic syndrome
Damage to your immune system
Diabetes
Fibrosis
Mercury Poison
Non-alcoholic Fatty Live Disease
Brain damage, kidney damage, and damage to developing fetus from mercury

3) Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) or Sodium Glutamate

What it is

It is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, one of the most abundant naturally occurring non-essential amino acids. Pure MSG does not have a pleasant taste until it is combined with a consonant savory smell.As a flavor and in the right amount, MSG can enhance other taste-active compounds, improving the overall taste of certain foods.

Why it hurts your health

Dr. Russell Blaylock, a board-certified neurosurgeon and author of “Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills.” He says that MSG is an excitotoxin, which means it overexcites your cells to the point of damage or death, causing brain damage to varying degrees and potentially even triggering or worsening learning disabilities, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease and more. He also tells how sensitivity to MSG builds up in our bodies until we reach what he calls our “threshold of sensitivity.” MSG overstimulates our nervous system and excites our nerves and causing an inflammatory response. With time, these repetitive inflammatory responses cause our nerves to start producing more and more nerve cells that are sensitive to this kind of stimulation. The more overly-sensitive nerve cells we have, the stronger our immediate response to MSG will be.
MSG stimulates the brain causing the production of excessive amounts of dopamine. This creates a drug-like rush that provides a brief sensation of well being. It is highly addictive, causing its consumers to keep coming back for more and end up overeating. In the process, brain cells are destroyed.
According to the FDA, MSG Symptom Complex can involve a variety of symptoms of everything from numbness to chest pain.

Studies

The FDA states: “Studies have shown that the body uses glutamate, an amino acid, as a nerve impulse transmitter in the brain and that there are glutamate-responsive tissues in other parts of the body, as well. Abnormal function of glutamate receptors has been linked with certain neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Huntington’s chorea. Injections of glutamate in laboratory animals have resulted in damage to nerve cells in the brain.”
In 1957, a team of researchers decided to see if glutamate could help repair a diseased retina. Glutamate is a common and necessary amino acid in our diet. The researchers fed MSG to rats. Rather than repairing the disease, the MSG destroyed the retinal cells that allow vision. A decade later, the neuroscientist Dr. John Olney used their method of destroying retinal cells so that he could study visual pathways to the brain. He found that MSG not only destroyed retinal vision cells, but also parts of the brain. This brain damage was done as neurons became over excited, virtually exciting themselves to death. He called this “excitotoxicity,” and that has led subsequent researchers to describe MSG as an “excitotoxin. Now I know your first thought is rats? That’s not a human study. But what you need to know is humans are 20 times more sensitive to MSG than monkeys, 5 times more sensitive than rats.

Risks

High Blood Pressure
Asthma
Obesity
Infertility
Alzheimer’s disease
Parkinson’s disease
Lou Gehrig’s disease
Eye Damage in retina
Fibromyalgia
Thyroid Problems
Headaches
Numbness
Fatigue and disorientation
Drowsiness
Vertigo
Rapid heartbeat
Weakness
Chest pain or difficulty breathing

4) Mono and Diglycerides

What it is

It is a glyceride consisting of two fatty acid chains covalently bonded to a glycerol molecule. They come from an animal (ingredient list will say vegetable mono and diglycerides if it contains no animal fat) or a vegetable, derived primarily from partially hydrogenated soy bean and canola oil. They could also be synthetically produced. Mono- and diglycerides are used to blend together certain ingredients, such as oil and water, which would not otherwise blend well. Mono and diglycerides may contain trans fat.Trans fat is made to resemble saturated fat by adding hydrogen atoms to vegetable oil. The process is called hydrogenation.

Why it hurts your health

The American Heart Association provides advice to individuals who may be at risk of heart disease. At the top of their list of things to reduce intake of is fats. Of particular concern are saturated and trans fat. Mono and diglycerides often contain trans fats.The FDA states on their website,”There is evidence that ingestion of excesses of saturated fats and cholesterol promotes arteriosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.”

Studies

A 1994 study estimated that over 30,000 cardiac deaths per year in the United States are attributable to the consumption of trans fats.
A study published in Archives of Neurology in February 2003 suggested that the intake of both trans fats and saturated fats promote the development of Alzheimer disease.

Risks

Arteriosclerosis
Cardiovascular disease/Heart disease
Coronary Heart Disease
Alzheimer Disease

5) Aspartame

What it is

It is an artificial, non-saccaride sweetener used as a sugar substitute in some foods and beverages. (and every gum on the shelf) It consists of 2 isolated amino acids fused together by deadly methanol. Methanol bonds the two amino acids together, but when released at a mere 86 degrees Fahrenheit, the methanol becomes a poisonous free radical.

Why it hurts your health

Methanol breaks down into formic acid and formaldehyde, an embalming fluid. Methanol is a dangerous neurotoxin, a known carcinogen, causes retinal damage in the eye, interferes with DNA replication, and causes birth defects.
Aspartame changes the ratio of amino acids in the blood, blocking or lowering the levels of serotonin, tyrosine, dopamine, norepinephrine, and adrenaline. Therefore, it is typical that aspartame symptoms cannot be detected in lab tests and on x-rays.
There are over 92 different health side effects associated with aspartame consumption.

Studies

Individuals who drink diet soft drinks on a daily basis may be at increased risk of suffering vascular events such as stroke, heart attack, and vascular death.They found that those who drank diet soft drinks daily were 43 percent more likely to have suffered a vascular event than those who drank none. This is according to a new study by Hannah Gardener and her colleagues from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and at Columbia University Medical Center. The research appears online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine published by Springer.
In an 11-year study by scientists at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, a study followed 3,318 women for a number of years as they consumed diet soda containing artificial sweeteners like Aspartame. Two or more diet drinks daily, it was found, led to a doubled risk in fast-paced kidney decline.

Risks:

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Epstein-Barr
Post-Polio Syndrome
Lyme Disease
Grave’s Disease
Meniere’s Disease
Alzheimer’s Disease
ALS
Epilepsy
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
EMS
Stroke
Hypothyroidism
Mercury sensitivity from Amalgam fillings
Fibromyalgia
Lupus
Non-Hodgkins
Lymphoma
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
Brain tumors
Parkinson’s Disease
Mental retardation
Birth defects
Diabetes
Arthritis (including Rheumatoid)