Most of the foods we buy in a normal supermarket today are industrial. Those products are made with multiple types of additives in food and are convenient for the supply chain and the brand’s marketing.
What are the additives in food for?
The most commons additives used for the colors, texture, filling and flavors are Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), Artificial Food Coloring, Sodium Nitrite, Guar Gum, High-Fructose Corn Syrup, Artificial Sweeteners, Carrageenan, Sodium Benzoate, and more (check healthline.com for more details).
On top of that, we can add the unhealthy fats or sugar.
Sugars which increases the sales, when added is a major health issue worldwide (see cbsnews.com).
Why is it so much developed? And what is considered process food?
Food processing has played a major role in the development of human societies.
2 million years ago, cooking was one of the first stages of processing to make consumable food, increase the palatability and helped to produce microbiologically healthy foods such as meat.
Preservation in salted, dried or smoked form has also been an important point in the evolution of dietary habits.
With industrialization, agricultural development and globalization, the nature, purpose, and degree of food processing have changed dramatically and evolved.
For Western countries, the problems of undernutrition have given room to the problems of malnutrition with the emergence of obesity and chronic diseases linked to nutrition, overproduction and food waste.
The nutritional transition is characterized by a shift from traditional diets based on unprocessed products such as fruits and vegetables, cereals, fresh meat to consumption of highly processed products with a high content of saturated fats, added sugars and in addition to a decrease in physical activity linked to the urbanization of our way of life.
Scientists have mentioned a westernization of the diet:
Western Diet. This diet is characterized by a diet rich in energy and poorly diversified.
Is there no regulation and control, what so ever?
The veritable decision making comes from us, the consumers.
Until the population stop literally to eat those junk foods. Governments are trying recently to slow down or reverse the use of additives.
We can see those efforts with the « sugar tax » in America and now European countries (see Financial Times), or some labels like the NOVA certification which identify the processed food on a scale from 1 to 4, four being the most processed (smartphone app available here).
Be aware of this actualities and stop buying processed food! It is a major health issue!
All those additives, bad fats and sugar may be responsible for many diseases. We have written an article about inflammatory food for more details.
Nothing in the world can substitute for natural fruits and vegetables. I agree, that we as consumers have to stop eating junk food so that it can be stopped!
There are way too many additives in the food we have. Just wish that the natural and Organic foods weren’t so much more expensive. But they are definitely better for you
Hey David, more expensive for now but if we all buy bio price will drop fast ;-)
What an interesting post! This really made my eyes open up! I really have to start looking at the nutrition labels a lot more. Thanks for sharing! :)
I really wish we didn’t have to add so much to food. I prefer it as natural as possible anyway.
It’s coming. People start to realize. And the market too
I’m very guilty of buying foods that are easier to make, which means they are very processed. I do make up for it in the summer with my garden, but many times, I go for the easier, faster route. I need to be more mindful of that.
Yes if you have pain, arthritis, bad mood, or weight gain. Don’t seek to far. The problem could be just that…
Wow that’s crazy. I bet it is much different here in the US than in Europe and other parts of the world too. What are your thoughts on this? xo, Suzanne
Amount and no of additives are increasing day by day in the food we eat. I always try to get my hands in organic stuff, but these additives are everywhere. This is a very informative post. You are doing a great job by creating awareness about these additives.
Yeah 75% of a normal supermarket supply have products with additives. It’s not fair… 😉
I try very hard not to buy things with additives in them. They are very bad for you. I am glad you are making people aware of what they eat. They should put it on the front of the package. Not on the back in small letters. MSG can be disguised as other names. GRRRR.
Thank you. Only consumers could stop that frenetic use. If nobody buy, products don’t exists ;-)
This is so disturbing to know that there is no regulation to control food process. And unfortunately, most of us do not even read the labels on packages.
The only control there is, is the indication of sugar, protein and fat on labels (like in UK)