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Exotic names are nice to dream about. However, incomprehensible names should not appear on the ingredient list of a snack. That’s why we briefly explain why it’s better to avoid foods with many additives.
Food additives or additives are substances deliberately added to food products. There are various reasons for this, such as simplifying the production process. They are also often added to improve taste or appearance or to preserve food longer. Are all additives bad for us? No, but some caution is warranted.
The main food additives and their purposes at a glance:
- Colorants: artificial or natural (i.e., derived from natural products) colorants.
- Preservatives: substances used to slow down the growth of bacteria, such as sorbic acid.
- Emulsifiers, thickeners, and gelling agents: substances that make the product firmer or improve the texture. A well-known example is lecithin.
- Flavor enhancers and artificial aromas: substances used to enhance or change the taste. Well-known examples are glutamates.
- Sweeteners: artificial sweeteners used to replace sugar in light products, such as aspartame or saccharin.
When a food product contains additives, this must be clearly stated on the label. You usually recognize them by a code starting with an E followed by a number. Sometimes they are listed by name on the label instead of the code.
But beware! Not all E-numbers or additives are necessarily bad for us; for example, vitamin C can be found under E300.
Although additives are regulated and food manufacturers are allowed to add them to their products, that doesn't mean all additives are healthy for you; on the contrary. Moreover, they often have no nutritional value and provide nothing useful to your body. Sometimes they are even added to avoid using more expensive (and usually real, pure) food ingredients.
In a healthy diet, it is important to choose foods that are as pure and unprocessed as possible. A simple rule is that the more processed a food or snack is, the more additives it will contain. Fortunately, E-numbers stand out quite clearly in an ingredient list. If you're unsure whether an E-number is okay, just ask Google, so you know exactly what you're dealing with.
But a good guideline is that if you have to struggle through a long list of incomprehensible names on the label, it's better to choose a healthier alternative with pure ingredients. Because some additives are really not good for us.