Food additives and America's health problems
In eighteen months I have dropped 25 pounds (down to my healthy driver's license weight) by eliminating all soft drinks, fast food, avoiding food with chemical additives, eating more fruits and vegetables, and eating organic and home-grown whenever possible. I only drink water, coffee, tea, wine, beer and fruit I juiced. I also take a nutritional supplement. So basically I switched from a typical American diet to a very non-standard diet. My new diet also seems to have corrected various health issues. As a result, I have concluded that we have a problem with our nation's food supply.
Think about it. The US population exhibits an obvious pattern of illness. Take a look at the obesity charts below, a general indication of the state of our nation's health. The trend is disturbing...
US obesity chart from CDC website

Today we are seeing massive government interference in health care. But our national health crisis is only a symptom of the real problem. My own experience indicates the cause of the national health crisis is the poor state of our food supply. Ironically, it's the government's own regulations that have allowed the food supply to become tainted (FDA and USDA guidelines allowing chemical agents) and lack nutrition (misguided farm bills subsidizing unhealthy large-scale commercial farming). Isn't it funny that they now meddle in the national health crisis they helped create?
Preserving food
- pickling in brine or vinegar
- smoking
- curing
- salting
- sugaring
- fermenting
- canning
- refrigerating
- freezing
- drying-dehydrating
- freeze-drying
- vacuum-packing
- packing in alcohol or syrup
- etc.
Yet food manufacturers insist upon adding chemical preservatives. But I wonder, if those chemicals prevent food from breaking down, can your body then break down that food? Sometimes manufacturers actually add chemicals to foods that are already preserved. Why do we need to add chemicals to canned soup when the canning process already preserves the soup? Why add chemicals to dried foods when the drying process preserves the food? Why add chemical preservatives to food that is then frozen? Doesn't this raise the cost of manufacturing the food unnecessarily? And how many chemicals have been used in the past only to be deemed unsafe later on? Why take a chance? Why not use safe, effective traditional food preservation methods?
Check out these Chemical Food Preservatives that are commonly used today. Are they safe to eat?
- Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)
- Calcium benzoate
- Calcium propionate
- Calcium tartrate
- Dimethyl dicarbonate (DMDC)
- Dthylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)
- Ethyl para-hydroxybenzoate
- Glycolic acid
- Hydroxyacetic acid
- Natamycin
- Nisin
- Paraben
- 2-Phenylphenol
- Potassium benzoate
- Potassium nitrate
- Potassium sorbate
- Sodium benzoate
- Sulfur dioxide
- Thiabendazole
Coloring food
Here is a small sample of Natural Food Coloring items.
- Tumeric (yellow)
- Beets (red)
- Paprika (red)
- Elderberry (blue, black)
- Betanin (various)
- Algae (green)
The following synthetic Food Coloring Agents do not appear in nature, but are commonly used in the US. However these and other chemical agents used in the past are not even permitted in some countries around the world.
- Blue No. 1
- Yellow No. 5
- Red No. 40
Sweetening food
- Cane sugar
- Fruit juices
- Carrot juice
- Sugar beets
- Honey
- Maple syrup
- Sprouted wheat
- Stevia
Some artificial sweeteners used in the US have since been banned, such as Cyclamate. Yet some food manufacturers insist upon using Artificial Chemical Sweeteners like the following. Are they positive these chemicals are not harmful to us? Why take a chance when real food alternatives can be used instead?
- Aspartame (also known as Equal or Nutrasweet)
- Saccharin (also known as Sweet 'n' Low)
- Sucralose (also known as Splenda)
Mixing chemicals
The government
The future
Eating more safely
- Buy local whenever possible.
- Buy only dairy or meat products derived from organic, free-range animals.
- Avoid fast food.
- Read the ingredients on the labels.
- Throw out and don't buy foods with unsafe chemicals.
- Start a backyard vegetable or fruit garden.
- Build a greenhouse and grow year-round.
- Bake using sprouted wheat flour.
- Eat sprouts that you grow from organic seeds.
- Grow your own wheatgrass and then juice or dehydrate it.
- Share your food knowledge with others.
- Support small farms in your state.
- Support small organic, eco-friendly food producers.
- Boycott food companies that unnecessarily add chemicals to food.
- Demand full ingredient disclosure in commercially-produced foods.
- Demand politicians safeguard your interests instead of lobbyists' clientele.
Final word
Copyright © 2009 Alan Basche
All rights reserved.
Any trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.
Chemicals additives and health issues poll
Reader Feedback
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Reply
- Amy N. Amy N. Sep 13, 2009 @ 7:58 am
- I agree and would add that if the market (you and I) decides not to buy their processed, non-healthful products and millions of other people choose the same, they won't be selling their products. Then the market will have the chance to correct what is so wrong. If they can't sell, they will have to change the products they offer if they want to stay in business. In the meantime, other opportunities will arise for the local, small farmer and for each of us to do our part too.
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Reply
- Tim Peterson Tim Peterson Aug 10, 2009 @ 9:53 pm
- I agree with most all of what you are saying but I still don't want to use the heavy hand of government to try to fix anything. I'd like to see us do away with the FDA which gives consumers a false sense of security. I know the market will correct most of this if the government simply steps out of the way.





