Eat more and more, do you know chemicals in foods blow you appetite?

In a very real sense, everybody has direct reactions to foods. Direct reactions are reactions caused directly to cells by chemicals in foods. Among the most obvious direct reactions are those caused by alcohol. If you drink alcohol, you are almost certain to experience sedative effects, due to the direct effect of alcohol on your brain cells.

Often, people with Asian heritage react quite negatively to alcohol, and the common belief is that they're allergic to it. Technically, though, they don't have an allergy; they have a sensitivity — because this is a direct reaction, which doesn't involve the immune system. I believe that it's clearer and more sensible to say simply that Asians often have a food reaction to alcohol, since food reactions include both allergies and sensitivities.

Direct reactions, however, can eventually involve the immune system, because sooner or later the immune system is called in to repair the mess that direct food reactions cause. Therefore, the symptoms of direct reactions can feel much like allergies. Because of this, direct food reactions are sometimes called false food allergies.

Alcohol has obvious direct actions, but most direct food reactions are more subtle. Often, direct reactions occur when chemicals in foods bind with the cells that produce histamine; these cells are called mast cells. When this happens, it can cause the release of histamine. The food chemicals that are most likely to do this are lectins, which are most often found in wheat, peanuts, and beans. Another cause can be certain partial proteins, or peptides, that are found in tomatoes, strawberries, shellfish, pork, chocolate, and eggs.

Other foods that often seem to cause direct food reactions are mustard, pineapple, papaya, buckwheat, and sunflower seeds. Ironically, one patient of mine had terrible digestive symptoms, including severe heartburn, and took large amounts of digestive enzymes to help the problem. However, his enzymes were full of papaya, which he later found he was reactive to. When he stopped taking the digestive aids, his digestion improved immeasurably. Moral of the story: don't trust common knowledge about what's healthy — trust your own experiences. Everyone is different.

Other foods that sometimes cause direct reactions are those that contain high levels of natural histamines. Histamines are formed in foods that are allowed to age and ferment. Therefore, histamines are often found in aged cheese, sausage, and salami.

Other foods that can cause direct reactions are those that contain the partial proteins tyramine, phenylethylamine, and octopamine. These chemicals, like histamines, can cause blood vessels to expand and contract, which causes tissue swelling. In the head, blood vessel constriction and expansion can cause migraine headaches. That's why people who get migraines often shun the foods that are high in these partial proteins, such as wine, aged cheese, citrus fruit and yeast.

Another common foodstuff that often causes direct reactions is the artificial sweetener aspartame. Aspartame is mostly composed of the partial protein, or amino acid, called phenylalanine. In some people, it acts directly on brain cells, causing symptoms such as agitation and depression. In other people, it causes blood vessels to contract and expand, triggering migraines. In most people, though, it causes no reaction at all.

Many people also react to MSG, or monosodium glutamate, with headaches, nausea, dizziness, heart palpitations, and confusion. Others react to various additives, including nitrates, sulphites, and artificial food colours.

Another name for direct food reactions is pharmacologic reactions. That's a good description, because it implies an important point: foods, like drugs, are chemicals. Not all drugs are good for you — and not all foods are, either.

Now let's look at the last type of food reaction: immune complex reactions. This type of reaction is not well known. But it should be. It can be a killer.

Foods, like drugs, are chemicals. Not all drugs are good for you, and not all foods are, either.

Food still has it all!

We are often given warnings, especially by some companies that sell the 'milkshake' diets, that our food is toxic and poor in nutrient content. They imply that we will all be much better off drinking their shakes rather than eating what Mother Nature has to offer. Ha!

But then on the other hand, some food purists are forecasting that we are all going to develop all sorts of cancers and ambiguous genitalia because of all the chemicals in our foods. They stress that 'organic' is the only way to live. Well, that would be more than excellent, but organically grown produce is not always within reach of all of us, so what now?

Now we face reality. The truth is that not all chemicals and food additives are harmful. Some serve a very useful purpose. Another truth is that, although most producers use pesticides and chemicals in varying degrees, there are still more than sufficient levels of nutrients in fresh or frozen produce to justify their daily consumption! In fact, while the war between producers and food purists continues to rage, scientists have concluded that any potential risk from chemical residues is still outweighed by the benefit of the reduction in chronic diseases and nutrient deficiencies when adequate amounts of fruit and vegetables are consumed.

Avoiding foods for fear of consuming artificial chemicals will definitely result in a high-protein diet, as well as a diet high in fatly, sugary foods. The inevitable conclusion of such a diet is obesity and the resultant long-term diseases related to it, as well as malnutrition. Besides, sugar, starch and meat products are not free from added chemicals. So there, Eat your fresh produce!

Salads: sink or swim

Salads don't guarantee leanness. You can and probably often do, go right over the top with what goes into your salads. Again, establish beforehand what your intention is when you want to eat a salad: is it to be a meal on its own, an addition to the main course or a starter?

