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GLENN ELLIS' STRATEGIES FOR WELL BEING: Junk Food and Health
There are over 14,000 man-made chemicals added to our American food supply today. Food additives are not natural nutrition for humans or their pets. Children are suffering the most from food additives because they are exposed to food chemicals from infancy, and human bodies were not meant to be exposed to the degree of chemicals and food additives that we are currently consuming.
A report by the Mental Health Foundation describes the links between the less severe forms of mental disorder, such as anxiety, and the nation's increasing reliance on ready meals and processed food, which are heavy in pesticides, additives and harmful trans fats. Eating a diet without fresh fruit and vegetables, fish, pulses or nuts deprives the brain of the essential vitamins and nutrients needed to regulate it. Increasing rates of anxiety, depression and irritability could be due to a poor diet that lacks the essential chemicals to keep the brain healthy, according to a leading mental health charity.
The report, argues that dietary changes could hold the key to combating problems such as depression and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) in children.
Over the past 60 years, there has been a significant decline in the consumption of fruit and vegetables, with only 13 per cent of men and 15 per cent of women now eating at least five portions each day. The number of pesticides and additives in food has risen sharply over the same period.
The brain relies on a mixture of complex carbohydrates, essential fatty acids (EFAs) - particularly Omega 3 and Omega 6 - vitamins and water to work properly. Highly processed food contains high levels of trans fats - unsaturated oils that have been refined - which can assume the same position in the brain as the EFAs, without delivering the proper nutrients.
Nutritional deficiency could seriously hamper the body's production of amino acids, which are vital to good psychological health. Neurotransmitters, made from amino acids, are chemicals which transmit nerve impulses between the brain cells.
Serotonin, a key neurotransmitter made by the amino acid tryptophan, helps to regulate feelings of contentment and anxiety, as well as playing a role in regulating depression. Many adults do not have sufficient levels of tryptophan because their intake of nuts, seeds and wholegrains is too low.
Changes in diet over the past 50 years appear to be an important factor behind a significant rise in mental ill health.
The Mental Health Foundation says scientific studies have clearly linked attention deficit disorder, depression, Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia to junk food and the absence of essential fats, vitamins and minerals in “industrialized” diets.
Both reports outline the growing scientific evidence linking poor diet to problems of behaviour and mood. Rates of depression have been shown to be higher in countries with low intakes of fish, for example. Lack of folic acid, omega-3 fatty acids, selenium and the amino acid tryptophan are thought to play an important role in the illness. Deficiencies of essential fats and antioxidant vitamins are also thought to be a contributory factor in schizophrenia.
Researchers examined the toxic effects on nerve cells in the laboratory of using a combination of four common food additives - aspartame, monosodium glutamate (MSG) and the artificial colorings brilliant blue and quinoline yellow. These are all common additives found in most of our diets.
They reported that when mouse nerve cells were exposed to MSG and brilliant blue or aspartame and quinoline yellow in laboratory conditions, combined in concentrations that theoretically reflect the compound that enters the bloodstream after a typical snack and drink, the additives stopped the nerve cells growing and interfered with proper signaling systems in the brain.
The mixtures of the additives had a much more potent effect on nerve cells than each additive on its own.
The study reported that the effect on cells could be up to four times greater when brilliant blue and MSG were combined and up to seven times greater when quinoline yellow and aspartame were combined, than when the additives were applied on their own. "The results indicate that both combinations are potentially more toxic than might be predicted from the sum of their individual compounds," the researchers concluded.
Exposure to food additives during a child's development has been associated with behavioural problems such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Additives are licensed for use one at a time, but examining their effect in combinations gives a more accurate picture of how they are consumed in the modern diet.
Brilliant blue is found in sweets, some processed peas, some soft drinks and some sweets, desserts and ices. Quinoline yellow is found in some smoked fish,
some sweets and some pickles. MSG is found in some pasta with sauce products, a large number of crisps, processed cheese, and prepared meals. Aspartame is found in diet drinks, some sweets, desserts and medicines.
If you are wondering what do eat and what to avoid, here are some suggestions:
Good for the brain:
Vegetables, especially leafy
Seeds and nuts
Fruit
Whole grains
Wheat germ
Organic eggs
Organic farmed or wild fish
Bad for the brain:
Deep fried junk foods
Refined processed foods
Pesticides
Alcohol
Sugar
Tea and coffee
Most additives
There is also some concern about the use of sodium nitrite, used in meat preservation. During cooking nitrites produce nitrosamines, which are known carcinogens.
Remember, I’m not a doctor. I just sound like one.
Glenn Ellis, author of Which Doctor?, is a syndicated health columnist and radio commentator who lectures around the country on health issues relevant to the African-American community.
E-mail me at glenn@glennellis.com
For good health information, visit: www.glennellis.com
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