Ingredients of Concern
Get the facts about artificial food dyes, fake sweeteners, caffeine, and other commonly used food ingredients.
Sugar
With a few exceptions, most sweeteners and the naturally occurring sugars in fruit break down into roughly half fructose and half glucose in the body. The natural sugar in milk (lactose) breaks down into half glucose and half galactose. Don’t worry so much about the naturally occurring sugar in fruit, milk, and plain yogurt, but avoid sugary drinks and limit fruit juice to no more than one cup a day. Limit yourself to 6 teaspoons a day of added sugars if you’re a woman and 9 teaspoons if you’re a man. Most children and adolescent girls should consume less than 5 teaspoons, and adolescent boys less than 9 teaspoons, of added sugars per day. No matter what your age, you would exceed those limits by drinking just one 20-ounce soft drink, which contains 15 or more teaspoons of added sugars.
Salt
Sodium chloride, or salt, is perhaps the deadliest ingredient in the food supply. While a small amount of sodium is necessary for health, the amount in a typical diet these days is enough to cause high blood pressure, or hypertension. If you’re looking to reduce your sodium intake, don’t look to the salt shaker for most of your reduction: About three-quarters of the sodium we consume comes in packaged and restaurant foods.
Artificial Sweeteners
Aspartame tops our list of sugar substitutes to avoid, because it caused cancer in three independent studies using laboratory rats and mice. CSPI also recommends that consumers avoid acesulfame potassium, saccharin, and sucralose. Several natural, high-potency sweeteners are increasingly common, like stevia leaf extract (which CSPI ranks as safe) and monk fruit extract (which CSPI says warrants caution). See Chemical Cuisine for more.
Caffeine
The only drug that is present naturally or added to widely consumed foods, caffeine is mildly addictive, one possible reason that makers of soft drinks add it to their products. Many coffee drinkers experience withdrawal symptoms, such as headaches, irritability, sleepiness, and lethargy, when they stop drinking coffee. Learn more about the caffeine content in brand name coffee, teas, sodas, energy drinks, and other foods (including some surprising ones). Read more.
Food Dyes
Commonly used food dyes, such as Yellow 5, Yellow 6, and Red 40, pose risks including behavioral problems and hyperactivity in some children. Some dyes also pose a risk of cancer (like Red 3) and allergic reactions (like Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Red 40, Blue 1). CSPI recommends that consumers avoid dyed foods and is pressing the Food and Drug Administration to remove them from the food supply, or at least require a warning label on dyed foods. Read more.
Quorn
It’s a good idea to eat less meat, but be careful when it comes to the chicken or beef substitute that goes by the brand name Quorn. Made from a single-celled fungus—a mold, actually—that’s grown in giant vats, Quorn’s “mycoprotein” causes adverse reactions in some consumers. Those reactions range from vomiting and diarrhea to hives, difficulty breathing, and anaphylactic shock. Read more.
Calories in Alcohol
What’s the damage to your waistline from alcohol? It can be a guessing game. Labels for most beer, wine, and other alcoholic beverages aren’t required to list calories… or even ingredients. Find out the calorie content of your favorite stouts, ciders, ales, and other alcoholic beverages. Read more.