7 Scary and Harmful Additives in Your Food

Do you know what’s in your food?

The flavor enhancer monosodium glutamate, or MSG, has been added to many foods since 1908, and McDonald’s has added MSG to its new chicken sandwiches, even though many health experts continue to suggest you avoid foods containing MSG, according to International Business Times.

MSG is not only found in fast food, but in Chinese foods, prepackaged foods, canned soups, sauces and more. Like McDonald’s, Chick-fil-A and Popeyes also add MSG to their chicken sandwiches.

While the FDA has ruled this often-maligned food additive is safe, some people have experienced severe reactions to MSG. Even eating a small amount of MSG can give people headaches or migraines that can last all day.

MSG is an excitotoxin, which means it overexcites your cells to the point of damage or death, causing brain damage to varying degrees, and potentially even triggering or worsening learning disabilities. In addition to headaches and migraines, MSG has been linked to obesity, eye damage, fatigue and disorientation, depression, rapid heartbeat, tingling and numbness.

Eating a whole, fresh food diet is your only guaranteed way to avoid this toxin.

Research has found that people who eat more MSG are more likely to be overweight or obese. So, in addition to negatively impacting your brain and nervous system, it may also be making you fat.

After analyzing MSG intake and weight gain among more than 10,000 Chinese adults, researchers found that those who ate the most MSG (about 5 grams a day) were about 30% more likely to become overweight than those who ate the least (less than a half-gram a day). 

Thousands of food additives are added to U.S. foods, but seven stand out as the worst of the worst, including MSG. The Scary Seven additives to avoid at all costs include:

1. Artificial Sweeteners — Consuming artificial sweeteners causes even greater weight gain than consuming sugar. They also raise your risk of diabetes and negatively alter your gut microbiome.
2. Trans Fats and Vegetable Oils —Trans fats promote inflammation and interfere with basic cell membrane function, which can pave the way for cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.Hydrogenated vegetable oils are in almost all processed and fast foods.
3. Artificial flavorings — The term “artificial flavors" on a label can mean anything — from one unnatural additive to a blend of dozens or even hundreds of chemical compounds. 
4. MSG —Added to countless processed and fast food products, the term MSG or monosodium glutamate might not appear in the ingredient list. Instead, it may be listed as glutamic acid, hydrolyzed protein, yeast extract and dozens of other names.
5. Food dyes —Fifteen million pounds of artificial food dyes go into U.S. foods every year. Approved food dyes and the preservative sodium benzoate have been linked to cancer, hyperactivity and allergy-like reactions.
6. High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) — It's worse than sugar, even though manufacturers will tell you differently because it's cheap and easily added to processed foods, including baby foods and condiments. Your body turns fructose directly into fat.
7. Preservatives — Preservatives have been linked to cancer, allergic reactions and more. The worst include BHA and BHT, TBHQ, sodium nitrite and nitrate, sodium benzoate and azodicarbonamide, a plastic chemical found in yoga mats and used as a dough conditioner in commercial baked goods.