It never ceases to amaze me where food preservatives are lurking. Here I am, on a flight back from Florida to NY. I asked for a decaf tea, and settled for a decaf coffee. No milk on board, the flight attendant handed me a non-dairy creamer, manufactured by a company called Dairy-Fresh! Funny, but not so funny are the ingredients: Water, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, corn syrup solids, sodium caseinate, dipotassium phosphate, sugar, mono and diglycerides, sodium stearoyl lactylate, soy lecithin, artificial colors, artificial flavors. Contains: milk and soy. And on the bottom, manufactured by plant # 27-416.
Lets start with where this “food” comes from – a plant, plant #27-416 to be exact. This IS NOT real food. Real food is found in nature, meaning it comes from a plant animal or fungi. So, from now on, I’ll refer to these creamers and other processed, chemicalized, artificial foods as “food-like substances”.
This food-like substance contains:
1. Too many ingredients – Look for foods with five or less ingredients. They’re going to be less processed.
2. Partially hydrogenated soybean oil – Also known as Trans fats, most European countries have banned the use of these oils altogether or have set a future date for the complete elimination of their use in foods. Multiple studies link Trans fats to the development of diabetes, cancer, heart disease and obesity.
3. Corn syrup solids – Sugar, more specifically, dextrose sugar made from corn. This, along with high fructose corn syrup, will interfere with a hormone that tells your brain you are full. It’s very common to overeat foods containing these ingredients.
4. Sodium stearoyl lactylate – Food additive.
5. Artificial colors and flavors – Food additives.
6. Mono and diglycerides – Fats often used to mask trans-fats. Translation: they are nothing more than hydrogenated oils.
Bottom-line: Pay closer attention to the ingredient labels on foods. Avoid processed, chemicalized, artificial junk food and non-dairy creamers (which, by the way, contain milk). It’s toxic. And toxic overload causes inflammation in the body which leads to any and all of the diseases of aging in adults and multiple developmental and behavioral problems in children.
