Food additives can cause some pretty nasty problems. If you are new to the scene and learning about food additives, the numbers, names and how to know what is ok and what isn’t, can all get a little overwhelming. Add into the mix different symptoms and issues – adhd, asthma, eczema, etc – and things get difficult. This blog is designed to help make sense of all the additives hidden names, numbers and symptoms.
First of all, if you’d like more info on what additives are, click here for a fact sheet.
KNOWING THE SYMPTOMS
It pays to know the main reasons for avoiding certain ingredients/additives.
If you’d like more info on why additives can be nasty, click here for the common symptoms of food additives.
Did you know there are nearly 50 additives currently being used in foods in Australia that are known to cause ADHD-type symptoms such as hyperactivity, behaviour, learning and concentration problems?
(19 of which are colourings (some ‘natural’ ones too), 18 are preservatives, 9 are forms of MSG and 2 are artificial sweeteners…)
For a full list of additives to avoid for those with ADHD, click here. (click on the pdf button for an easy to read and printable version)
For those with Asthma,
there are nearly 60 additives currently being used in foods in Australia that are known to cause asthmatic symptoms 24 are preservatives, 17 are colourings, 9 are forms of MSG, 7 are synthetic antioxidants (usually used to preserve vegetable oils) and 2 are artificial sweeteners…
For a full list of additives to avoid for those with Asthma, click here. (click on the pdf button for an easy to read and printable version)
For those with skin issues such as eczema,
there are around 50 additives currently being used in foods in Australia that are known to cause skin issues. Of these, 18 are preservatives, 17 are colourings, 6 are synthetic antioxidants (usually used to preserve vegetable oils), 5 are artificial sweeteners and 4 are flavour enhancers/MSG.
For a full list of additives to avoid for those with skin issues, click here. (click on the pdf button for an easy to read and printable version)
Whilst not meant to baffle you, this information can be a lot to take in… So what can you take from all these numbers?
No matter what you symptoms may be, the worst culprits are always going to be colourings and preservatives… so if you don’t know where to start, begin by eliminating these.
KNOWING THE NUMBERS
Knowing the numbers can be the hardest bit… With over 550 additives in Australia, no person in their right mind is going to memorise and learn about each one, unless they have a profound interest in food chemistry.
For those of us with less time on our hands (or more time for the finer things in life!), here’s a few tricks to still be food additive savvy and not sound like rainman…
The numbers in the 100s = colouring
- There’s about 48 different colourings
- 5 are natural and ok (101, 160A, 170, 171, 175)
- 21 are questionable – may be ok for some, but if sensitive to salicylates, glutamates, amines or skin ailments, it’s most likely best to avoid them too
- 22 are flat out best to avoid
For a full list of additives to avoid, click here. (click on the pdf button for an easy to read and printable version)
In short, avoid almost all of them and don’t believe it’s ok if it says it’s natural colouring!
The numbers in the 200s = preservatives
- Some are ok (234, 242, 243, 260, 262, 263, 270, 290, 296, 297)
- Most of the 200s are best to avoid (from 200-228, 235, 249-252, 261, 264, 280-283)
For a full list of additives to avoid, click here. (click on the pdf button for an easy to read and printable version)
In short, avoid anything that is a preservative and has the word sorbate/sorbic, benzoate, sulphite, sulphate, nitrite, nitrate, propionic/propionate and check your ingredients for the above numbers!!!
The numbers in the 300s = antioxidants
Now often we hear this word antioxidant as a healthy thing, but there are some really nasty ones too… In the 300s, there are a lot that are ok, but the ones to avoid are really not pretty… And the nasty thing is, they are often not listed because they fall within the 5% loophole.
What is this loophole?
