They're in there on that list of 150 ingredients on the bag of chips
you're holding, lurking, around, just waiting to damage your health!
The signs are subtle, but if you look closely enough, you'll see them. Trying to hide about halfway down on the label "partially hydrogenated" this or an "artificial" that.
However these simple and seemingly innocuous ingredients do pose a risk to your health and well being.
Criminal Intent: Like
most crimes, this one started out innocently enough. For decades, we
have craved faster, easier and simpler foods, and in many cases, these
fugitives filled the bill. Some were introduced as preservatives to
extend a food's shelf life, others to make it a more desirable colour.
But the greatest irony was when these "criminals" crept into foods, ostensibly to make them healthier, lower in calories and fat. Only later did we learn that nothing could be further from the truth. And now, the villians are everywhere.
Be A Crime-Stopper: But just because these food fugitives are running rampant, that's no reason to give up hope. We've assembled a crack team of detectives to hunt down the eight most unwanted foods and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. And now these investigators are sharing their crime-stopping tips with you.
High Fructose Corn Syrup
You'll find it in just about every processed food but most notoriously fizzy drinks, sweetened cereals, yogurt, biscuits and ketchup.
It can even hide in secret hideouts, such as foods that aren't sweet, such as breads, crackers, crisps, spreads and dressings.
Crimes Against Humanity:
HFCS's NO.1 crime is its sheer pervasiveness: According to
the April 2004 issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 20%
of our carbohydrates and 10% of our total calories come from com syrup
alone.
But beyond that, many experts believe it's guilty of even
more serious travesties. "HFCS can increase fat gain because it's more
readily converted to fat in the body and doesn't trigger the normal
cues that tell us to stop eating," says Senior Science Editor Jim
Stoppani, "This leads to overeating."
Sneakiest of all, HFCS has the ability to blend in, conform to its surroundings and evade capture.
"What makes it a bad actor is that it's added sugar by another name, which means it's disguised," says David L. Katz, author of The Way to Eat (Sourcebooks, 2004). "Many ingredient lists include sugar multiple times, but each time by a different name: sugar, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup.
The deception is what makes it especially bad."
Crime-Stopper Tips:
"In every food category, there
are alternatives free of HFCS, and these tend to be lower in sugar
content and less processed overall," Katz says. So instead of fruit
juices, eat whole fruit.
Instead of white bread, choose natural whole
grains. And opt for olive oil and vinegar instead of bottled salad
dressings.
Artificial Colourings
They're in about every coloured food item you can imagine. And no, those jelly beans aren't pink and green and blue because of the amount of fruit in them. Artificial colouring is the culprit, and it lurks in most sweet foods that you may consume every day. Its secret hideouts include fizzy drinks, colas, fruit juices, jams and preserves and even some processed package meals.
Crimes Against Humanity:
Not serious, but best to
avoid them nonetheless. Some evidence shows that EI33 (Bril¬liant blue)
may be a mild carcinogen, EI27 (Erythrosine - a red dye) may be linked
to thyroid tumours and Eno (Sunset yellow) can cause allergic reactions.
Actually,
their worst crimes are against children. In a study published in the
June 2004 issue of Archives of Disease in Childhood, children had
"significantly greater increases in hyperactive behaviour" when given
an active drink containing these food additives.
Crime-Stopper Tips:
Avoid artificially coloured drinks and sweets.
Artificial Sweeteners
Anything that's sweet and says "sugar free", like diet drinks, gum
and sweets contains this culprit. Artificial sweeteners appear in a lot
more items than we think, and they are not shy in adding huge amounts
either.
Crimes Against Humanity:
Fraud at least in the sense that artificial sweeteners trick you into thinking all sweet things are okay. "Some recent animal studies suggest that unbundling sweet taste from calories can interfere with the systems we use to gauge calorific intake; in other words, animals that drink artificially sweetened beverages get fat," Katz explains.
"I think intense artificial sweeteners propagate a sweet tooth that
damages the overall dietary pattern in a number of ways."
Crime-Stopper Tips:
''Avoid fizzy drinks altogether," recommends Katz. "Drink water, soda water, mineral water, soda water with fruit essence and teas."
Butylate Hydroxyanisole (BHA)
You may not have heard about this additive but it is inside many foods that you may have in your cupboard. Snack foods, baked goods and sweets are offenders in these horrific crimes. Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) is also contained in meats, butter, nuts and dry mixes, so you better be careful when consuming this culprit.
Crimes Against Humanity:
Other than being hard to say (and even harder to spell), not many. Butylated hydroxyanisole, which is used to retard rancity in fat-and oil-containing foods, may have been wrongly convicted.
