Dec. 23, 2008
The Truth About 7 Common Food Additives
How Safe Are The Ingredients In Your Food?
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A new labeling law will make it easier to find out where fresh meats, fruits and veggies come from.
Over the years, the safety of many food additives, from food dyes to trans fats, has come into question. A scare over a food additive may linger in our minds long after researchers find that there's actually no cause for alarm. It can take years, or even decades, to find out the truth, and sometimes the case is never really closed.
To help you figure out what's safe, WebMD took a look at the latest research on seven of the most controversial food additives. Here's what we found:
1. Artificial coloring
What it is
Artificial food colors are chemical dyes used to color food and drinks.
Foods that have it
Many types of processed foods, beverages, and condiments have artificial coloring in them.
Why it's controversial
Artificial food color is suspected of causing increased hyperactivity in children. Also, the dye Yellow No. 5 has been thought to worsen asthma symptoms. (In the 1970s, the FDA famously banned Red Dye No. 2 after some studies found that large doses could cause cancer in rats.)
What the research shows
In 2007, a British study published in The Lancet concluded that consuming artificial coloring and preservatives in food can increase hyperactivity in kids. Scientists have been studying the link between food additives and hyperactivity in children for more than 30 years, with mixed results. But the results of the 2007 study compelled the European Food Standards Agency to urge companies to voluntarily remove artificial coloring from food products. The FDA, however, hasn't changed its opinion on the use of FDA-approved artificial food colors, which it considers safe when used properly.
Reports suggesting that the food color Yellow No. 5 might aggravate some people's asthma symptoms date back to the 1950s. But in most controlled studies, Yellow No. 5 has not been shown to have a significant impact on asthma, according to a review of all known studies, which is updated every year.
How you find it on the label
The following artificial colors are approved for use in food products and must be listed as ingredients on labels:
2. High fructose corn syrup
What it is
High fructose corn syrup is a sweetener made from corn. It's sweeter and cheaper than sucrose, which is the form of sugar made from sugar cane.
Foods that have it
High fructose corn syrup is a common additive in many kinds of processed foods, not just sweets. Most non-diet soft drinks are sweetened with high fructose corn syrup.
Why it's controversial
Some experts have proposed that people metabolize high fructose corn syrup in a way that raises the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes more than sugar made from sugar cane. Much of the controversy stems from the observation that obesity in the United States and consumption of high fructose corn syrup increased at the same time.
What the research shows
"It's just sugar," says Marion Nestle, PhD, a professor of nutrition and public health at New York University. "Biochemically, there's no difference."
The high fructose corn syrups commonly used to sweeten foods and drinks are 55-58% fructose and 42-45% gluose. Sucrose (cane sugar) is a double sugar made of fructose and glucose. Digestion quickly breaks down cane sugar and high fructose corn syrup into fructose and glucose.
"There's a little bit more fructose in high fructose corn syrup, but not a lot," Nestle says. "It doesn't really make any difference. The body can't tell them apart." The American Medical Association recently stated that there is scant evidence to support the idea that high fructose corn syrup is any worse than cane sugar and that consuming too much sugar of either kind is unhealthy.
How you find it on the label
High fructose corn syrup can be found in the list of ingredients on a food label.
3. Aspartame
What it is
Aspartame is an artificial sweetener known by various brand names, including Equal and NutraSweet.
Foods that have it
Aspartame is a commonly used additive for sweetening diet soft drinks.
Why it's controversial
Various health concerns have been raised about aspartame since it was introduced in 1981. Most recently, it has been suspected of causing cancer. There have been reports of aspartame causing seizures, headaches, mood disturbances, and reduced mental performance. A study published in 2005 suggested that aspartame could cause leukemia and lymphoma in rats. Another study, published in 1996, argued that an increase in the rate of brain tumors in the United States could be related to consumption of aspartame.
What the research shows
Dozens of studies in people and animals have tested for effects possibly related to aspartame. The majority of these studies show that things such as headaches, seizures, and mental and emotional problems didn't occur with aspartame more often than with placebo, even at doses many times higher than anyone would likely ever consume.
Large epidemiological studies haven't found a link between aspartame and cancer. A study of about 500,000 people, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, compared those who drank beverages containing aspartame with those who didn't. It found that people who drank increasing amounts of beverages containing aspartame did not have a greater risk for lymphomas, leukemias, or brain cancer.
Another study looked at data from a large survey done by the National Institutes of Health. The survey included detailed information on 1,888 cases of leukemia or lymphomas and 315 cases of brain cancer. The researchers found no link between aspartame consumption and those cancers.
"For more than three decades, research has found aspartame to be safe, and today it is approved for use in more than 100 countries," says Robert E. Brackett, PhD, spokesman for the Grocery Manufacturers Association, a lobbying organization in Washington, D.C. "In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has confirmed the safety of aspartame 26 times over a period of 23 years, with the most recent confirmation in April 2007."
How to find it on the label
Look for aspartame in the list of ingredients.
For more please turn to page 2.
By Martin Downs
Reviewed by Kathleen Zelman
© 2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.
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However, as someone who recently found that fructose intolerance was the source of his IBS, it is telling that I have found that switching from HFCS soft drinks to ones using cane sugar has prevented episodes of IBS. I found this out by accident, by switching back and forth between Mexican sodas made with cane sugar and US sodas made with HFCS. I noticed a dramatic and obvious health impact.
Do a web search for the University of Iowa study on IBS, where they found that about 40% of IBS study subjects were fructose intolerant. They also found that the participants who reduced fructose in their diet reported reduced (or disappeared) IBS symptoms.