Chiropractor Discussion on Natural Flavorings & Why They May Not be Good For You

Dr. J's Health Tip of the Week: 

I am a huge proponent of reading labels on food products.  It is extremely important to know what is in the food that you eat.  There are certain ingredients that need to be avoided at all costs to ensure that the food you are eating is not negatively affecting your health.  Two such ingredients are trans-fats (hydrogenated oils) and corn syrup. When choosing foods to eat, my advice is to choose the food with the least amount of ingredients.  The least amount of ingredients almost always ensures that you are getting less harmful additives in your food.  For instance, if a food product has 5 ingredients on the label and another one has 25 (and the majority of those 25 ingredients are words that you cannot pronounce), the odds are the food with 5 ingredients is the food that is much healthier for you.  I purchase foods with the least amount of ingredients on the label and I personally look for foods with the healthiest ingredients.  The biggest issue I face in reading labels is the ingredient called "Natural Flavorings."  The words natural flavorings tends to appear on all food products, healthy or junky.  The definition of natural flavor under the Code of Federal Regulations is: “the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional” (21CFR101.22).  There is a food flavor industry.  Scientists work hard in their laboratories trying to concoct flavors to attract us to food products and not only eat them, but crave the flavors they invent and eat a lot more of the foods that contain these flavors.  Givaudan is the largest flavor manufacturer in the world.  They are based in Switzerland and their talent is creating "natural flavors" to attract us to the foods produced by companies that purchase the flavorings from them.  The food flavors are manufactured to trick your mind into wanting more and more.  For instance, they do not manufacture foods to taste like a strawberry, they manufacture foods to taste like the one millionth best tasting part of the strawberry to get you to keep eating and eating, sort of becoming addicted to the taste.  These flavor companies do this with "artificial flavors and natural flavors."  The words artificial flavors are easier to understand for me.  Artificial means man-made chemicals.  I avoid them like the plague.  Natural flavorings is the tricky part.  I look for foods that are natural.  Well, in the case of natural flavoring, natural doesn't necessarily mean good things.  Here is an example of some "natural" flavorings included in the ingredient "Natural Flavors" on the back of your favorite foods.  Castoreum is a "natural flavor" found in foods that taste like vanilla or raspberry.  It is made from the excretions and secretions of a gland from a beavers rear end!!  No kidding.  Cochineal and Carmine are natural colors that give food an orange and red color.  It has been used in apple sauce, baked goods, meat and spices.  Guess what it is made from?  Insects.  The natural flavoring in confectioners glaze is also made from insects.  It is a bug juice that protects an insects eggs.  Confectioners glaze is used in candy, cosmetics and chewing gum.  I can go on and on.  My point with this week's health tip is to create awareness how important it is to read labels and to try to find the healthiest foods for you and your family.  It's tough!  Maybe that is way shopping in the market takes me a really long time!!

Thought for the Week:  Don't dig your grave with your own knife and fork. ~English Proverb

Chiropractor's Thought for the Week:  Many of us take better care of our automobiles than we do our own bodies… yet the auto has replaceable parts.” ~ BJ Palmer, D.C, developer of chiropractic.   It's easy to take your health. One aspect is chiropractic. The chiropractor balances muscular instabilities, reduces friction on joint surfaces (restoring motion and preventing arthritis) and most importantly, the chiropractor improves the flow of spinal nerve impulses, this helps to improve the function of all the systems in your body, including the immune system. The chiropractor works to help you be healthy!

My name is Dr. J. Zimmerman and I am a chiropractor.  I have been in practice for 27 years.  My chiropractic practice uses many different chiropractic techniques to improve bodily function and restore health. My chiropractic office is located in Galloway Township (the Smithville section) of Atlantic County, NJ.  You can contact me for more chiropractic information at Health First Chiropractic Clinics,  609-652-6363

Author

Dr J. Zimmerman, Chiropractor Dr. Zimmerman is a practicing chiropractor from Galloway, NJ with 30 years of chiropractic practice.