Have you ever wonder what’s really in that food you’re eating? I mean microscopically or chemically? A lot of news reporting that such ingredients can cause cancer and other life-threatening diseases but we still pretend to not know and eat it anyway. I don’t remember having been a victim of food poisoning (except that time when I cooked expired pancake flour for Mother’s Day) or finding gross things in my food when I eat out. I also stay away from street foods most of the time because I know people who got hepatitis A or ameobiasis because of those foods.

They say that ignorance is a bliss. But after reading this article, I couldn’t help but share and repost. I hope you’ll now think twice about that food you’re eating. I  know I did. I’m staying away from a lot of these foods from now on:

Flame Retardant–Laced Soda

The toxic flame retardant chemical brominated vegetable oil, or BVO, was initially  used to keep plastics from catching on fire. The food industry has been adding it to certain sodas, juices, and sports drinks, including Mountain Dew, Fanta Orange, Sunkist Pineapple, and some Gatorade and Powerade flavors. BVO’s purpose? To keep the artificial flavoring chemicals from separating from the rest of the liquids. Scientists have linked too much BVO to bromide poisoning symptoms like skin lesions, memory loss, and nerve disorders.

Paint Chemical in Salad Dressing

Titanium dioxide is a component of the metallic element titanium, a mined substance that is sometimes contaminated with toxic lead. Commonly used in paints and sunscreens, big food corporations add it to lots of things we eat, too, including processed salad dressing, coffee creamers, and icing.

 
Maggoty Mushrooms

The Food and Drug Administration legally allows 19 maggots and 74 mites in a 3.5-ounce can of mushrooms. While maggots do have their place in the medical world—they can help heal ulcers and other wounds—most people think it’s pretty gross to eat them! If you need another reason to ditch canned goods, consider this: Most are lined with bisphenol A, or BPA, a plastic chemical that causes unnatural hormonal changes linked to heart attacks, obesity, and certain cancers.

Cloned Cow’s Stomach

Traditionally, cheese makers used rennet derived from the mucosa of a veal calf’s fourth stomach to create the beloved, versatile dairy product. However the cost and the limited availability of calf stomachs have led to the development of several alternatives, including vegetable rennet, microbial rennet, and—the food industry’s rennet of choice—a genetically modified version derived from a cloned calf gene which is now found in most cheese sold in the US. The long-term health effects of eating genetically engineered foods has never been studied in humans. And since GMO ingredients aren’t listed on the label, it can be tough for consumers to avoid rennet from this source. It has been often listed simply as "enzymes" on an ingredient panel.

Flesh-Eating Bacteria

Grocery store meats are commonly infused with veterinary medicines, heavy  metals, and staph bacteria, including the hard-to-kill, potentially lethal MRSA strain. Researchers ID the overuse of antibiotics in industrial agriculture as a major cause in the rise of superbugs in our grocery store food. MRSA kills about 19,000 people a year in America—that’s more annual deaths than from AIDS in the U.S. Purchasing grass-fed meat and eggs from organic farmers is a more sustainable choice.

Herbicide-Flavored Food

Glyphosate, the active chemical ingredient in the popular weed killer, Roundup, is a  hormone-disrupting chemical now used primarily on corn and soy crops genetically engineered to withstand a heavy dousing of the chemical. It’s found in most nonorganic packaged foods. Glyphosate exposure is linked to obesity, learning disabilities, birth defects, infertility, and potentially irreversible metabolic damage. To avoid pesticides in products, eat organic and avoid processed foods as much as possible. And use caution—"all natural" foods often are chockfull of pesticides and genetically engineered ingredients.

Beaver Anal Gland Juice

It’s a bitter, smelly, orange-brown substance known as castoreum. "In nature, it’s combined with the beaver’s urine and used to mark its territory. It’s used extensively in processed food and beverages, typically as vanilla or raspberry flavoring. This gross ingredient won’t show up on the label. Instead, companies using it in making processed food list it as "natural flavoring."

