did you know
X
flame
retardant
No, that is not
a typo. Some
beverages made in
America have flame
retardant in them,
or as it says on the
label, brominated
vegetable oil
(BVO). Brominated
vegetable oil is often
found in sodas, more
specifically, citrus
flavored sodas. BVO
keeps the citrus
flavoring binded;
without it, the citrus
flavor - which is an
artificial flavor - would
separate. Excess
consumption of BVO
can result in side
effects like nerve
damage, memory
loss, skin irritation,
behavioral changes,
and reproductive
challenges. Because
of these side
effects, countries
in Europe and Asia
have banned BVO
as a food additive.
On a positive note,
Coca-Cola and Pepsi
have decided to
discontinue the use of
brominated vegetable
oil in their products.
Even so, the FDA still
considers the use of
BVO to be “safe.”
CANCER-CAUSING
MEATS
Salmon is not
the only farm
raised animal
with less than
desirable
additives.
Cured
meats, such
as bacon,
salami, and
sausage, are often
laden with preservatives that increase their shelf
life. One of the most controversial being sodium
nitrate. Sodium nitrate is a naturally occurring
salt made up of sodium, nitrogen, and oxygen. In
addition to prolonging spoilage by preventing the
growth of bacteria, sodium nitrate is also used for
flavor and coloring. Sounds great, right? Maybe
not. As sodium nitrate does its job, it interacts
with bacteria, and
eventually loses an
Sodium Nitrate is oxygen atom. This
causes it to become
banned in
sodium nitrite. Over
Norway,
time, it can then
Sweden,
become nitrosamine,
which is known to be
Canada, &
carcinogenic to
Germany.
animals.
So what can we learn from all of this? For starters, we need to become
more aware of what is inside our food products. Most health-conscious
shoppers read the labels on their foods. The nutritional value is ex-
tremely important, but we shouldn’t just limit our reading to the la