Here’s How You Need To Read The Food Labels (And What They Actually Mean)

Commercially manufactured food products are bursting with additives that make it more palatable, attractive and ensure long lasting freshness. However, regular intake of these additive-filled foods is known to cause cancer, auto-immune diseases, heart diseases, asthma, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, brain damage, digestive distress, irritability and early signs of ageing among young and old alike.

It is essential to look out for the following additions to the ‘ingredients’ list while buying your packed foods.

1. Sugar Substitutes /Sweeteners

• Saccharin: Carcinogen found to cause bladder cancer in rats.
• Aspartame: An excitotoxin and thought to be a carcinogen. Can cause dizziness, headaches, blurred vision and stomach problems.
• High fructose corn syrup: Sweetener made from corn starch. Made from genetically modified corn. Causes obesity, diabetes, heart problems, arthritis and insulin resistance.
• Acesulfame potassium: Used with other artificial sweeteners in diet sodas and ice cream. Linked to lung and breast tumours in rats.
• Sucralose: Splenda. Can cause swelling of the liver and kidneys and a shrinkage of the thymus gland.
• Agave nectar: Sweetener derived from a cactus. Contains high levels of fructose, which causes insulin resistance, liver disease and inflammation of body tissues.
• Bleached starch: This can be used in many dairy products. Thought to be related to asthma and skin irritations.
• Tert butyl hydroquinone: Used to preserve fish products. Could cause stomach tumours at high doses.
• Other Natural & Artificial sweeteners like Alitame (E956), Aspartame – Acesulfme salt (E962), Cyclamate (E952), Glycerol (E422), Maltitol (E965), Xylitol (E967), Mannitol (E421), Neohesperidin (E959), Neotame (E961) and Sorbitol (E420).

These sweeteners are commonly found in diet or sugar-free sodas, diet coke, coke zero, jello (and over gelatins), desserts, sugar-free gum, drink mixes, baking goods, tabletop sweeteners, cereal, breath mints, pudding, kool-aid, ice tea, chewable vitamins, toothpaste, bread, candy, flavoured yoghurts, salad dressings, canned vegetables, cereals and most processed foods.