Healthy eating is one of the most important ways we can help manage disease and heal health conditions when possible; incorporating healthy eating into our lifestyles can also lower the risk of chronic disease. To Make America Healthy Again, it is important to examine the foods on the shelves of our stores and take the time to ensure we are educated about the ingredients listed. If we have questions about what is listed on a food label, we need to know what those ingredients are. In the 1990s, using antioxidants for maintaining and reaching optimum health became popular. However, antioxidants have been around for many hundreds of years.
Antioxidants are used in food production to counteract the deterioration of stored food by inhibiting oxidation of that food. They can be naturally sourced or synthetically created in a laboratory. At the same time, including antioxidant-rich foods in our diets can reduce the risk of many diseases, such as heart disease or certain cancers. They help to combat free radicals. Today, more and more research has shown the benefits of a diet rich in antioxidants, and you can find foods on the shelves of our grocery stores that are advertised as being antioxidant-rich.
Antioxidants are plentiful in natural foods, from fruits and vegetables to nuts, whole grains such as healthy cereals, spices and herbs, and even cocoa. The antioxidant compounds in fruits, vegetables, and other plant-based foods are called flavonoids. Even dried fruits are an excellent source of antioxidants. Incorporating these natural antioxidant-rich foods into our diets is an added bonus: They are high in fiber, rich in vitamins and minerals, and low in fats and cholesterol.
Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, green tea, black tea, and coffee also contain antioxidants. However, adding milk to coffee or tea will block the antioxidants from being absorbed into your body. Red wines and beer, which come from a source of grains, also contain antioxidants and can be excellent sources of antioxidants when consumed in moderation. Vitamins, including C and E, and minerals, such as zinc and selenium, are also excellent sources of antioxidants.
Free radicals cause oxidative stress in the human body and contribute to aging and illness. Alzheimer's, rheumatoid arthritis, and cataracts are only a few of the health conditions and diseases shown to be linked to oxidative stress in the human body caused by free radicals. The free radical theory of aging, dating back to 1956, contends that as our bodies age, they become less able to fight the effects of free radicals. Normal aging occurs, but degenerative processes develop as our cells become damaged. Antioxidants, when incorporated into our diets, can manage those free radicals, which can lower the potential for disease and the effects of aging, such as the damage to our skin that causes wrinkles.
Hyaluronic acid has become more widely used in skin care products because it protects skin from free radicals and oxidative stress. Products containing this ingredient have many benefits. Wound healing properties, reducing inflammation, and skin hydration are only a few. While technically not an antioxidant, studies have shown it may have antioxidant properties.
It is important to be aware of the ingredients of any food product on the shelves of our grocery stores. Looking at a list of ingredients and seeing one of the items listed as an antioxidant makes the consumer feel better about buying that product. With the health benefits of antioxidants, it is more reassuring to the buyer that the food product they are purchasing will be healthy to incorporate into their diets.
Regarding our diets, we should know the benefits and risks of any ingredient listed on a food label that infers health benefits. Besides listing the ingredients' names, food labels also list calcium, vitamins, minerals, and, in some cases, antioxidants. When people understand the need for vitamins and minerals, calcium, and antioxidants in their foods and see those much-needed items on the labels of products on our grocery store shelves, they believe those foods are healthy.
However, sometimes, those labels can be misleading. When a label lists an ingredient as an antioxidant, it is natural to believe that food will benefit our bodies and health. However, that is not always the case. One such ingredient in many food products is Tertiary-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ). The use of TBHQ has become more widely popular with food manufacturers in recent years. Everything from Cheez-Its to prepackaged snacks, prepared frozen foods, infant formulas, toddler foods and even some soy milk can contain TBHQ.
Crisco food label
TBHQ is one of several synthetic antioxidants, including BHT, BHA, and other phenolic synthetic antioxidants, used in animal feeds and is touted as the best preservative for cooking oils. However, the antioxidative effect is much better if used with citric or ascorbic acid.
Food manufacturers' justification for using TBHQ is that it is more effective at keeping food products from becoming rancid and is an effective protectant and preservative for processed foods. However, it has been shown to have serious side effects and health risks, including damage to DNA and the immune system and the development of allergies and asthma. Links to stomach tumors, liver enlargement, and neurological issues, such as paralysis, have been shown, and in high amounts of ingestion of TBHQ, human cells can become resistant to chemotherapy.
Since the FDA approved TBHQ in 1972, food allergies have been on the rise, especially in children. It negatively affects the body's T-cells, which fight infection, promoting allergies to everything from eggs to nuts. Suppose parents become educated about food additives that are nutritionally necessary for their children. In that case, they can work toward providing their kids with the healthiest foods, reducing the risk of food allergies, and eliminating any other adverse effects.
TBHQ is also listed as GRAS, which means it is allowed as long as food manufacturers keep the amount under 0.02% of the product's total oil and fat content. The problem with the numbers the FDA uses for food additives is that the effect those additives will have on the human body is highly dependent on each individual's diet. So, while the FDA claims TBHQ to be safe in minute amounts, it allows food manufacturers to use it in our food supply. Maybe we should be asking whether the risk is worth using the additive in the first place. It seems logical that any food containing any ingredient with hidden health risks be removed from our food supply and should be examined more closely for health risks.
One thing that is not widely advertised and that the food industry does not consider is that there are antioxidants that come from natural sources. Tocopherols and ascorbic acid are two examples of naturally based antioxidants that can be used in cooking oils, shortenings, and many food products that currently use additives such as TBHQ.
The infiltration of additives into our food supply has contributed to an increase in health conditions, from neurological issues to tumors to food allergies. It may seem monumental to try and cut out all additives from our diets, primarily when the agencies there to protect our health fall short of that goal. It is only through proper education from our doctors on using whole, natural foods in our diets and becoming educated about the ingredients in the foods on our grocery store shelves that any real change will come about for each individual's best health possible.
A diet high in natural, whole foods is the best for our health and will also ensure that we get the vitamins, minerals, nutrients, and antioxidants our bodies need. It is the best way to Make America Healthy Again.
