Last month, the governor of California signed a bill that will prohibit food manufacturers from including the following food additives in their formulas: brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, and red dye 3.
The purpose of this post today isn’t to go into what food additives are (in a nutshell: ingredients in foods that improve the quality/look/texture/stability/mouthfeel/longevity/cost, etc of a processed food) or why these particular additives are under fire (mainly linked to cancer and other undesirable health outcomes).
I want to talk about how we, as a society or a health community, feel about food additives and, in turn, processed food in general.
When a specific foodstuff comes into question, most people are either going to fall into the validation camp (“I told you processed foods were evil!”) or the defensive camp (“Some people only can afford low-cost processed foods. Are you saying lower income people are not healthy???).
These are two extremes. What I want to do is take the extreme out of it and add a little nuance.
I’m a registered dietitian, so part of my job is promoting the consumption of whole, nutritious, varied and colorful foods. You could say “natural” here (though it doesn’t really mean anything) to mean of the Earth: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, etc. We know for a fact that these foods contain essential nutrients not only for our bodies to function but to thrive.
However, as a registered dietitian I recognize the fact that only a very small percentage of people will be eating these foods exclusively. I don’t know an exact figure, but the “whole foods” section of the grocery store certainly is outnumbered by the aisles and aisles of convenience foods.
Convenience foods (also known as processed foods depending on who you’re talking to I guess) surely have a place in our diets. Most of these foods are fun to eat and tasty, not to mention the amount of time and money they can save. And consumed every once in a while, they’re likely very harmless.
I think the bottom line about food additives is just to be aware and careful.
That does not mean that I advocate for a diet free from processed foods.
What I advocate for my clients – and myself – is awareness and moderation. I think part of the problem with the processed food debate is we aren’t really talking about the frequency of consumption with these foods. Plus, many of the “science” is typically done on lab animals and the doses are very high. That’s not exactly representative of a human experience.
But, if you’re eating everything out of a box or bag and not cooking anything fresh or from scratch, you’re likely going to be more exposed to risks of some of these additives than others who are only including these foods infrequently.
Sometimes I feel a little boring when I don’t have an extreme point of view. I usually wanna say, hey: you love skittles? Can’t live without them? How about you enjoy a small bag a few times a year and get your fix? I’m not here like SKITTLES WILL END YOU. Or, pshhh there is nothing wrong with a little food dye. I’m somewhere in the middle on all this.
I’ll also add to be careful who you trust in food. The manufacturers of your favorite snack foods have two goals: 1. Keep their costs low and 2. Keep you buying their food. That’s it.
So yes, be aware and vigilant about checking your labels and about what makes up the bulk of your diet. If you feel like you’re addicted to some of these foods with a lot of additives then that’s another important aspect we can talk through!