“Bacon Bits” Dissecting the ingredients

The above image shows the nutritional information of your common, “Bacon Bits” brand that you’ll find in your local super market. 

For the non experts looking at these ingredients, your eyes may tend to focus on names that you’re familiar with, such as: soybean oil, soybean flour, salt, dried yeast, natural and artificial flavors. The truth is, most people have very little knowledge about terms “Autolyzed”, “Hydrogenated”, Textured” etc, in this context. 

Today I’m going to attempt listing in brief and pertinent detail each ingredient on this label. 

Textured Soy Flour: Textured Soy Flour is often used in hot dogs and many meat products to lower costs. "Textured Soy Flour”, aka Textured Vegetable Protein(TVP),  contains MSG. Yes, the same “MSG” that you’ve seen at every Chinese stand from here to Nantucket. MSG or “monosodium glutamate”, is a “flavor enhancer” that is widely used in processed foods, and is known to be extremely addictive.                     

Problems: Common side effects of MSG include: burning sensation in the face, arms, hands, chest, back, and neck. More common side effects include: pressure in the face, headaches, numbness, nausea, heart palpitations, sleepiness, difficultly breathing, and general weakness. Breathing difficulties may be worse in asthmatic individuals. Long term effects of MSG can lead to obesity, sleep disturbances, and reproductive issues. A Study from the John Hopkins University suggests that “MSG” can induce “asthma”. Other studies show that MSG can cause damage to brain cells and the nervous system. Some studies suggest direct correlation to "Alzheimer’s Disease"

Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil: When you see "Partially Hydrogenated or Fully Hydrogenated Oil” you can also know this as commonly called, “trans fat”. For information on trans fat, please refer to my previous blog post. http://coachdevon.blogspot.com/2011/02/trans-fat-in-case-you-didnt-know-how.html

Salt: Phew, good ol’ natural salt... Right? "Natural salt", as I’m guessing how nature intended us to consume, is commonly derived from the ocean, minerals, mining, dried up lakes, etc. Natural forms of salt contain, sodium chloride (salt), along with 80 or so natural elements, including natural iodine, that help our bodies proper: hydration, thyroid function, adrenal function, and balancing sodium-potassium levels. However, the ingredient “salt”, non-naturally occurring, is a manufactured form of sodium chloride. Most forms of salt are created by adding synthesized chemicals to them. These chemicals include anything from manufactured forms of sodium solo-co-aluminate, iodine, sodium bicarbonate, fluoride, anti-caking agents, toxic amounts of potassium iodine and aluminum derivatives.                                                                      

Problems: High Blood Pressure, Dehydration, thyroid and adrenal gland dysfunction, constipation.

Dried Yeast: A type of yeast that’s mixed with starchy materials. Known as neutral for the most part. This ingredient is widely used, due to its natural protein content and Vitamin B complex.

Natural & Artificial Flavors: These words, “natural and artificial”, are very confusing. Neither one seems to be better, per Say.  The FDA does not require companies to disclose ingredients as long as  they are considered “safe”. Keeping this post in a “suggestive” format, I will tell you what I’ve found in research. There are thousand of different types of natural and artificial flavors readily available, and created nationwide. These chemicals are trademarked and kept highly top secret.  Most of these “flavors” aren’t designed to be something we can “taste”, but more so to create “stimulation” and satisfaction on a neural level. 

Problems: Since it is very difficult to find any information on the types of chemicals used in “natural and artificial flavors”, determining health risks becomes a "crap shoot”. Here’s a list of some known artificial flavors to give some examples or health risks. Or you can read from http://www.eatingrules.com/2010/10/natural-flavors-artificial-flavors/

• Benzaldehyde: Contains hydrogen cyanide, causing central nervous system depression and convulsions.
• Vanillan: Can cause allergic reactions.
• Amyl Acetate (pear and banana oil): Many artificial flavors are made with this chemical which may cause nervous system depression, indigestion, chest pain, headaches, fatigue, and irritate the mucus membranes.
• Benzyl Acetate: May cause gastrointestinal, bronchial, skin, and eye irritation.
• Bornneol: Artificial flavoring that may cause GI irritation, seizures, confusion, and dizziness.
• Butryic acid: Has caused cancer in lab animals.
• Carvacrol: Artificial flavor that can lead to respiratory and circulatory depression, as well as cardiac failure
• Cinnamyl formate or formic acid: Artificial cinnamon that has caused cancer in mice and may affect our kidneys. (I found “cinnamon flavor” listed as an ingredient in my Kashi cereal!)

Carmel Color: Created by a controlled heat treatment of carbohydrates, or aka “Burnt Sugar” in simpler terms. This is considered a neutral food coloring, because of the natural process that goes into creating it. However, one thing I ask myself, is what type of “carbohydrates” are being used to create this coloring.           
Problems: The Journal of the American Medical Association conducted a study and found that carmel coloring, in soda,  may be responsible for the increased risk of raised blood pressure, and not the caffeine. 

Autolyzed Yeast: Also referred to as, MSG, is a flavor enhancer. Flavor enhancers like these are known to be very addictive, much like nicotine or alcoholic beverages. "Autolyzed yeast" is essentially yeast cells that have began to die. When dying the yeast goes through “autolysis” and starts to break-apart, leaving the remaining elements: fats, minerals, proteins, and “monosodium glutamate” (MSG).                    


Problems: Read above, “Textured Soy Flour”.          

FD&C Red 3:“Erythrosine”, also known as Red 3, is used as a food coloring, in printing inks, and for exposing “plaque” in dental examinations. FD&C stands for “Food, Drug, & Cosmetic”.                                                                      




Problems: Several “major studies” suggest that synthetic preservatives and artificial coloring agents are strongly linked to ADD and ADHD symptoms in school children. Erythrosine is linked to thyroid tumors in rats.

The “Bacon Bit” is only one type of the countless processed foods on the market. Perhaps this post will influence you to look at what foods you consume regularly. My opinion, is that a bacon bit here or there will probably not harm my body. I believe, that our bodies are highly capable of taking in, and expelling toxins in small amounts. However, without understanding where “toxins” or “harmful ingredients” are located, it’s difficult to avoid them. I also believe that it’s the foods that we take in on a regular basis, day in and day out, that do us the most harm. For example, a salad dressing that I use frequently that has an ingredient linked to diabetes, or a soda that has aspartame and I drink this several times per week, etc. These are the things I look at when trying to maintain great health in my own life.