Though some studies suggest it has cancer-causing properties in high doses, "It's my opinion that the concentrations of BHA nowadays used in food, drugs and cosmetics are probably harmless." says Jon Chipko.
Crime-Stopper Tips: Stick to fresh, unprocessed fruits, vegetables and meats.
Monosodium Glutamate
This culprit likes to hide out in Chinese food and soy sauces (hence the early phrase "Chinese restaurant syndrome"). Monosodium Glutemate is also contained in commercial soup stock, bouillon cubes, and tinned, processed and frozen meats.
Crimes Against Humanity:
MSG's biggest crime is that is inspires you to commit further misdeeds. "Used widely as a flavour enhancer, MSG adds two flavours - salty, from the sodium, and umani whcih is a meaty/savoury taste sensation, from the glutamate." says David Katz. "We get way too much sodium as it is, and the flavour variety stimulates appetite and weight gain."
Besides making you pig out, MSG has also been attributed to a laundry list of health risks, most notably bloating, fatigue, headaches, nausea and vomiting and other assorted unpleasant afflictions.
Crime-Stopper Tips:
Stick to foods with short ingredient lists. And "stimulate the taste buds with natrual herbs and spices." adds Jon Chipko.
Parabens
This nasty culprit likes to hide out in soap, toothpaste, haircare products, deodorants and lotions. Its secret hideout is in marinated fish products, salad dressings and processed vegetables.
Crimes Against Humanity:
This group of chemicals (used as preservatives) has an effect similar to oesrogen in the body, which can lead to higher fat and lower muscle mass.
There's another risk women should be aware of: "In a study, chemists examined tumour tissues from 20 women with breast cancer.
Traces of parabens were found in 18 of the samples, though no cause and effect relationship was established," says Chipko.
Crime-Stopper Tips:
Look for the ingredients that end with "paraben" (methylparaben, propylparaben, ethylparaben, butylparaben, benzylparaben) and avoid them if possible.
Refined Grains
Its top hide-aways are white bread, white rice, pasta and other noodles, crisps, crackers and some breakfast cereals. It also likes to secretly hide in brown bread, which is often made with white flour and coloured brown, as well as coucous. Now, think about this to catch this culprit; what do all these products have in common? They all contain refined grains of course!
Crimes Against Humanity:
The jury is still out on refined grains as far as body-builders are concerned. "They're the nest postworkout carb source because you want an insulin spike to occur after training to drive glucose and aminos into muscle to stimulate protein synthesis," says Jim Stoppani.
Adds Chis Aceto: "The downside is they tend to have fewer vitamins, minerals and fibre than their whole-grain counterparts.
Plus, they can cause surges in blood-sugar and insulin levels at times other than after exercise, when you don't want the spike. this not only increases the appetite but also leads to icnreased formation of fat-stroying enzymes.
And consider this irrefutable evidence: the US 2005 Dietary Guidlines suggest that half our grain servings be whole grains. Most of us don't meet these recommendations."
Crime-Stopper Tips:
In addition to choosing fresh fruits and vegetables as carbohydrates sources, here is another trick for cracking the code: go for products which have the word "whole" on product labels.
Trans Fats
It likes to hide in all the foods that we love to eat; biscuits, crackers, cake mix, cake icing and commercially fried foods such as doughnuts, chips and onion rings. However, this tricky culprit also likes to trick us and hide in low-fat foods, such as dried soups, hard margarines, coffee whiteners, and fried fish and shrimps. Now what is this crafty additive? It is trans fats, one of the worst additives that you can possibly consume.
Crimes Against Humanity:
With trans fats, it's more a case of "crimes against nature". "Trans fat is often referred to by nutrition experts as 'Frankenfat' because it's something of a chemistry experiment gone bad," says Katz. "Trans fat has desirable commercial properties - long shelf-life, high melting points - but very harmful health effects. It increases inflammation, damages blood vessels and raises cholesterol."
Trans fats may also interfere with muscle growth and increase muscle breakdown.
Yet trans fat's crimes may be even more serious. "Trans fats
acturally cause you to store fat and increase inflammation," says Jon
Chipko, founder of BodyGoals, a sports-performance centre in New
Jersey. "A new study linked trans fats not only to heart disease but
also to certain cancers."
Crime-Stopper Tips:
This fugitive is one of the easiest to bust: "Look for 'partially hydrogenated oil' on the ingredient list," advises Katz. "If you see it, step away from the box and nobody will get hurt."
