Do You Know What You're Eating?

By Author: Carolyn Clayton
Total Articles: 497
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These days a lot of us are much more choosy about where our food comes from and whether it is good or bad for us and the environment. However, what you might not realise is that food from supermarkets, although it might not be 'fast food' is still not necessarily healthy. If you have ditched the burgers and fries for what you thought was healthier 'fresh food' then you may have to think again if you buy that food from a supermarket.

In her book, 'What's in this Stuff?', Patricia Thomas highlights how supermarket goods are a big source of pollutants in your home. This exposure to toxins can be linked to illnesses including cancer, allergies, respiratory problems and infertility. There are currently 70,000 chemicals in use, with 1000 new chemicals being introduced each year. Here are some of the top toxic issues to watch out for:

Malnourished meat
Here in the West, we eat, on average around 62kg of beef, chicken, fish and shellfish per year. If you're a meat eater then you are also consuming what the animal ate before it was slaughtered. This could be anything from processed feathers, chicken faeces and bone ...
... meal. All of these foods are permitted for intensively reared animals as they have a high protein content. The protein ensures that the animal grows to the correct weight quickly, but not necessarily healthily. Also, thrown into the mix are plastic pellets for roughage and industrial chemicals: antibiotics and growth promoting hormones with which intensively reared animals are fed.

Stressed animals
Animals are prone to stress just as we are. If they have to endure extremes in their environment ie, temperature, humidity, light, sound, cramped conditions then all these will cause stress. As well as having to consume toxins in their diet when an animal is in conditions that cause it extreme stress, then, like us, it has increased levels of stress related hormones in its system like adrenalin and cortisone. This results in meat that is colourless and overly liquid or sometimes dark and dry. The stress that intensively reared animals undergo causes their immunity to become weakened making them more likely to be fed antibiotics and other treatments. These, along with the toxins and pesticides end up being passed on to us.

Pesticides
As well as the additives that you find listed on packaging, modern processed foods also contain a number of unintentional contaminants, including pesticides. We are always being told to eat at least five servings of fruit and vegetables a day, yet if you eat conventionally grown produce, you may also be taking in a mixture of harmful pesticides, insecticides, herbicides and more. These have been linked to nerve damage, cancer and many other effects that can take a long time to show up. Although DDT and DDE, pesticides known to be dangerous, have been banned for many years, they remain in the soil and growing crops and rearing animals on land that had DDT in it even many years ago means that the poison is still getting into the food chain.

Packaging
A wide range of materials come into contact with food during its production, processing, packaging, storage and preparation. Most people are aware of how chemicals from packaging can get into foods and cause health problems ranging from cancer to neurological disorders and rashes. But even if your food is loose when you buy it, it may have been 'packaged' in some other way to make it more appealing for the supermarkets. Fruit, for example, is coated in waxes that can contain chemicals that trigger allergies and some waxes are known to have substances that can turn into harmful cancer inducing chemicals.

GM ingredients
Genetically modified foods have been linked to an increased incidence of allergies, cancers and toxins in the body, as well as resistance to antibiotics and the creation of superbugs. The issues are complicated but you should try to avoid GM tomato puree, soya and maize which have been approved for use in foods in the UK. Also be aware that many processed foods such as biscuits, cooking sauces and food coatings will include GM ingredients at a very low level if they use soya or maize as an ingredient. As labelling laws mean that some GM ingredients in flavourings and colourings do not need to be listed the best way to avoid GM produce entirely is to eat fresh, unpackaged food.

Additives
There are thousands of food additives approved for use in our foods, so you could be consuming a large amount of these artificial ingredients each year. Placed in foods to lengthen shelf life, additives are used that have natural flavours and colours so that the product looks fresh and natural. They are also used as sugar substitutes so when something is described as 'sugar free' it is almost always made entirely of artificial chemicals. Additives add little or no nutritional value to the food and at worst they can affect your health and well being. Watch out for sulphites, aspartame and MSG which can all cause reactions such as headaches, breathing difficulties and general weakness in some individuals.

Nano-additives
Foods containing nano-additives or 'atomically modified foods' are on our shelves even though research into the dangers has not been completed. No one knows how to regulate these technologies as they fall between pharmaceuticals, medical and biological areas of expertise. The concern is that due to their size - a million would fit onto a pin head - they defy physics and could interact with the body on entirely new levels. None of the current safety tests is designed to investigate the effects of this new technology and so no one can say for certain if they are safe for us to eat.

Lost nutrients
Fruit and vegetables should be high in essential vitamins and minerals but the majority of today's produce is grown in nutrient depleted soil, covered in pesticides, stored, sprayed with more chemicals, sold and stored again before being eaten. The practice of putting in the soil only certain minerals has changed the natural profile of our foods. Swedes, for example, now contain 100 per cent more of the phosphorous than they once did. Humans that eat this altered food may experience differences to the natural mineral profile of their own body tissue and bones which has health implications.

Long-haul food
The luxury of eating food that has come from the other side of the world has consequences in terms of the destruction of our natural environment and a failure to understand where food comes from. The number of food miles accumulated by many of the foods we take for granted is huge. A typical Sunday meal could have travelled 49,000 miles releasing 37kg of carbon dioxide and contributing to the problem of global warming. And it's not just children who have no idea of how, where or why their food is produced, few adults are in touch with how the overuse of palm oil in junk foods is killing off orang-utans in the destruction of the forests that are their natural habitat.

Labels
A big part of successful label reading is getting beyond the exaggerations. Remember that companies often use food labels and packaging as little adverts for their products so you should treat any content lists with caution and always examine the fine print. Watch out for blanket terms like 'pure' and 'natural' - 'pure' doesn't really say anything, while 'made with natural chicken', simply refers to a starting material, and doesn't account for all the processing that goes on after that. The same goes for 'made with wholegrains' (how much is often not stated) and 'enriched' which is usually a tip off that the food has so little goodness in it that they have had to put stuff back in to call it food.

Avoid the toxic trap

Getting back to good food is much easier than you might think. Here are a few tips:

Eat local
Locally produced food has an important role to play in keeping our bodies and communities healthy. Make use of farmer's markets and delivery schemes.

Eat organic
Organic foods contain significantly higher levels of vitamins and minerals and less nitrates. If you cannot afford organic food then wash non-organic vegetables well under running water, peel skins and trim fat from conventionally reared meat, where residues collect.

Eat really good food
Don't be fooled by clever marketing, good food should be authentic and delicious - does your food feel, taste and look good?

Eat the best quality you can afford
Avoid junk and frozen foods; even though they are convenient they contain little to no nutritional value and often contain artificial colours and additives.

Eat freshly prepared
Consider removing the microwave from your kitchen. Nutrients and protein are significantly altered after being micro-waved.

Eat natural
If it comes in a box, tub, jar or tray, or it is a colour you don't normally see in nature, think twice before putting it in your mouth.

Eat variety
This may limit your exposure to any one additive - safer in the event that it turns out to have long term health risks.

Eat seasonally
This will reduce your exposure to the antifungal and antibacterial chemicals commonly used to extend shelf life. It is also less expensive.

Further information: 'What's in This Stuff?: The Essential Guide to What's Really in the Products You Buy in the Supermarket', by Patricia Thomas, Rodale, 2006
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