The concept of “food additives” is known, perhaps, to every schoolchild. They are written about in magazines and newspapers, talked about on television and radio, talked about in the kitchen and in the yard.
And, despite the extensive discussion of the problem of nutritional supplements, two extremes are still widespread in society. In the first case, people are categorically against food additives in any form and are terribly afraid of products with “E” ingredients. In the second case, the housewives completely ignore the study of the composition of the purchased products, paying attention only to the expiration date. The first extreme leads to a serious limitation of the range of products “permissible” for preparing dinner; the second – smoothly, but inevitably leads to a deterioration in well-being and even the emergence of dangerous diseases.

While working on the article, we set out to help you avoid extremes and choose an average, “golden” position for yourself. It is always better to have adequate information and be critical of the choice of products so that you can compare the benefits and possible harm.

What are nutritional supplements?

Food additives are called special substances added to food to give them the necessary properties. Food additives are introduced into the composition of the product at the stages of processing, production, storage, packaging and transportation.

The goals of introducing a food additive into a product can be:
obtaining a taste or aroma;
giving color;
formation of consistency;
increasing the shelf life.

For ease of use, all nutritional supplements have their own unique number, which begins with the letter “E” (according to the European Union classification). The classification of food additives is not a static phenomenon. New nutritional supplements are regularly added to the list, some of them are moved from allowed to prohibited and vice versa. In addition, such lists may vary from country to country.

Food additives – an absolute evil?

Ardent opponents of all food additives, without exception, at the sight of, for example, E300 in the composition of the product, draw a conclusion about its danger. But the fact is that there are natural supplements that in no way harm the human body.

natural nutritional supplements

This group of food additives includes substances that are found in nature and do not harm human health. The origin of these additives can be vegetable, animal, mineral. Even eating only products “from our own garden” and “from our own cow”, such food additives enter our body and not only do not harm, but often have a positive effect on our health.

Examples of natural food additives are E100 – curcumins, coloring substances derived from the turmeric plant; E406 – agar, a gelling agent from seaweed (a component of some sweets and marmalade); E414 – gum arabic obtained from some trees; E160c – paprika oil resins, as the name implies, is extracted from paprika. The list of natural food additives contains more than two dozen items.

Additives obtained artificially

There are additives that are artificially obtained natural additives. That is, such substances are found in nature, but for industrial purposes they are obtained artificially. Such additives are also safe for the body, but there is already one “but” here: in the process of their preparation, by-products of distillation, metal impurities, etc. can get into the composition of the substance. Nutritional supplements from this group are often referred to as “nature identical”.
Let’s give examples. E300 – ascorbic acid, recommended by many doctors for daily intake. For industrial purposes, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is obtained from glucose. E160a – carotenes, well-known useful substances from bright carrots. In industry, carotenes are obtained either by extraction from natural products or by chemical means. E296 is malic acid, which is normally synthesized in the human body. Malic acid is obtained chemically. E153 – vegetable coal, a fossil substance. Often it is obtained by carbonization of plant materials. E260 is the most common vinegar.

Fully synthetic nutritional supplements

Food additives of this group do not occur in nature, are not produced in the human body, and therefore require closer attention. Some of the synthetic additives are little studied, some significantly increase the risk of allergic reactions, the development of arterial hypertension, disorders of the digestive system, and the occurrence of malignant tumors.

When determining the acceptability of the use of a food additive in food products, they are usually guided by lists of prohibited and prohibited food additives. Prohibited additives are substances whose negative impact on the human body has been proven. Unapproved additives include substances for which there is not yet enough data or research has not yet been completed. Here is a list of prohibited food additives.

1.E121 – citrus red dye 2;
2.E123 – dye red amaranth;
3.E128 – dye red 2G;
4.E216 – para-hydroxybenzoic acid preservative propyl ester (parabens);
5.E217 – preservative para-hydroxybenzoic acid propyl ester sodium salt;
6.E240 – formaldehyde preservative.

Examples of Common Harmful Food Additives

E250 – sodium nitrite. A traditional component of industrial sausages. Despite the fact that sodium nitrite is a poison dangerous to humans and mammals, it is actively used in the production of sausages, but its dose is extremely small and therefore not dangerous. When purchasing sausage in a store, it should be remembered that the allowable dose of sodium nitrite for smoked sausage exceeds the same indicator for boiled sausage, since smoked meats are considered to be a festive product, a delicacy that is eaten much less often.

E951 – aspartame. Aspartame is a popular sweetener in many carbonated soft drinks. Once in the human body, aspartame breaks down into phenylalanine, aspartic acid and methanol, a well-known poisonous alcohol. Its dose of 5-10 ml leads to severe poisoning with the possible development of blindness, and 30 ml is already a lethal dose. Of course, even after drinking a full bottle of aspartame soda, a person will still be far from methanol poisoning, however, limiting the use of such drinks is quite reasonable.

E338 – orthophosphoric acid. Included in low-calorie Coca-Cola and some other drinks. It is added to products to give sourness and a slight bitter taste. This dietary supplement helps to reduce the strength of bone tissue and the destruction of tooth enamel.

E952 – sodium cyclamate. A sweetener used in sugary carbonated drinks. In most people, sodium cyclamate is not absorbed, but is excreted unchanged. However, a number of people in the intestines have microorganisms that break down E952 to form substances that are carcinogenic (contributing to cancer) and teratogenic (contributing to the occurrence of fetal abnormalities during fetal development) effect.

Some Pitfalls of Using Nutritional Supplements

So, it would seem that we figured it out and realized that it’s not worth evaluating the harm of a food additive only by the terrible E label. However, there are also some features that you need to pay attention to.

Quantity Matters

Even the most natural food additive can be dangerous at a high dosage – for example, hypervitaminosis with severe reactions with excessive use of the same vitamin C or A. And vice versa, if a synthetic food additive is introduced into the product in compliance with the rules and acceptable standards, then it is unlikely that it will the action will manifest itself as negative. That is, you need to look not only at the presence of food additives, but also at their quantity.

Producer Integrity

By law, any food manufacturer must place on the labels of the product full information about its composition. A conscientious manufacturer will indicate both the name of the additive, and its marking according to the E classification, and the quantity.

If you don’t see an indication of a preservative on a product with a long shelf life, this means that the manufacturer simply wants to deceive you.

Title only

Some food manufacturers, not wanting to scare away the buyer with numerous components marked E, indicate in the composition only the full name of the food additive. This is also a violation – they want to mislead you.

Daily amount of nutritional supplements

The total amount of additives that have entered our body is also important. If our breakfast, lunch and dinner consist entirely of products with numerous synthetic additives, then even if the permissible amount of each of them in the product is observed, their total amount can significantly go beyond safe limits.

Individual sensitivity

Even nutritional supplements from the group of natural and harmless can be dangerous for a particular person. A striking example is people with a tendency to allergic reactions. In particular, this is related to the recommendations of nutritionists and pediatricians to protect children from the use of products with synthetic food additives and a large amount of natural and artificial additives.

So, nutritional supplements are not a disaster and not the culprit of all the ills of human health. However, ignoring the choice of products, taking into account the presence of additives “E” in them, is ignoring the needs of your body. Let’s be careful and reasonable – and then our health will be in our hands!