Brain Damage From Food Additives

Food additives and their effect on health have been a subject of controversy for some time. Dr. Benjamin Feingold, then allergy chief at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in San Francisco, California, first expressed concerns about food additives in the 1960s. Some food additives, such as phenylalanine, have been implicated in brain damage.

About Food Additives

Food additives, as the name implies, are chemicals that are added to foods or to the food packaging. These chemicals may be used to improve appearance, increase shelf life or make a product more flavorful. There are hundreds of known additives, some natural and some synthesized. Ascorbic acid or vitamin C is used to help prevent loss of color. Caffeine is added to soft drinks. Monosodium glutamate, or MSG, is a flavor enhancer. Nitrates and nitrites are meat preservatives.

Phenylalanine

There are some definite links between certain food additives and brain damage. Phenylalanine is an amino acid. It occurs naturally, but it is also used as a food additive. Some babies are born without the ability to metabolize phenylalanine and can develop brain damage from the toxic build-up of this substance. Children who cannot metabolize phenylalanine must follow a restricted diet until adulthood as there is no cure for this condition, according to the BBC's Dr. Trisha Macnair.

Bisphenol-A

Bisphenol-A, or BPA, is a plasticizer added to food packaging. The Center for Science in the Public Interest notes that bisphenol-A has been found by the National Toxicology Program to harm the brains of developing fetuses, infants and children. The chemical may also disrupt behavior. A study published in the October 2008 journal “Environmental Research” found that BPA fed to mice affected the way the mice responded to new situations, explored their environments and reacted to reward tests.

Monosodium Glutamate

MSG or monosodium glutamate is an amino acid used to bring out flavor in foods. The Center for Science in the Public Interest reports that research in the 1960s found that when infant mice were fed large amounts of MSG, the chemical destroyed nerve cells in the brain. More recent research reported in the March 2010 journal “Brain Research” found that MSG given to newborn rats resulted in seizure-like behavior.

Considerations and Warnings

Food additives are numerous and each chemical can have a variety of effects in the human body. The Center for Science in the Public Interest has specific recommendations for chemicals to avoid, including a number of food colorings, aspartame, caramel coloring, sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite. If you have questions or concerns about food additives, consult a health care professional.