Its All In the Packaging

As I began to think about the unnecessary additivesd that have contributed to the health problems including cancers, diabetes, and obesity, I imagined I would concentrate on things like the sweeteners, the syrups, the preservatives, and the like. However, it seems like just as guilty a culprit is something that is not even in the food, rather it is what the food is in. I am talking about butylated hydroxyanisole and the related compound butylated hydroxytoluene, better known as BHA and BHT.

We are all familiar with BHA/ BHT. Our cereal is put in bags of it. The bread is too. Much produce is put into flimsy, plastic containers made from it. BHA/ BHT is a white (or sometimes a yellowish) wax like solid. It is normally recognizeable by its faint aroma. It is often found as a white powder additive as well. BHA/ BHT reacts with the oxygen in a product, rather than the fats and oils, preserving them from spoiling. It helps them from getting rancid, thus its main function: to improve shelf life. Thus, it is fat soluable, rather than going through the entire digestive tract, it gets stored in the body's tunnels possibly clogging the pathways.

It is also used in cosmetics and health and beauty products and drugs. It preserves the color, odor, and flavor of food. As well as grains, it is also found in shortening and other fats and oils.

So aside from making our food processed and less natural, what are the side effects? Similar to how people with Celiac's Disease have problems processing gluten, and people with lactose intolerance have thier dairy problems, some people have a hard time metabloizing BHA/ BHT resulting in dire health and behavioral side effects. This was proven by animal testing. There animals exposed to BHA/ BHT internally were found to have tumors the forestomach (which humans do not have, just a stomach) and the liver. It also results in indirect complications in the pancreas and kidneys.