Look for the ‘ingredients’ section listed on bottled & packaged foods:

  • Sugar, Sucrose, Corn Syrup, especially high fructose corn syrup.
  • Artificial Sweeteners–such as Nutra-Sweet (aspartame), &  Splenda.
  • Artificial Colors– food coloring dyes (red, yellow, green, blue) are produced from petro-chemical coal tar.  Associated with behavior problems in children in many studies.
  • Refined Flour–that’s flour without the word ‘whole’ in front of it (like whole wheat, whole oats).  Most ‘flour’ foods are made with refined white flour, which is then also bleached!
  • Partially Hydrogenated Oils–these are dangerous trans-fats like margarine, which contains them.  Margarine’s hydrogenated fats are a source of free-radical damage, a cause of many chronic disorders including heart attacks and circulatory disease.
  • Cottonseed oil and Canola oil are NOT derived from food plants. Cotton is one of the heaviest pesticide treated plants.  Pesticides are fat soluble so they concentrate in the plant’s seed oil. Canola oil, derived from the non-edible toxic rapeseed plant, while rich in omega-3 fats, has been challenged in recent safety studies.
  • Chemical preservatives like BHT, TBHQ, sodium nitrate (found in many processed meats like hotdogs and deli meats), sodium benzoate (can form benzene when mixed with acidic foods like fruit salad. Benzene is a potent cause of liver cancer), potassium sorbate, sodium or potassium metabisulfite.
  • Monosodium glutamate or MSG (the seasoning named ‘Accent’ is MSG) is heavily used in commercial Chinese food and in many snack and packaged foods as a flavor enhancer. Some occurs naturally in some foods. It is dangerous as an additive as it destroys nerve cells & is added to, and hidden in, lots of foods under many different names.  Try a Google search ‘names for MSG’.
  • European ‘E’ numbers–most should be avoided.
  • Caffeine found in coffee, teas, colas, cocoa, chocolate, and are especially high in energy drinks like 5-Hour Energy and Red Bull.  For children, be careful not to overuse caffeine sources like cocoa, tea, and chocolate.