Why We Should Not Consume Preserved Foods
Have you ever wondered what made those frozen foods taste so good, while only requiring a couple of minutes to cook? Have you ever wondered why your packaged foods can last in your pantry for a year or more? The simple answer is: preservatives.
Although they may seem safe to eat, they most certainly should be avoided at all costs… Most people would usually drive over to a supermarket, where they will buy any food or drink item that looks good to them, without thinking of what may happen to their bodies. Even though preserved foods have the benefit a longer shelf life, people should not be eating many of them, due to the fact that it causes edible items to seem almost unnatural, and the chemicals which are put into them may have some seriously unhealthy side effects.
Preserved foods have the possibility of being good for you, or making life convenient. For example, if you cooked up some pre-packed foods, such as powdered soup, or frozen waffles, you can save much more time than if you boiled up a broth or blended a batter. Also, these foods are suitable for storage, as they can be kept in your larder for months on end before finally succumbing to bacteria and microbes. The main point of preservation is to slow down, or stop the development of colonies which use their chemical processes to rancidify food.
Hundreds of years ago, sailors already knew that heavily salted meat was enough to drain out all the water in foods. The precious elixir of life was one of the requirements for microbes to begin to grow and colonize. Fortunately for us, not all processes that kill bacteria cause complications; the Chinese “Century Egg”, otherwise known as a “Thousand Year Egg”, is a duck, chicken, or quail egg that has been preserved in an alkaline mixture of rice husks, clay, ash, lime, and salt. The result is a perfectly intact egg with a remarkable taste, and no added chemicals. However, not all processes are this healthy…
Haven’t you also noticed that cooking a meal by yourself tastes different from what comes from a frozen package? It’s not because of what you mix in, its because the preservatives are actually changing the taste and texture of the food. Most people must have gone to eat burgers before… McDonald’s uses highly preserved foods ensure that you keep on smiling! In a student-run experiment, a boy found that while the fries of a local McDonald’s restaurant had almost no mold on it, the same thing made by his parents started showing mold day 2…
The chemicals that are put into these horrible preserved foods have a nasty reputation of causing health complications in the long run. Does the name “aspartame” ring a bell? For those of you who don’t know, aspartame is a sweetening preservative that is put into dessert, cake, and candy products. It is known to spread internal damage throughout the body. When you ingest aspartame, your body breaks it down into two different compounds: formic acid, and formaldehyde. Formic acid is a known irritant, and is the fire ant’s main weapon of defence. Formaldehyde, on the other hand, is known as a highly toxic preservative that is used to stop dead bodies from rotting away. The sweetener can also cause widespread damage to the optic nerves, brain cells, and nerve cells that control body movement… Still not convinced? It has been named a toxin by the EPA.
Do you like to enjoy a nice slice of cold ham? Well, it has newly been discovered that the process of smoking a ham allows a number of polycylic hydrocarbons to enter the food, many of which are known carcinogens. Also, while walking down the aisles in a supermarket, you see a twinkle out of the periphery of your vision. You quickly turn your head to find a pile of unnaturally shiny apples! Do you know what is used to make them so radiant? A thick layer of parrafin wax is enough to get those apples appetizing. Grapes are next on our list of deadly beauties, as they may look delicious, but they carry sulphides, which are known to cause lung complications with asthmatics.
In spite of all this, we are continuing to consume preserved foods every day. People are slowly killing themselves by eating the foods they love, that could easily be available without such chemicals. These preserved foods may have the advantage against organic foods when it comes to the expiry date. However, it is better to spend extra money on real food, than on products that are not even suitable for animals to eat, as they will only deteriorate your health in the future. Many, mad scientists still approve of this method of food preparation, but don’t despair. By avoiding these foods, you are not putting more money for research into their pockets, and you can continue to live healthy, prosperous lives. Unfortunately, if we ignore this problem, and carry on in this way, we will no longer
require embalming fluids to preserve the dead, as what we eat would be enough.
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