Harmful Food Additives - Preservatives & Chemical Food Colors

Food additives, both natural and chemical food additives are found in almost all the packaged food available in the market. But not all of them are safe. Harmless food additives are ruthlessly put into packaged foods. Usually these harmful food ingredients are not in the eye of the concerned authorities, because they don't tend to have severe reactions on many. Harmful ingredients are usually chemical food additives that should be avoided. But it is often due to lack of awareness and knowledge about these harm food ingredients and harmful additives, that majority of the population ends up having them. The list of food additives to avoid helps in understanding what are the most harmful of these additives lot and are capable of causing, food allergies and intolerances.

There are a number of harmful food additives that are found in everyday consumption foods like, chips, cold drinks, high fat diets, caffeine containing beverages and other junk and health foods too. Have a look at a few of the most harmful of these dangerous food additives, like harmful food preservatives, harmful sweeteners and colorants and the related food allergy intolerances. Read the complete article here.

Food Additive Allergies

Food additives are of many types and differ in their usage. Each category of food additives amongst the popular and unpopular ones, has a special offering of its own, which is used to enhance the food products in some way or the other. Be it the basic food preservatives, emulsifiers, thickeners and stabilizers, vegetable gums, flavorings, colorings, etc. Though all of these additives are added in very small quantities, they are still capable of having allergic reactions in certain cases. Let's have a look at a few of these food additive allergies in detail, and understand what additives cause what allergies.

Colorings Agents

A number of natural and artificial coloring agents are used in cooking. Some of the allergy causing coloring agents are annatto, saffron and carmine. Annatto extract is known to cause allergic reactions alike anaphylaxis and urticaria. Saffron again causes anaphylaxis. Just like saffron and annatto, carmine is also capable of allergic reactions. All of these can cause adverse reactions, even after being natural food colorants. Apart from these, even tartrazine is also notorious for common allergies.

Vegetable Gums
Vegetable gums are used just like food emulsifiers. Amongst the popular gums used in cooking. Many of them are infamous for aggravating breathing problems like asthma and bronchitis.

Emulsifier

Food emulsifier are used as thickening agents to make the food more viscose and thick. All the natural emulsifiers like egg, yolk, honey, etc use a common constituent lecithin that causes allergies to many. Check by having a small quantity before adding it to the complete meal.



Preservatives
Natural food preservatives are usually harmless food additives. Allergy causing preservatives are sulfites, benzonites and nitrates, all of which are artificial food preservatives. The commonly caused preservatives allergies are urticaria, anaphylaxis, asthma, allergic rhinitis, itching and flushing.