Health
Additives for Dinner
by Deepti Priya Mehrotra
Parents, educationists and
health campaigners in the UK are demanding that the food industry desist
from adding color to food, particularly that which is meant for
children. Surely, it is time we take a serious look at the situation in
India. Our children's food habits have been changing rapidly with
exposure to global markets, and there is precious little by way of
safety checks and balances.
The international concern follows a study by the Food Standards Agency,
Britain (published in 'The Lancet', September 2007), which links food
additives, particularly coloring, with attention deficit hyperactive
disorder (ADHD). Lead researcher Professor Jim Stevenson explains that
certain mixtures of artificial food colors, alongside sodium benzoate, a
preservative commonly used in ice cream and confectionery, are
associated with an increase in hyperactivity: children behave
impulsively and lose concentration after a drink containing a mix of
additives.
If a child shows signs of hyperactivity or ADHD, eliminating artificial
colors from her/his diet might have beneficial effects. Implicated are
sunset yellow - coloring found in squashes; carmoisine - red coloring in
jellies; tartrazine - common coloring in lollipops and fizzy drinks; and
allura red - an orange/red food dye, to name a few.
Are we feeding our children unwisely, unsafely? Nutritionist Dr Bela
Sagar of Jabalpur Medical College (Madhya Pradesh), says, "Children love
sweets, candies and lemon drops but often the coloring is extremely
toxic. Maggi (a popular brand of instant noodles) is unhealthy because
it is only refined flour with preservatives, yet so filling it becomes a
full meal. Colas decalcinate the body. Ice creams, chips and chocolates
are not be so bad because at least they have some nutritional value,
although they too may contain toxic additives."
While the government has listed non-permitted food
additives, the enforcement is lax. According to Dr
Ramesh V. Bhatt, Nutrition Foundation of India, New
Delhi, "Studies (1997) conducted by the Industrial
Toxicology Research Centre (ITRC), Lucknow, revealed
nearly 62 per cent of artificially colored eatables
in the rural markets have non-permitted colors, which
are hazardous to the health. A study in Kolkata (1994)
revealed unsafe dyes, including textile dyes, in
street food items. In 6.6 per cent of the cases where
permitted colors were used, the statutory limit was
far exceeded."
Metanil yellow, a frequently used non-permitted color, causes food poisoning. Even among permitted
food colors, tartrazine is linked with
hypersensitivity responses. An increasing number of
food additives are being permitted, without sufficient
proof of safety, even in the case of infant foods such
as milk powder.
Manorama Devi, 40, and Vidya Thapa, 45, health
activists with grassroots NGO Action India in Delhi's
Seemapuri area, teach women to include lentils,
vegetables, cottage cheese, jaggery, curds,
buttermilk, groundnuts, 'laddus' (traditional
sweetmeats), sprouted 'moong dal' (lentils), and bread
made from millets, corn, barley and non-refined wheat,
in the family diet. They explain, "We have a vast
repertoire of delicious, nutritious and low-cost food
preparations. But children demand white bread, Maggi
noodles, chips and toffees. After we inform parents
about the risks attached, and the importance of
healthy diets, they take extra care, and children
actually begin to appreciate home-cooked food. We also
advise cooking in iron vessels to bring down the
incidence of anemia, and not in aluminium vessels,
which can be harmful."
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research
(ICMR), in India, aluminium is widely used to make
vessels, food packaging material, and food additives -
as a dough strengthener, leavening agent, emulsifying
agent for processed cheese, stabilizer and thickener.
The acceptable daily intake (ADI) is two milligrams
per kilogram of body weight (WHO standards), but a
large number of children are consuming much more.
Accumulation of aluminium in the body is reported to
cause disorders related to bones, blood and brain.
There is increasing evidence that it may affect
neuro-chemical processes in the central nervous system,
and ultimately lead to altered memory and behavioral
disorders.
A recent study by Lady Irwin College's Department of
Food and Nutrition reveals that the Delhi market is
flooded with products using artificial sweeteners.
Consumers are unaware that these can produce toxic
effects, especially when consumed in excess. Diet
colas, Jell-O, sugar-free gelatine dessert, mints and
many similar products contain a blend of aspartame and
acesulfame K. Popular items such as Catch Clear (a
popular brand of sugarfree carbonated water),
carbonated drinks and Orbit White (a brand of chewing
gum) contain aspartame too. Confectionery shops often
add artificial sweeteners to cakes, ice creams and
sweetmeats like 'kalakand' and 'kulfi' (ice cream made
of condensed milk). Toxic effects can be as severe as
bladder cancer, caused by saccharine and leukemia by
aspartame.
Dr Janet Hull's book on aspartame, 'Sweet Poison',
reveals the dangers of this "very toxic food chemical
saturating the world's food supply". She notes,
"People are getting very sick and weak from aspartame.
That is true and very real... Our food supply is a web
of confusion in modern times... What do we do? Get
back to the basics of eating and drinking to feed our
bodies and our minds what nature intended." She notes
that children are consuming more and more aspartame
laced products at an earlier age, contributing to
health problems like ADHD, diabetes, depression and behavioral disorders.
Dr Margaret Khalakdina, who has worked at UNICEF and
at Lady Irwin College, Delhi, and is currently writing
textbooks for home science students, says, "In an
agricultural economy like ours, it's a shame that
children are losing healthy food habits. Packaged food
is bound to have additives, some of which will be
toxic. People hardly bother to look at the expiry
dates of packaged and canned food, so they expose
themselves to harm. I would advise parents to go in
for 'samosas', 'pakoras' (deep fried savouries),
cucumber sandwiches, 'rasgullas' (Indian sweetmeat)
and cake for birthday parties, with lemonade or fruit
juices. For regular snacks, home-made vegetable rolls
are far healthier than factory- produced burgers or
pastries."
Other problematic food additives include butylated
hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT),
and propyl gallate, used as preservatives in snack
foods, chewing gums, cereals, potato chips, vegetable
oils, and so on. All three have caused cancer in
experimental animals. Monosodium glutamate (MSG),
another controversial chemical, is a common ingredient
in Chinese food, packaged soups and salad dressings,
chips, frozen entrees, canned vegetables and tuna, and
frozen foods. Experiments show that large amounts of
MSG fed to infant mice destroy nerve cells in the
brain. So, it is best that young children do not
consume such ingredients.
Professor Ram Narain, retired from Delhi University's
Faculty of Education, notes, "Fast foods have become a
status symbol, and children are manipulated by
advertisements. Parents and teachers must resist the
pressure. Schools canteens should keep only the right
kinds of food. Parents should nurture children with
fruit, milk and vegetables, all of which can be very
tasty."
Teenager Nandita Kumar in the Capital, says, "I love
pizzas, burgers and chips although I know it is junk
food, but it's okay because I only have it only two or
three times a month. I have not had colas since the
time I saw a film that showed that the water supply is
terribly contaminated due to the production of Coca
Cola in a village in Kerala. It is harmful for our
health, too. People should see such films to have more
information so they refuse to eat or drink harmful
things."
Boloji.com is owned and managed by
Boloji Media Inc Privacy Policy |
Disclaimer No part of this Internet site may
be reproduced without prior written permission of the copyright holder.
