We spend hours talking about what foods and drinks are ‘healthy’ but what we don’t focus on is what’s in what we’re eating. We’re not talking about the good stuff here – nutrients, minerals, and so on – but the things we’d rather our food and drink didn’t contain. The things that potentially, could make our families and us sick one day. This might sound extreme, but it’s true. Additives, preservatives, and all sorts of other chemicals can make their way into our food and drink, and most of us are none the wiser.
So today, we’re looking at what’s actually in what we’re eating and drinking, and sharing ways we can make our diets better for us. After all, without your health, you don’t have anything, do you?
Fruits and vegetables
It’s no secret that an apple a day is meant to keep the doctor away, but does that still ring true today? Have you ever heard of methylcyclopropene – probably not? This is a gas that’s sprayed over apples to stop them from ripening. It can preserve apples for up to 12 months and banana for up to a month. This means that some of the fruit sold in supermarkets isn’t fresh at all, it’s months old and covered in chemicals. A pretty disgusting concept, isn’t it? The good news is, if you opt to buy your fresh fruit and vegetables from local farm shops, it should actually be fresh. It should also be free of chemicals such as pesticides, so it’s well worth the extra cost.
Milk and water
Let’s start with milk. Have you heard of benzoic acid before? If you haven’t, it’s a preservative that’s added to all milk and juice drinks to make them last for longer. It can cause all sorts of problems, such as headaches, stomach problems, asthma attacks, and ADHD in children. Milk’s meant to be good for kids; it’s something that as parents we encourage them to drink. The good news is, that by opting to buy organic milk, it should be free of these types of additives. As for juice drinks, before buying juice for your kids, check the ingredient list. Most of us drink water from the tap without giving it a second thought. I mean, why would we, it’s water? The truth is, water contains harmful parabens, as well as added fluoride, lead, and chlorine. Things that shouldn’t really be drank day in, day out. Removing these things from the water you’re drinking is easy, all you need is a water filter system, like the ones on The Berkey website.
Snacks
As parents, we know that shop bought snacks aren’t good for our kids because they’re packed full of all sorts. The question is, are we aware of exactly what’s in them? Many sweets no longer contain artificial colors. However, they do contain aspartame, a substitute commonly used to replace sugar. As for potato chips, these can often contain the flavor enhancer, monosodium glutamate. This additive can cause chest pains and all sorts of other side effects. Put it like this; it’s not something you want your kids eating along with their favorite sweets. So, always check shop bought snacks before allowing your kids to eat them. And where possible, make your own.
These are just a few of the chemicals that can be found in foods that we’re told are safe to eat. As parents, we want our children to be healthy. Something that, if they’re eating foods containing goodness knows what, is impossible.