With the passing time, we are moving more towards chemicals in our daily life. We are even unaware of how much chemicals surround us. Even our food contains a lot of chemicals in it. Examples for this will be the artificial flavouring agents like Vanilla and strawberry in ice-creams. Though every chemical present in food is not dangerous, some certainly are. But the sad part is that we don’t know about certain chemicals that are used by us while cooking.
Chemicals that we eat:
There are many chemicals which are added in our food to enhance their colour and provide strong taste. Though not all, some of these chemicals might harm us. Let us know about some of these chemicals, which you don’t know but are used in our food while cooking.
1. Artificial Flavouring:
These are referred to as chemicals that are added in our food to provide the taste of some natural flavours. Vanilla, Strawberry and Lemon flavours are some contemporary examples of this. People prefer these flavours because they are available in the market at a low price. Though, one might be careful while using such chemicals as several studies have suggested that these chemicals have side effects that may result in behavioural change.
2. BHA (Butylated Hydroxyanisole):
This chemical is a preservative which is generally found in many of our food items like butter, cereal, beer, chewing gum etc. This substance is considered to be very safe and is also recognised by the Food and Drug Administration. The National Institute of Health also categorises it as “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.”
3. Sodium Caseinate:
This biochemical compound can be found in many of our dairy products. It makes it quite possible that this chemical is present on your fridge rack and you are not even aware of it. But opposite to its fascinating and good name, this chemical is quite evil. Studies have suspected that this chemical can be the reason for many milk-based allergies and an upset stomach. This chemical is so dangerous that consuming it without knowing the rules can also put an adverse effect on your kidneys.
4. Aspartame:
It is the chemical which is used as an artificial sweetener and mostly used in diet drinks and some food items. While this chemical is used on a good scale by the industries that make drinks, it has been controversial for years. The major of it being controversial is because it is reported to cause seizures, headaches, mood disturbances and even cancer.
Sodium Benzoate is the last chemical which has made it to our list of most used chemicals in food. This chemical is a substance to some of the common preservatives to drinks and food products. It, too, has some effects on the human body. If this chemical is combined with food colour, Sodium Benzoate may lead to increase in Hyperactivity in children. It can also react with Vitamin C and create a substance called Benzene that can cause cancer.
As we have seen that there is the frequent use of chemicals in cooking and you can also buy some of these products online at lizardlabs.to . While some of these chemicals are safe to the human body, others can be very harmful. So, it is up to you which food item you should use next time.