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Although you do not literally become what you eat, what you eat still affects you in all sorts of interesting, and sometimes disgusting, ways. Most of us never consider what goes into the foods that we consume—never giving it a second thought. Nonetheless, the treatment food receives, sometimes long before we consume it, can have profound effects not only on us, but possibly the generations after us, as well.

 

Toxins build up in the human body from the time of conception. While toxins are washed out of the body in various ways, once you hit the boiling point, things start cooking (if you’ll excuse the terrible double-pun).

 

How do toxins enter the body via food? Well, the toxins that we should be concerned about are the ones which are added by cooks, manufacturers, or other members of the food industry. For example, lemon juice is considered to be a great way to garnish fish. However, to cut costs and make everything more convenient, chefs have started to use 2-methyl-3-(pisopropylphenyl)-propionaldehyde instead of lemon juice. The human body has become a dump for chemicals as various things are added to our food (usually for shelf-life or appearance).

 

Sulfur helps keep dried fruit fresh. Frozen vegetables are disinfected with the same substance that is used to retard the decomposition of corpses. Sodium nitrate is used to keep meat looking red when it would have begun to show signs of decay (sodium nitrate converts to nitrous acid after entering the human stomach and may incite stomach cancer). Chicken feed contains arsenic to stimulate growth, increase egg-laying, and give the chicken a yellowed skin. Aluminum compounds are added to several items (including table salt, baking powder, and aspirin), and can enter food and water through cookware, soda cans, and aluminum foil. Aluminum is, incidentally, probably a contributing factor to Alzheimer’s disease.

 

Potatoes are coated with maleic hydrazide, which has caused cancer in lab animals, to prevent them (the potatoes, not the animals) from sprouting. Even ice cream contains propylene glycol, which is also used in paint remover, and even antifreeze. Carboxymethylcellulose has caused tumors in injected lab rats (the FDA claims that, when taken orally, it has caused no problems in lab animals) and is used in ice cream, salad dressing, and chocolate milk.

 

Bottled fruit juice has been contaminated with brominated oils (which cause changes in heart tissue, enlargement of the thyroid, kidney damage, and more) to make it look fresh even when it’s been stored for 6 months.

 

Now, chemicals are tested before being used. However, for a variety of reasons (including unreliable testing methods, lack of qualified technicians, and expensive analysis equipment), many borderline-damaging chemicals are used in foods without proper testing. Thus, many foods, because of their chemical “enhancement,” are quite dangerous to the human body. If you want to look up all the additives that have been approved, the FDA has categorized them under these headings: anti-caking agents, chemical preservatives, emulsifying agents, nutrients & supplements, sequestrants, stabilizers, synthetic flavorings, and even a “miscellaneous” category.

 

I have named some of the effects that these chemicals can have on a normal human body (and I didn’t name very many of the chemicals out there which could have terrible problems associated with them). Even this assumes, however, that a mature human body—which can fight toxins to some degree—is processing these chemicals. A fetus has very little protection from toxins. Considering that one side effect of some of these chemicals is genetic mutation, who can say what the effect from these preservatives and additives will be on the next generation, or the one after that?

 

Briefly, what can you do to deal with this problem? When you stop continuing the build-up of toxins in the body, you allow the toxins already present to clear out—leaving behind a far healthier and stronger body. In other words, avoid foods that contain preservatives or dyes and try to eat more natural foods. The human body was fearfully and wonderfully made, hence it can fight toxins for a long, long time before succumbing. However, good stewardship of the bodies God gave us would mandate that we care for them and keep them, not at the minimal level of health, but at the highest level of health that we can achieve.

 

If I have whetted your appetite for the subject of food additives and preservatives, you might want to pursue this matter further by your own research.  Bon appetit!

 

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You Become What You Eat