Do You suffer from Food Allergies ?

A few days ago I posted about the effects of diet on our productivity. I headed it as a “Time Management Tip.”

The comments were underwhelming. I didn’t see too much enthusiasm, particularly when the subject of a Vegan Diet came up.

Many people could not even dream of a day without meat, eggs, cheese, milk, ice cream, custard, etc etc etc.

The fact still remains, and it is backed up by overwhelming evidence, that the foods we eat today are damaging us.

Heart Disease, Cancers, Diabetes – could all be seriously reduced with a more effective diet.

But unfortunately, this will never happen so long as the Food Manufacturers and the Drug Companies have such a big say in our lifestyles.

So in that post, I referred to a specific food additive that has been around for quite a while. There is a feeling that it is the root cause of many people’s allergic reactions to various foods.

It slipped in under the radar a good few years ago. Over the years, several studies have been set up to look at this additive, but none have been conclusive.

It is a preservative which is added to un-saturated vegetable oils and edible fats. It goes by the name of E319, but this is often not specified on packaging labels. The full name for this chemical is tert Butylhydroquinone.

Could tBHQ be causing your allergies ?

It comes from a chemical family that includes Butane, which is used in lighter fuel, and a similar chemical is added to varnishes, lacquers, resins and oil field additives.

The theory is that this chemical, when in our body, causes damage to our immune system. Adverse reactions make certain proteins fight against foods, which cause our allergy problems, These allergies are then treated by – you’ve guessed it – more chemicals and drugs prescribed by your doctor.

Food manufacturers are driven by profit, and preservatives in food are needed so that foodstuffs last longer on the supermarket shelves, and more product is sold before it “goes off.”

The best thing is to give a wide berth to those processed food items that contain multiple lines of ingredients including references to colourings and preservatives.

The more “natural” foods you eat, the more chance you have of avoiding preservatives like tBHQ.

Bon Appetit.

Chris