How is Food Affecting Consciousness in our Modern World?
We have all heard the old adage “you are what you eat”. Ayurveda goes a step further to teach that you are what you digest. But what if your food is laced with chemicals that our bodies innate intelligence cannot recognize? How does this impact our digestion? What happens to our mind, and consciousness?
I see so many folks who sustain themselves by grabbing heavily processed and preserved foods without thinking much about what's in it. We mistakenly assume that because food is sold on a shelf and regulated that it is filled with healthy and consumable ingredients. The reality is the number of additives and chemicals that are legally allowed in the food you may eat daily is extremely alarming. These excessive and unnatural ingredients lead to what I call “slow death by convenience”.
Every day people are exposed to a cocktail of chemicals in food that interact with each other in ways that are far beyond our understanding. This “chemical soup” is wreaking havoc with the general public's health. Chemicals are often allowed and liberally substituted in food products for actual food. Yes, real food is replaced with artificial ingredients to make food cheaper and longer lasting. Look to the most popular mac and cheese product to see how much real cheese is in the yellow powdered filled packet.
Humans have been preserving food for a long time. These days, pre-packaged food must have a long enough shelf life to make it from the processing plant to the store, to the shelf, and finally to the consumer. Preservatives keep the food fresh longer for this journey. In the last century we have mastered the skill of altering foods to extend shelf life through various technologies. In our country there are over 14,000 lab-made chemicals and additives that are allowed to be used to enhance the shelf appeal. That is a staggering (and scary) number.
It is estimated that the United States consumes over 10 billion pounds of chemical additives yearly. While the use of these chemicals is kept as quiet as possible, for obvious reasons, many have been associated with several negative health and behavioral conditions. However, the FDA has thoroughly “tested and approved” every additive we find on our plates.
The National Food Institute at the Technical University of Denmark recently spearheaded a large research project specifically on the effects of chemical cocktail in packaged food in that country. The study established that even small doses of combined chemicals can have significant negative effects on health. It is important to point out that Denmark has more stringent standards of food regulations than the USA.
Food additives don’t usually have nutritional value but are added to food for safety or to serve a specific function. These can include prolonging shelf-life, delaying quality deterioration or improving texture. There's a science to making addictive food. A practice that convinces us to eat food that's bad for us because it tastes so good.
I believe packaged foods must have more detailed disclosure of the ingredients. Here is a short list of common hazardous chemicals found in processed food. These are all items that I avoid when buying packaged food.
Sodium Benzoate: is used as a preservative in both drinks and food products. When used in conjunction with food color, sodium benzoate may increase hyperactivity in children. It may also react with vitamin C to create a cancer-causing substance called benzene.
Aspartame: is an artificial sweetener commonly used in diet drinks and some food products. Aspartame has been controversial for years and has been reported to cause seizures, headaches, mood disturbances, and even cancer. It may be listed as a brand name such as Equal or NutraSweet.
Benzoic Acid: is an additive used in everything from chewing gum and ice cream to pickles and salad dressing. Benzoic Acid can contribute to asthma attacks and hyperactivity, as well as headaches and digestive issues.
Potassium Bromate: An additive banned in Europe, Canada, Asia, and Brazil, Potassium Bromate is an oxidizing agent that chemically ages flour, strengthening its elasticity. It has caused cancer in some animals, and even small amounts create a risk for humans. Consumers might also see it listed on a food label as bromated flour.
Sodium Caseinate: is a biochemical found in many dairy products. It's suspected to contribute to or cause many milk-based allergies, which result in reactions such as skin rashes, stomach upset, or respiratory arrest. Ingesting large quantities of Sodium Caseinate can also harm your kidneys.
BHA (Butylated Hydroxyanisol): is a preservative frequently found in many foods such as butter, cereal, beer, baked goods, dessert mixes, and chewing gum. While it is “generally recognized as safe” by the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institute of Health categorizes it as “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.”
Canthaxanthin: is a color additive used in foods that need a boost of yellow or red, like eggs or salmon. Studies have found that great quantities of Canthaxanthin can result in retinal damage.
Nitrates/Nitrites: are a synthetic food preservative often added to cured meat. When nitrates are exposed to high heat during the cooking process, they convert to nitrites. Nitrites combine with amines to form cancer-causing nitrosamines.
Maltodextrin: is added to a number of foods like pudding, salad dressing, and sauces as a thickening agent. The side effects of Maltodextrin include unexplained weight gain, bloating, and allergic reactions such as asthma, rash, itching, and respiratory distress.
Olestra: is a fake fat additive designed to replace the regular oil in snack foods such as chips. Although it's often marketed as a miracle fat, allowing consumers to eat without guilt, Olestra reduces the body’s ability to absorb vitamins by causing stomach and gastrointestinal distress resulting in diarrhea.
Soy Lecithin: a byproduct of soybean oil production, is an emulsifying additive found in many foods, from candy bars and bakery items to tea bags and cough drops. In high doses, Soy Lecithin can cause rashes, headache, weight gain, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and in severe cases, anaphylactic shock or death.
Coloring Additives: are found in almost every kind of processed food and drink. Artificial food coloring is widely thought to contribute to increased hyperactivity in children. In the 1970s, Red #2 was banned when it was proven to cause cancer in lab rats, followed closely by Orange #1. While Yellow #1, #2, #3, and #4 have been made illegal, Yellow #5 is undergoing tests for links to anxiety, migraines, hyperactivity, and cancer. Yellow #6 has caused adrenal tumors in animal testing and occasional hypersensitivity reactions.
At a time when scientific research points to an alarming correlation between common food chemical compounds and cancers, allergies, psychiatric disorders, birth defects, and other serious health concerns, we need the tools to start protecting ourselves and our families.
Educating yourself on what goes into much of the food you purchase will literally be a lifesaver. Labels can be a mire of long and unfamiliar words, but a little research goes a long way. Acquainting yourself with what substances to avoid can be the first step on the path to purer food and better health.
When we are enjoying fresh, seasonal, prana-filled food our digestion is strong, and our health will be robust. As always, the state of digestion is paramount to the vitality of our tissues being built, and the clarity of our mind. Eat Well.