Many foods in the American diet are processed with chemical preservatives before they are sold to consumers. Some preservatives keep food free from bacteria. Others interrupt the natural ripening and aging process that causes food to to change color and begin to decompose. Chemical preservatives also slow down the interaction between foods and oxygen, a process that causes food products to spoil. Despite those benefits, chemical food preservatives have also been linked to serious health problems that science is striving to fully understand.
Cancer
Nitrates and nitrites keep processed meats such as bacon, hot dogs and bologna looking fresh and pink. They also slow the growth of bacteria. However, when nitrates and nitrites are exposed to high temperatures during cooking, or high levels of acidity during digestion, they form nitrosamines, chemical compounds that have been linked to stomach, liver and pancreatic cancers. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency acknowledges research that ties nitrosamines to cancer, brain tumors and leukemia. However, the EPA accepts other studies that refute those findings, and the agency describes the link between nitrosamines and cancer as inconclusive. Still, the existing evidence and new research on elevated rates of bowel cancer led the London-based World Cancer Research Fund to recommend that people avoid processed meats as part of an overall cancer-prevention strategy.
Hyperactivity and Hormone Problems
Butylated hydroxyanisole and butylated hydroxytoluene, more commonly known as BHA and BHT, are antioxidants used to preserve many types of processed foods such as breakfast cereals, salad dressings, crackers and candies. BHA and BHT inhibit oil and fats from reacting with oxygen, a process that causes rancidity and spoils food products. During the 1970s, Dr. Benjamin Feingold included BHT and BHA in a list of food additives believed to cause hyperactivity in children. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has listed BHA as a possible cancer-causing compound, and the European Commission on Endocrine Disruption has raised concerns about its interference with hormone function. Britain and other countries have banned BHT in the wake of studies that have linked it to cancer.
Allergies and Asthma
Sulfites are a family of chemical preservatives that prevent bacteria from forming on dried fruits, juices, meats and wines. Sulfites also keep dried fruits and vegetables from turning brown. Health Canada lists sulfites among the nine most common food products that cause allergic reactions. Symptoms can range from hives, headaches and congestion to vomiting, a rapid heart beat and a swollen throat that blocks airways. People who suffer from asthma are prone to allergic reactions to sulfites. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has banned the use of sulfites on fresh produce.
Diabetes, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases
In 2009, a team of researchers at Rhode Island Hospital linked nitrates in the environment and those used as food preservatives with a rise in death rates among people suffering with diabetes and Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Dr. Suzanne de la Monte, a pathology professor at Brown University's medical school, led the study and found nitrosamines, the compounds formed when nitrites and nitrates are exposed to heat and acid, cause the same type of changes and damage to DNA caused by aging, diabetes, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. The spike in death rates among people with these diseases mirrors the increased use of nitrates and nitrites in foods as well as in fertilizers and makeup. That evidence led researchers to conclude the jump in cases of these diseases is caused by exposure to nitrates and nitrites instead of genetics.
References
- Sustainable Table: Additives
- Environmnetal Protection Agency: Nitrates and Nitrites
- World Cancer Research Fund: Red and Processed Meat
- Sulfite Allergy: Sulfite Allergy Symptoms
- Science Daily; Nitrates May Be Environmental Trigger For Alzheimer's, Diabetes And Parkinson's Disease
- David Suzuki: BHA and BHT
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