Natural Health, Natural Medicine

Irradiation also causes chemical changes in foods, and these changes may or may not be harmful. Irradiation may be less dangerous than some chemical methods of preservation, but I do not like the way it is being pushed on the public without adequate investigation of possible risks. At the very least, irradiated food should be labeled as such, not with an innocent-looking flower symbol or the deceptive phrase “picowaved for your protection,”

is suspected of causing ulcerations and possibly cancers of the gastrointestinal tract. Anyone with IBS or IBD

Both taste sweet but are not easily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and not easily metabolized. They are common ingredients of sugarless chewing gums and candies. If you eat a lot of them, you will probably get diarrhea. People with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) should avoid sorbitol and xylitol.

Women also find that aspartame aggravates PMS (premenstrual syndrome). The newest and apparently safest artificial sweetener is sucralose (Splenda), a molecule too large to be absorbed from the gut. I still think you are better off using moderate amounts of sugar than consuming any artificial sweeteners on a regular basis

More worrisome than preservatives are artificial sweeteners. Saccharin, a known carcinogen, should be avoided.

It is best to avoid hot dogs, sausages, luncheon meats, and other products containing sodium nitrite or other nitrites—these foods are also high in saturated fat, dense animal protein, and salt. These chemicals are also found in smoked fish. Nitrates, which are usually added along with nitrites, do not form nitrosamines but may be converted to nitrites in the body.

but they easily react with protein breakdown products in the digestive tract to form highly carcinogenic substances called nitrosamines. This reaction is blocked by vitamin C. If you eat any foods containing nitrites, take some vitamin C along with them

Baking powder is another source of aluminum; you can find brands in health food stores that do not contain it.

Alum, an aluminum compound, is used in many brands of pickles to increase crispness. Aluminum has no place in human nutrition and may be harmful to us. Many brands of antacids contain aluminum salts as their active ingredients, and people who take them get much higher doses of this metal than comes from eating pickles or cooking in aluminum

artificial color added,” “U.S. certified color added,” “FD & C red no. 3” (or green or blue or yellow followed by any number; these are food, drug, and cosmetic dyes approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration), or simply “color added” with no explanation.