Food Additives

Common food additives such as artificial coloring, high-fructose corn syrup, aspartame, MSG, sodium benzoate, sodium nitrate, and trans fat are found in processed food products. Many of these additive-filled processed food products are putting children at risk for endocrine, neurodevelopmental and thyroid disruption, cancer, heart disease, immunosuppression, oxidative stress, and weight problems. Despite studies (below), including numerous studies linking artificial food colors to ADHD, and warnings from top agencies and scientists, the FDA has undergone insufficient to zero regulatory testing on the safety and long term health outcomes of more than 10,000 food additive chemicals our children are now exposed to. Meanwhile, a national survey found about 60% of the calories consumed by Americans come from “ultra-processed” foods and beverages.

Food Additives and Child Health

A July 2018 study and policy statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics calls attention to the “more than 10 000 chemicals…allowed to be added to food in the United States” and the potential adverse effects on children’s health. Reproductive toxicology data are available for only 263 food additives, and developmental toxicology data are available for only two.

Changes in intestinal tight junction permeability associated with industrial food additives explain the rising incidence of autoimmune disease.

“Commonly used industrial food additives abrogate human epithelial barrier function, thus, increasing intestinal permeability through the opened tight junction, resulting in entry of foreign immunogenic antigens and activation of the autoimmune cascade.”