Basically, if it’s less than 5% of the product ingredients, it doesn’t have to be listed in the ingredients label on the packaging…
The nasty numbers to avoid in the 300s are often used to preserve vegetable oils and margarines but aren’t listed in these products as they fall in this magical loophole…Avoid 310, 311, 312, 319, 320, 321, 338, 385
For a full list of additives to avoid, click here. (click on the pdf button for an easy to read and printable version)
In short, avoid gallates, TBHQ, BHA & BHT and be diligent with number checking as these will crop up in lots of prepacked processed kiddie foods such as LCMs (that claim there are no artificial colours or flavours in their products).
The numbers in the 600s = flavour enhancers/MSG/glutamates
MSG is well known by most to be something to avoid. The problem is, it’s only one number – 621 – and there are a lot of sneaky flavour enhancers or glutamates that are regularly used in replacement of MSG and they give exactly the same nasty side effects. The worst bit is, these other 600 numbers aren’t called MSG, so the packaging will often state “No Added MSG!” Yes! I saw a packet of plain chips just the other day with this written on the front to claim how healthy they were, and yet on the back, there was another flavour enhancer in the ingredients list instead – same same, but different…. Hmmmm.. (was a packet of woolworths sour cream and sweet chilli chips for those wanting to know).
For more info on glutamates, click here.
It’s actually quite hard to find a processed or packaged product that doesn’t include some form of flavouring or glutamate, and again, they can get tricky with their ingredients and do not list them as anything other than the word ‘flavours’, leaving it up to your imagination to work out what that means… If you are going hard core glutamate elimination, you will find there are plenty of other words used that are similar to MSG or glutamates – yeast extract, barley malt extract, hydrolysed, ‘something’ protein, etc. In this case, I say, it is up to you how far you want to go, because again, these ingredients are in just about everything (plenty of savoury biscuits/crackers and cereals such as weetbix, rice bubbles, nutrigrain, etc have barley malt extract).
In short, if you are not planning on being severely strict about these things, avoid the really nasty flavour enhancers, and do your best to steer clear of the others as much as possible.
What are the nasties? 600, 621, 622, 623, 624, 625, 627, 631 and 635 and they usually have some sort of glutamate word in their name…
For a full list of additives to avoid, click here. (click on the pdf button for an easy to read and printable version)
In short, avoid avoid avoid! And as usual, don’t believe the advertising on packaging – go straight to the ingredients and check the numbers!
The numbers in the 900s = artificial sweeteners
One of the biggest fibs you’ll see on packaging is the old “no added sugar” statement. Despite sounding rather healthy, this usually means there’s a bucket load of ‘other’ forms of sugar (hello fructose, glucose, dextrose, etc) or they’ve replaced the sugar with particularly nasty artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, etc.
Avoid 950, 951, 952, 954, 955, 961, 962 like the plague.
In short, go for natural (brown rice syrup is the pick of the naturals in my opinion, but you can also go for xylitol or stevia if you can tolerate them) or go for unsweetened products… and again, read the ingredients! Sugar is not a bad thing in moderation and a far better alternative than the artificial varieties.
For a full list of additives to avoid, click here. (click on the pdf button for an easy to read and printable version)
No matter what you are aiming to avoid, remember – don’t believe the packaging! So-called ‘natural’ colouring can cause problems too – especially if highly sensitive to salicylates, amines and glutamates… Always read the ingredient lists and ignore the advertising guff on the front of packages! ‘No added colouring or flavouring’ is quite often a broad statement and usually not grounded in very much truth…
Learning about additives – the numbers and names – doesn’t have to be baffling and with a few tricks and some time and patience, you can get the knack of it. Allow yourself some time to adjust to these tricks and if in doubt, go for natural whole foods to keep happy, healthy and calm! And if you’re out and about shopping and checking labels, you can always whip out your phone, head to my website knowledge centre and check out the pretty pdf lists of additives to avoid.
What additives do you find most prominent in your family’s food? You can comment below or click here to head to my Facebook page to share your discoveries from reading labels and deciphering additives. For more help in going additive free, click here to contact me – I’m happy to help with anything from a full lifestyle additive free change to a simple question about a particular product or ingredient!
Loren x
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