Time for Closer Look at Potentially Harmful Food Additives

Chuck Norris
Thu, 02 Jan 2025 21:00:00 -0800
Lifestyle

When this year's favorite New Year's resolutions are compiled and reported upon, I believe (or maybe just hope) "eat better in 2025" will be a prominent one. That means steering clear of ultraprocessed foods. As many of you may know, I have been beating the drum on the issue of diet-related chronic disease and its connection to ultraprocessed foods for a while now. For example, in March I wrote of a Harvard Health report that an estimated 678,000 Americans die each year from chronic food illness. It is a toll said to be higher than the combined total from all the nation's combat deaths in every war in which we have been engaged. As shocking as this comparison is, it may be necessary to put this public health problem in proper focus.

As reported by National Geographic, a "meta-analysis looking at the impact of ultra-processed food ... identified direct links between higher consumption of ultra-processed foods and a greater risk of heart disease-related deaths, type 2 diabetes, obesity, wheezing, anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and deaths from all causes." The findings were published in the weekly peer-reviewed medical journal The BMJ.

I pointed out in March that our attraction to these foods is absolutely by design. Cindy Leung, assistant professor of public health nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, says flatly that "multi-billion-dollar companies create these foods to hook us." Ashley Gearhardt, professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, takes it even further: "Ultra-processed foods have more in common with a cigarette than foods by Mother Nature."
Updated: Fri Jan 03, 2025

When this year's favorite New Year's resolutions are compiled and reported upon, I believe (or maybe just hope) "eat better in 2025" will be a prominent one. That means steering clear of ultraprocessed foods. As many of you may know, I have been beating the drum on the issue of diet-related chronic disease and its connection to ultraprocessed foods for a while now. For example, in March I wrote of a Harvard Health report that an estimated 678,000 Americans die each year from chronic food illness. It is a toll said to be higher than the combined total from all the nation's combat deaths in every war in which we have been engaged. As shocking as this comparison is, it may be necessary to put this public health problem in proper focus.

As reported by National Geographic, a "meta-analysis looking at the impact of ultra-processed food ... identified direct links between higher consumption of ultra-processed foods and a greater risk of heart disease-related deaths, type 2 diabetes, obesity, wheezing, anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and deaths from all causes." The findings were published in the weekly peer-reviewed medical journal The BMJ.

I pointed out in March that our attraction to these foods is absolutely by design. Cindy Leung, assistant professor of public health nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, says flatly that "multi-billion-dollar companies create these foods to hook us." Ashley Gearhardt, professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, takes it even further: "Ultra-processed foods have more in common with a cigarette than foods by Mother Nature."

In a followup report last November, I tried to sound the alarm yet again. In a New York Times report, Amy Bentley, a food historian and professor at New York University, introduces us to a new term describing our attraction to ultraprocessed food. She calls it "the industrial palate."

In that same article, the Times' Tomas Weber brings the concept even further into focus. "In 1996, PepsiCo released potato chips fried in an indigestible fat substitute called Olestra that, miraculously, had zero calories," Weber writes. "One problem: Olestra impeded the absorption of essential vitamins. Another: It caused fecal incontinence. The substance is now used to paint decks and lubricate power tools."

According to The Washington Post's Anahad O'Connor, "An analysis published in 2022 by the Environmental Working Group ... found that 98.7 percent of the roughly 766 new food chemicals introduced to the food supply since 2000 were not approved by the FDA."

As I wrote in November, "The fact that the consumption of ultraprocessed food products 'has increased over the last 25 years,' as Weber writes, is enough to cause concern. What is now starting to be addressed is an even larger question — who determines whether these additives are safe?"

"To keep food safe, the U.S. relies on a patchwork system to regulate food," writes Eduardo Cuevas for USA Today. Under the current system, "food producers themselves are expected to self-police."

It is now up to the new administration to finally give food security and safety the attention it deserves. It seems clear that the food and agriculture industries will play a major role in how reform in this area will take shape in the months and years ahead.

Reports the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. population was expected to hit 341,145,670 on New Year's Day, an annual increase of 2,640,171 people. By comparison, in July 1776, the 13 colonies had about 2.5 million residents. I believe the remedy to our health care crisis begins and ends with "we the people."

Let us start by resolving to "eat better in 2025." Let's begin this process by controlling those things that are within our control. One way to positively impact your health is as simple as adding more olive oil to your diet. It is but one example.

Mary Flynn, a nutrition researcher and founder of the nonprofit Olive Oil Health Initiative at Brown University, explains, according to a National Geographic report, that "while every fruit and vegetable has health-promoting compounds, the ones unique to olive oil, called phenols, are especially powerful. ... The nutrients in extra virgin olive oil have been found to benefit numerous health conditions, including heart disease and diabetes."

"We have no food or medicine that can do what olive oil can do," Flynn says.

Selina Wang, a food science researcher at the University of California, Davis, adds, according to the report, that "the phenols in extra virgin olive oil are antioxidants, capable of protecting the body's cells from dangerous molecules." National Geographic reports that "during a ten-year study of more than 12,000 people in Spain, researchers discovered that the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease was half as high in people consuming one-and-a-half teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil daily.

"'So many people could lower or get off their blood pressure meds' by increasing consumption, Flynn says."

Adding olive oil or other healthy food items to your diet also requires a word of caution: Beware of fake food. Beyond manufactured food additives, the problem of fake food presents another vexing obstacle.

Jamie Anderson, a chef and reporter covering the culinary world and owner of The Chef Recipe, recently reported that "olive oil fraud is widespread in the industry, with many bottles labeled as 'extra virgin' or 'Italian' containing cheaper substitute oils or lower-grade olive oil. This deception is particularly common with imported oils, where complex supply chains make verification difficult."

National Geographic points out that "because the large manufacturers extract the oil via centrifuge, you won't see the term 'first cold press' on major brands. But small companies like Koronekes that still press their olives use that language to distinguish the initial, most flavorful batch."

"The most common form of olive oil fraud involves diluting real extra virgin olive oil with cheaper alternatives like sunflower, soybean, or refined olive oil," writes Anderson. "Some producers go further by adding artificial coloring and flavoring to completely fake products. This practice not only cheats consumers financially but also deprives them of the health benefits associated with genuine extra virgin olive oil."

Anderson adds that, to be legit, "the bottle should also include a harvest date and specific region of origin, not just 'Product of Italy.' ... For better odds of getting authentic oil, look for bottles with certification seals from reputable organizations like the California Olive Oil Council (COOC) or North American Olive Oil Association (NAOOA)."