I am currently traveling in Europe as I am starting to write this article. I have been eating many things that I usually never touch at home. Bread, in particular, is one of the items I choose not to consume. Besides the fact that I don’t find much of nutritional value in bread, my stomach usually does not agree with it unless I just have a couple of bites. In Germany and Italy, I ate bread, including large baguettes every single day without any symptoms. I have studied Food Politics, and I am about to tell you exactly why this is.
Bread and many other food items are created differently in most European countries, but also some countries in Asia and Australia than in the US. This is because many food additives are banned in these countries that are totally okay in our country.
In this country food manufacturers are allowed to use many chemicals and additives in our snacks, drinks, packaged foods, meat production, and our crops. Other countries are banning these because they have determined them as unsafe for human consumption.
Some of the food additives that are prohibited in Europe and other countries:
· Potassium Bromate is added to flour in most baked goods, which is considered a possible human carcinogen.
· Red Dye #40, Yellow #5 & 6 are food dyes that are used in candy, cereal, snacks, and condiments - linked to behavioral changes in children, allergies, migraines, and perhaps cancer.
· Antibiotics used to promote the growth of meat animals, which increases the risk for drug-resistant bacteria in humans.
· Beef Hormones and rBGH Hormones used on cattle and affects human hormones and potentially lead to hormonal cancer and infertility.
· Atrazine Herbicide used on crops and ends up contaminating our groundwater is a potential endocrine disrupter that affects the reproductive system.
· Brominated Vegetable Oil used to flavor sports and soft drinks and can affect memory, skin, and nerves. It’s also used in carpets to keep them from catching on fire (PLEASE, TELL ME WHY THIS IS IN OUR FOOD?)
Now to the question of why I don’t experience any stomach discomfort while eating bread in Europe. The answer is straightforward. Bread is made mainly for daily consumption there, meaning made fresh every day from local bakeries to be eaten in 1 or 2 days. It’s made without preservatives and additives with a few simple ingredients the way it was done hundreds of years ago…flour, water, yeast, and salt.
I want to scream when I think about the fake ingredients we are putting into our bodies. We are creatures from this natural world, how do we assume that these synthetic chemicals are okay for our bodies; especially in the long run? Also, think about our children who are likely consuming most of these foods specifically engineered to look prettier and tastier. I am not suggesting for you to move to Europe or anywhere else in the world any time soon but as I said in many of my previous articles: Food can be medicine! To avoid the food that makes us sick, stay with foods that are produced naturally without chemicals, hormones, antibiotics, and pesticides and please avoid the convenience foods that are packaged and processed.
Every day there is something small you can do to maintain a healthier life!
Healthy wishes,
Tanja Samalya, MNT
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