Additives

I've been doing a little research, aided by the book by Bill Statham 'What's Really in Your Basket?'.
A warning - do not read this book if you are looking for some light entertainment.  However, do read this book if you wish to avoid the uncertain-effects, harmful or out right poisonous chemicals the food production companies are adding to our food.

For example:

Aspartame (also known as E951), a artificial sweetener and flavour enhancer

This additive is present in artificial sweeteners such as Nutrisweet.  It can also be present in low calorie foods, diet drinks, chewing gum, soft drinks, instant coffee and may be added to anything which is sugar free or without added sugar.

The one that is utterly horrifying, when you learn what this substance does, is its presence in medication, including those for children.

Prepared from phenylalanine and aspartic acid, Aspartame breaks down into methanol and then formaldehyde in the body.

In medical studies it has been documented as causing "headaches, depression, anxiety, asthma, fatigue, hyperactivity, MS like symptoms, blindness, aggression, migraine, insomnia, dizziness, irritability, epilepsy, memory loss, seizures - more than 92 in all, NRC, not recommended for women during pregnancy, teratogenic."

O.K. I will admit that I do not know what all of those words mean, but the ones I do understand like blindness and epilepsy do not sound good, in fact they sound out right terrifying.  And the companies are putting this stuff in our food!

Since discovering what this additive is and what it does to the human body I have started reading the labels of every soft drink I buy.  So far the only lemonade I have found that does not contain this additive is Sainsbury's Own.  This is now the only lemonade I will buy.  This is not only a health choice, it is a move to force the food companies to remove this chemical from their list of acceptable additives.  If more people refuse to buy a product with this stuff in and will only buy the products that are clean of it, then the companies will have no choice but to remove it from the recipes to stay competitive.  This is what is meant by 'the power of the people', we do not have to accept that they put this stuff in our food, a simple choice can improve our diets and force the food production companies to do something about their immoral practises.

For the full detail I would highly recommend Bill Statham's book 'What's Really in Your Basket?'.  Ignorance maybe bliss but in this case it will also see you poisoned by what you eat.