Toxins in Food
Toxins in Food
It is fairly common nowadays to see claims on certain foods and food ingredients being toxic. These claims are usually made by nutritionists and researchers who are invested upon ensuring that humans take safe and organically produced goods. There are some food ingredients that are proved to be harmful if they are consumed in large quantities.
Here we are presenting you a list of foods, ingredients and different compounds that are potentially toxic:
Regards,
Minaam Jamil
It is fairly common nowadays to see claims on certain foods and food ingredients being toxic. These claims are usually made by nutritionists and researchers who are invested upon ensuring that humans take safe and organically produced goods. There are some food ingredients that are proved to be harmful if they are consumed in large quantities.
Here we are presenting you a list of foods, ingredients and different compounds that are potentially toxic:
- Artificial Trans-fats- By injecting hydrogen into unsaturated fats like soybean and maize oils to transform them into solid fats, artificial trans-fats are created. They used to be present in a variety of processed foods, including packaged baked products, snack foods, and margarine. Evidently, numerous animal and observational research have demonstrated that consuming trans fats leads to inflammation and has detrimental consequences on heart health.
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) - PAHs, also known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, are thought to be environmental contaminants. They are produced when organic matter burns, but they are also present in food. Oil drops on hot cooking surfaces when meat is barbecued or grilled at high temperatures, creating volatile PAHs that may seep into the meat. In fact, one of the main sources of PAHs in food is smoked and grilled meat. However, PAHs are also present in a variety of processed foods. Caution; this refers to oil which has low smoking point.
- Added sugars- "Empty calories" are a common term for added sugars. But sugar's negative consequences go far further than that. Excess consumption of fructose-rich sugars, such as elevated fructose corn syrup, has been associated with a number of significant diseases, such as obese, type 2 diabetes, metabolic disorders, fatty liver disease, and malignancy. Foods with a lot of added sugar are also heavily processed and have addictive qualities, making it challenging for some individuals to manage their intake.
- Mercury in sea food- Since mercury is a poison, it can harm the brain and nervous system. Due to mercury's potential to disrupt fetuses’ brain and neurological development, research indicates that young children, pregnant women, and women who are breast-feeding are at a higher risk. Fish is a very safe source of high quality protein, although some deep-sea fish species can have high concentrations of the toxin mercury. This occurs as a result of the pollution moving up the marine food chain. Small fish eat plants that thrive in mercury-contaminated waters, while the larger fish eat the small fish. These larger fish eventually end up in the intestines of humans, where they gradually collect mercury and causes serious harm to the human body altogether. Mercury is also an adjuvant in MMR-vaccines which remind you by-passes the liver detoxification process and directly enters the bloodstream (through IV route) Mercury is a very big molecule and it deposits in the brain. Mercury can stay in human brain for 16 to 20 years. Detoxification from Mercury is important for toddlers. Epsom salt baths are a great way to do so. Epsom salts (Magnesium salts) open skin pores, attach to the heavy metals and leach them out through skin pores. This helps a child mental development unhindered by any Heavy metal deposition.
Regards,
Minaam Jamil
Photo used under Creative Commons from Rum Bucolic Ape
