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Over the past few weeks, I've been blogging about the Citizens For Health selections of the top ten food additives to avoid in the "Read Your Labels" campaign. In case you missed any of the actors in this rogue's gallery of unnecessary and health-damaging ingredients that turn up in so many products, here's a recap of what they are, where you're most likely to find them, and why you should keep them out of your diet.

As the high point of this campaign, Citizens for Health has declared Thursday, April 11 to be "Read Your Labels Day." On that date, we would like you to help spread the "411" on these additives by taking a photo of food and beverage products containing these undesirable ingredients and sharing your photos on Instagram by using the hashtag #ReadYourLabels.

The "Read Your Labels" top ten additives to avoid in review:

1. High fructose corn syrup

Where you'll find it:
Where do we begin? HFCS has permeated the marketplace in so many foods and beverages it's just about impossible to create a list. For starters, it's in most all sodas, and many other beverages such as tea and flavored drinks, and numerous juice drinks made for kids, as well as other sweetened items such as jellies, cookies and pastries. It also turns up in some surprising places like bread and condiments, and oddly, even in some diet foods (where it's possible that a super-high fructose version is used). All in all, to purge HFCS from your diet, you need to read ingredient labels and reject all products containing this laboratory sweetener.
Why you should avoid it:
  • HFCS and high fructose consumption have been implicated in a variety of diseases and health problems, including heart disease, diabetes and weight gain.
  • The actual fructose percentage of HFCS is variable and unknown (which is why Citizens for Health has petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to require the true fructose content of HFCS formulas be disclosed on food labels).
  • Contrary to industry propaganda, HFCS isn't "corn sugar" or a "natural" ingredient, but a test-tube concoction that's much cheaper than sugar.
2. Aspartame

Where you'll find it:
Aspartame is apt to turn up in foods labeled as "light" or "low-cal," diet soft drinks, teas and juice drinks, kid's vitamins, liquid cold drugs and other pharmaceuticals, chewing gum, cereal, sugar-free candies. Foods containing this artificial sweetener must also bear a warning that the item contains phenylalanine for those with a disorder called PKU.
Why you should avoid it:
  • Aspartame has never been proven to be a safe food additive, and is, in fact, considered by experts to be in a class of ingredients called "excitotoxins" that can literally excite brain cells to death, especially in children and the elderly (as are the three additives that follow);
  • Studies have connected it to the development of brain tumors in rodents and grand mal seizures in monkeys.
  • Thousands of aspartame-related health complaints, from migraines to memory loss to dizziness to vision problems have been reported to the FDA.
3. Hydrolyzed protein

4.
Autolyzed yeast


5.
Monosodium glutamate


Where you'll find them:
These "excitoxins" can be found in soups, broth, flavoring additives, chips, dips, soup mixes, ramen noodles, frozen meals, snack mixes, canned fish, and a wide variety of other dishes - including "natural," "vegetarian," and organic ones.
Why you should avoid them:
  • These are all toxic substances containing processed glutamic acid that can kill brain cells. They are especially harmful to kids, the elderly and developing fetuses.
  • Adverse reactions to these additives include everything from skin rashes and asthma attacks to mood swings, upset stomach, migraines, heart irregularities and seizures - even potentially fatal anaphylactic shock.
6. Potassium bromate

Where you'll find it:
Added to flour, it can be found in breads, flat breads, bakery products, knishes and tortillas. (It may also be listed on ingredient labels as "bromated flour.")
Why you should avoid it:
  • Potassium bromate has been known for over three decades to cause cancer in laboratory animals.
  • It's banned in Europe, China, Canada and Brazil.
  • If it's not used "properly," a significant residue of this additive can end up in the finished food product.
7. Brominated vegetable oil, or BVO

Where you'll find it:
Some Gatorade products, Mountain Dew and other drinks containing citrus flavorings.
Why you should avoid it:
  • BVO builds up in fatty tissue and been shown to cause heart damage in research animals.
  • It's banned in Europe, India and Japan.
  • It's never been declared safe by the FDA, where its status has remained in limbo for over 30 years.
8. BHA and BHT

Where you'll find them:
This pair of preservatives turn up in many breakfast cereals (including most Kellogg's varieties), as well as snack foods, chewing gum, pies, cakes and processed meats.
Why you should avoid them:
  • Made from coal tar or petroleum, BHA and BHT have been of concern for decades.
  • Over 30 years ago studies found that after pregnant mice were fed BHT and BHA, their offspring were born with altered brain chemistry.
  • BHA is considered a possible carcinogen by the World Health Organization and listed as a carcinogen in California.
9. Trans fats

Where you'll find it:
Any food products containing partially hydrogenated oil contain trans fats, regardless of a zero trans fats listing on the nutrition facts label. These can include bakery items, pizza, dough, pies, cakes and cookies, snack foods and frozen meals.
Why you should avoid them:
  • Trans fats increase LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, and decrease "good" HDL cholesterol.
  • People with high blood levels of trans fats appear to have a greater risk of developing certain cancers. (Some research has even linked them to a higher risk of Alzheimer's.)
  • All health authorities, including government agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are in agreement that trans fats cause heart disease and that cutting them out of our diet could prevent thousand of heart attacks and death from coronary disease each year.
10. Artificial colors

Where you'll find them:
They're present in many cereals, cakes, candy, bakery products, drinks, juice drinks, vitamins and pharmaceuticals.
Why you should avoid them:
  • Artificial colors are widely acknowledged to cause hyperactivity and behavioral problems in some children.
  • They're made from both coal tar and petroleum extracts - hardly the sort of things one would want to ingest.
  • Some, such as Red #3, have been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals, but are still allowed to be used in foods.
So there they are in review - the top ten offenders among food additives. They're best avoided (except in the case of processed glutamic acid), by buying organic processed foods, or, better yet, by cooking your own food from scratch as much as possible. But if you're too hard pressed to always do all that, you should at least take the time to read those ingredient labels - and keep the items that contain these health-threatening intruders out of your kitchen and out of your life.