|
Do
Certain Food Additives Cause An Allergic Reaction
Although there is a lot of controversy
about how food additives cause allergic reactions in people, for the
most part they are completely safe. Additives and food have been used
for a long time, and many of the most popular foods that you and me eat
everyday contain at least a few of these ingredients.
I had a friend who was really concerned about food additives a few
years ago, and she panicked me a little bit about it as her daughter
had a food allergy. She really got me worrying. She told me that you
never knew what a food additive would do to you. She believes that they
weren't sufficiently studied.
When I looked into the matter, however, I found that there was not that
much grounds for concern. Many of the most common food ingredients, in
fact, are additives. It always pays to be careful, but don't get
alarmed yet!
Basically, anything that is not naturally a part of a food is
considered a food additive. Food coloring additives are some of the
most common ones. Anything that contains artificial coloring, for
example, is in this category. Although certain artificial colors have
been shown to occasionally contribute bad health effects, most of the
time those have been promptly removed from the food supply.
Artificial flavors, similarly, are extremely common food additives. If
you enjoy candy, bubblegum, chips, soda, or any other of the so-called
junk foods, chances are that you are having some artificial flavors.
Even some health foods contain artificial flavoring. It really isn't
anything to worry about too much.
The most important food additives are preservatives. Before modern food
manufacturing, there were some natural substances used to preserve
food. One of my friends always laughs whenever she sees salt and
vinegar chips with the label “no preservatives”. Both salt and vinegar
are actually effective food preservatives.
Salting fish and meat, as a matter of fact, is one of the oldest
techniques to preserve it. When sailors were soldiers were going on
long journeys, they would take salted food along so that it would last
them for months.
Some food additives are added to preserve the consistency of the
product or to give a certain feel or texture. For example, peanut
butter generally contains partially hydrogenated oils. This is the only
way to keep it from separating. Although too many partially
hydrogenated oils are not very good for you, having a little bit in
your peanut butter isn't going to hurt much unless of course you have
an allergic reaction to this particular ingredient.
This
information is
not presented by a medical practitioner and is for educational and
informational purposes only
|
