It’s extremely difficult these days to avoid food additives. Anything produced commercially is likely to have them, including preservatives.

Preservatives are added to inhibit spoilage or preserve color. This makes the food last longer in storage, on the shelf, and at home. Preservative free foods don’t last as long and must be discarded sooner. While on the surface, this sounds like a good thing to have in your food the preservatives that keep food from spoiling are being put into your body when you eat the food. Some of these preservatives have proved to be dangerous yet instead of being forbidden, they are merely limited.

BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) was found to cause cancer in laboratory animals when dosed at high rates. Related to BHA is BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene). The jury is still out on this because it’s assumed humans cannot consume the high amount of BHA necessary to develop cancer. Bear in mind, it’s still in your foods such as oils, cereals, and other foods. You have to decide if it’s worth the risk to consume foods that contain BHA.

Sulfites have been show to cause severe reactions in asthmatic persons besides stripping food of its nutrients. Some people may have milder reactions and not seek medical help because they don’t associate it with the food they’ve eaten. Sulfites can be found under various names.

  • sulfur dioxide
  • sodium sulfite
  • sodium and potassium bisulfite
  • sodium and potassium metabisulfite

Symptoms of sulfite sensitivity can range from difficulty breathing to stomachache and hives to anaphylactic shock. Read the package labels of foods you buy to try to avoid this additive!

The information I gave you is from an FDA publication. Because the FDA is known to be slow in revising regulations and outlawing things that are bad for us, it’s our responsibility to avoid them if at all possible and maintain our own health guidelines.

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