8 Unwanted Ingredients - Did they RSVP to your party?

1.  BHA - butylated hydroxyanisole - aka a preservative to prevent a product from going rancid.  This ingredient is shown to cause cancer in rats fore stomach - an organ that humans don't have therefore the FDA has not banned it from our shelves.  Some cereals contain this ingredient.

2.  Parabens - another preservative found in food and cosmetics which may disrupt and cause a hormonal imbalance.  Daily ingestion may decrease sperm and testosterone.  Also found in breast cancer tissue.  You can find this ingredient in some ice cream sundaes and in some cosmetics.

3.  Partially Hydrogenated Oil - 0g trans fat products may still contain up to 0.49g of trans fat per serving.  Don't be fooled.  2g is the absolute maximum we should consume per day.  You can find this ingredient in certain popcorn shrimp recipes and certain frozen pizzas.  But, you are smarter than that, so I know I don't have to worry about you here.

4.  Sodium Nitrate - used to inhibit bacteria growth in foods.  Once ingested, this ingredient can fuse with amino acids to form powerful carcinogenic compounds ie. cancer.  You can find this ingredient in some beef, poultry and meat.  Sorry bacon lovers...know where your bacon comes from.  Click here to read more about carcinogens - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcinogen

5.  Caramel Coloring - Mmmmm sound good?  Some companies like to treat the sugar with AMMONIA which can also produce nasty carcinogens.  The coloring found in sodas account for roughly 15,000 cancers in the United States annually.

6.  Castoreum - If you're like me, you've probably never heard of this one.  It's labeled "natural ingredient".  It's not harmful but it's quite unsettling!  Warning: Castoreum is a substance made from beavers castor sacs, or anal scent glands.  Disgusted yet?  These glands produce potent secretions that help these animal mark their territory in the wild.  In the food industry, thousands of pounds of this ingredient imbibe foods such as vanilla or raspberry flavorings.  I hear it has quite the "musky" taste.

7.  Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Red 40 and Red 3...just some of the food dyes that are causing things like hyperactivity in children and tumors and contain carcinogens.  Food dyes are found in certain jello, cereals and candies just to name a few.

8.  Last, but certainly not least - Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein.  It's a flavor enhancer and forms MSG causing headaches, nausea and weakness.  The FDA requires manufacturers to disclose this information, however, when it occurs as a byproduct of hydrolyzed protein, the FDA allows it to go unrecognized.  You can find this ingredient in noodle side dishes and packaged onion rings.