 
Sex Hormones in Milk

Today’s cows produce double the amount of milk they did just 40 years ago, thanks largely to a genetically engineered, synthetic hormone called recombinant bovine somatotropin, or rBST. It could be in milk that’s not organic or not labeled as rBST free. Scientists link rBST to prostate, breast, and colon cancers. It’s banned in other countries, and although still legal here, many dairies are moving away from it due to consumer demand. Choose organic milk to ensure that the cows producing your milk are fed a diet free of antibiotics, hormones, and pesticides.

Shampoo Chemicals in Produce

Phthalates are plasticizing chemicals used in everything from pesticides and fragranced soaps and shampoos to nail polish and vinyl shower curtains. A 2010 study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives found phthalates are winding up in our food, too. The source could be direct exposure to pesticides containing the hormone-disrupting chemical. Or to another potential source, human sewage sludge applied as a fertilizer to farm fields. The sludge can be tainted with shampoo chemicals that wash down the drain—it all winds up at the water-treatment plant, the source of the sludge. (Note: Use of human sewage sludge is banned in organic farming.) Phthalate exposure, even in small amounts, has been linked to behavioral problems in children, allergies and asthma, eczema, and unhealthy changes in our hormonal systems.

Human Hair and Feathers

L-cysteine is a non-essential amino acid made from dissolved human hair (often from China) or duck feathers. It’s used as a commercial dough conditioner to improve the texture of breads and baked goods.

 
 
Crushed Bugs

Carmine, a bright red food colorant, is actually the crushed abdomen of the female Dactylopius coccus, an African beetle-like insect. Look for it in red candies and red-tinted yogurts and juices (particularly ruby red juices)—it’s often listed as carmine, crimson lake, cochineal, or natural red #4 on ingredient labels.

 

Ammonia-cleansed Beef

Factory-farm conditions are rife with bacteria. On top of that, processing plants mix meat from hundreds or thousands of different cows, potentially creating a public health hazard in the mix. To try to make the meat "safer," industry typically puts the beef through an ammonia gas bath. The USDA deems the gross process safe enough, and allows the meat to be sold without any indication that it received the gas treatment. (The process is banned in meats earning organic certification.) Look for organic, pasture-raised meats for a safer option. Often, you can buy these meats directly from local, sustainable farmers.

Brain-Frying Fake Food Dyes

Many artificial food dyes found in hundreds of everyday foods are made from petroleum-derived materials. Dyes are used in cereals and candy to make them more "fun" for kids, in pickles to make them appear fresher, and in place of actual real ingredients in a variety of foods. Example? Betty Crocker Carrot Cake Mix is actually a carrot-free product, with "carrot flavored pieces" cooked up from corn syrup and artificial colors Yellow 6 and Red 40. Orange and purple food dyes have been shown to impair brain function, while other dyes have been linked to ADHD and behavioral problems in kids and brain cell toxicity. (Tropicana Twister Cherry Berry Blast contains 0 percent berry and cherry juice, despite its name.)

Shrimp Coated in Cleaning Chemicals

Depending on where your shrimp comes from, it could be tainted with chemicals used to clean filthy shrimp farm pens. Just as gross, farmed shrimp from overseas is often full of antibiotics, mouse and rat hair, and pieces of insects. Only about 2 percent of all imported seafood is inspected, meaning this nasty stuff is making its way onto your plate. Contaminated shrimp tends to come from critters imported from overseas shrimp farms. If you’re looking for safer options, choose domestic shrimp.

Disease-Promoting Popcorn Bags

An industrial nonstick chemical that falls under the perfluorinated chemicals class is utilized in certain food packaging. These suspect chemicals are commonly used to coat the inside of popcorn bags to prevent sticking and grease leakage. The same chemicals are also in the nonstick coating of many pots, pans, and baking sheets. A study published in January 2012 in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that nonstick chemicals in popcorn bags significantly damage the immune system, opening the floodgates for a whole host of other health problems. Nonstick chemicals are also linked to high cholesterol, sperm damage and infertility, and ADHD. Popcorn—made the good old-fashioned way, in a pot on the stovetop—is still a great option.

Source: Rodale

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