The nutrition of a modern day’ s person is full of additives that may cause serious health problems. Knowing what these substances are and avoiding them could turn out to be a real help in maintaining your health.
Keywords: nourishment, state of health, food additives.
 After 1989, the Romanian market has been invaded by a very wide range of food products; the situation as such often puts the customer into a difficult position when it comes to choosing the products s/he needs. This is also due to the exceptional commercial aspect of some of the products on the market. Let’ s admit that we often buy something, only to realize later on that the composition of that product contains additives, noxious chemical substances printed on the labels or the wrapping that lists the product  ingredients codified as “E”, that is, food additives (flavoring substances, colorants, preservatives and stabilizers). All these have been declared by the international bodies as being either toxic or carcinogenic substances.  Taking all this into consideration, the role of the family doctor grows considerably s/he being the first and most important factor in implementing a nutritional education program.
 According to the 2000 National Oncology Commission, in Romania cancer registers an alarming increase, being estimated that this disease will soon become “the third millennium’s disease”. Among the incriminated factors in provoking the disease are pollution, food chemicals and stress.
The “E” – substances, as the food chemical products have been internationally codified, have been deliberately denominated as such not to raise suspicions among customers.

THE DOCTOR SHOULD RECOMMEND THE AVOIDANCE OF THE CONSUMPTION OF:

Margarine: it is a relatively recent product, which appeared during the World War II, as a consequence of butter shortage. The American scientists have accidentally discovered that, if a mixture of vegetable oils is warmed up to 150° C in the presence of hydrogen and nickel catalysts, a white product is obtained, it resembles the butter in consistency and it has an identical molecular structure to that of plastic, and they have called “margarine”. Since then, it has been bettered with all sorts of coloring matters, flavoring substances and synthetic vitamins, thus becoming one of the most toxic food products.
The milk flavor of margarine is artificial. The vegetable oils in margarine after they have been through the boiling process, are almost impossible to be transformed into energy by the human body.

Concentrate soups: contain sodium glutamate (E621) in excess, one of the most carcinogenic substances, according to specialists. These anhydrous concentrates are obtained through dehydration of soups and broths normally prepared in industrial quantities; a white powder results, which is then mixed with coloring matters, flavoring substances, preservatives and sodium glutamate. It is then hermetically packed or pelleted. Sodium glutamate (a neurotoxin) causes unbearable headaches that cannot be cured with pain killers. The glutamate is sold to the producers in the form of tasteless white crystals and it is always combined with other chemical additives or flavoring substances also used for the preservation of milk, cheese, meat products and mushrooms.
US Food & Drug Administration has officially informed the public in the USA that sodium glutamate is one of the determining factors of the Alzheimer disease.

Sugar: is very concentrated, being immediately assimilated into blood and it produces hyperglycemia, which in turn forces the pancreas insulin in excess. Producers have invented ASPARTAM (E950, E951), a substitute of sugar, which is more toxic than the latter because it is used in higher concentrations. To avoid the toxic effects of sugar, specialists recommend fruit and honey consumption instead, easily assimilated by the organism.

Jams and other sweet products: contain “citric acid”. All colored candies contain food additives in their composition.

Drinks: the most frequently used substance is citric acid (E330) or artificial lemon powder, E123 and E110, as well as sugar substitutes. Avoid the consumption of drinks containing citric acid flavor, these being the most dangerous. The color additives they contain are E102 (tartrazine) and E110. the maximum admitted dose in consumption is 0.75 mg/body kg, and in food 70 mg/ body kg , with the exception of Turkish rahat, in which case the admitted dose is 30 mg/kg.
Alcoholic drinks (the wine) are preserved by using metabisulphite, which makes them limpid, but which is toxic for the liver. In the pasteurization process of beer, chemical substances that determine serious headaches are used.
As far as food additives are concerned, spirits (vodka, whisky, etc.), are not dangerous; however, liqueurs do contain E102, E110, etc.

Meat products are preserved using sodium glutamate and other food additives, according to the particular recipe of each producer. Besides, as far as the quality of alimentary principles, their content in fat is fairly high as compared to that of other meat products, while their contents in proteins is quite low (no raw meat can be included in the process!).

Chewing gum: contains E171, E320, E330, E420, E421, E422, E950, E951, E967 or other possibilities. It is really quite strange that a children’ s product can contain so many substances dangerous for their health. That is why the family doctor has to make mothers aware of this aspect.

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