Most salad ingredients offer abundant nutrition and very few kilojoules. A large, 100 g pack of lettuce leaves contains a humble 67 kilojoules. Other green vegetables such as baby marrow, green pepper, cucumber and broccoli contain (on average) around 100 kilojoules per 100 g. Thus, enjoying a medium-sized salad bowl filled with a salad made of these ingredients, dressed with an oil-free dressing, will provide you with no more than about 140 kilojoules. This is a real bargain in the healthy slimming stakes. But go one further and dress the salad with two tablespoons of a simple, basic vinaigrette (oil and vinegar) dressing. Instantly you have 'bulked out' your salad with an additional 840 kilojoules - kilojoules you cannot taste as you would taste say a slice of rye bread or a baked potato (that you could enjoy with your salad), and kilojoules that cannot make you feel any fuller.

The plot thickens more when you take the sink-or-swim decision to add delicacies to your salad: cheese, meat, eggs, oily fish and olives. When you want to add any or all of these delicacies, go light on the dressing. Use an oil-free dressing. Furthermore, regard this kind of all-in-one salad as a meal rather than an addition to your meal. In that way you will balance the scales and not experience that sinking feeling when you weigh yourself the following day and find that you have consumed far-far more fat kilojoules than you were aware of. Even a simple, mixed vegetable salad, if dressed heavily with an oily or creamy dressing, will cause your kilojoule intake to soar and your once-crisp, fresh salads to be drowned in fat limp and unappetising.

The bottom line is this: if you choose to have something light such as a salad, keep it light.

Desserts: the big guilt trip

Desserts tend to evoke more feelings of guilt than any other item on the menu. And we know the reason why: most desserts are laden with fat and/or sugar and dessert is not really necessary to satisfy the appetite. It is the proverbial 'cherry on the cake'. Many of us have the mindset that we are only entitled to dessert if we have been 'good'. And very few of us ever feel that we have been 'good', because we feel that being overweight is already a symptom of being 'bad'. So we don't really feel entitled to it, but we have it anyway; it's irresistible; we are addicted to sugar. Then we feel bad about having had it and the guilt trip sets in, a guilt trip that can only be alleviated by some chocolate. By then we feel we are in so deep already that we might as well go all the way - another example of the vicious obesity cycle in full motion!

Follow a few simple rules about dessert and banish the guilt.

• Regard dessert is part of the menu, not 'over and above' it. Then, plan your menu accordingly, bearing in mind that the sugar and fat content of the dessert must make up part of the total intake of fats and carbos of the meal. In this way you will create the correct balance.

• Trade in sugar for fruit. Many fruits offer an abundance of natural sweetness, reducing the need for extra sugar in the recipe.
• If your recipe requires sugar, go for fructose. It is a natural fruit sugar with a very slow GI, thus keeping your blood sugar levels more even and thus preventing a further sweet craving later on.
• Trade in cream for yoghurt. Even Greek yoghurt contains much less fat (and therefore kilojoules) than cream. It also tastes cool and refreshing on the palate, ideal after any meal.
• Trade in ice cream for frozen yoghurt or sorbet. The fat content and therefore the kilojoule content is much less.
• Bear balance in mind. A heavy meal warrants a very light dessert - such as sorbet or fruit salad with yoghurt - and a light meal might justify the enjoyment of a small portion of richness - such as cheesecake or chocolate mousse.
• Don't have an all-or-nothing approach. It leads to a feeling of being deprived and that leads to bingeing. Have some - but just a little - and enjoy it without any guilt. Remember, guilt trips could cause hunger pains!

Food additives and contaminants

This much-publicised aspect of food production is well provided for in food legislation. A number of specific regulations exist to control any additives and contaminants that may be present in foods, either by direct addition or through indirect absorption. The adding of

colourants is an example of direct addition. Colouring can only be added to a food if the legislation for that food permits it, and only one or more of the colours listed in the regulations can be added. It may not be added in greater quantity than prescribed and it must comply with the standard of purity laid down in the regulation.

An example of indirect absorption is the maximum amount of lead that may be present in food, irrespective of the source. If you're about to argue that there shouldn't be any lead in your food at all, consider that the word 'source' includes the soil in which the plant is grown, the food consumed by an animal used for meat, or equipment in which a food is processed.

Chemicals- cause for concern?

An increasingly large number of additives and processing methods are used to produce the food we eat every day and understandably, public concern is once again on the increase. The amount of chemical substances used in food processing is possibly the major source of worry. Yet the use of these chemicals has been given the green light by legislators, or they would not be present in just about every food on our supermarket shelves.

Why are chemicals necessary in foods? In the simplest terms, because food itself is nothing but chemicals. In fact, the common foods we eat every day are such complex mixtures of chemicals that it would take a brash scientist indeed to assert that the composition of any single food is completely known. Even mother's milk - the only product designed by nature exclusively as a food for mankind - is known to contain more than 140 chemicals!

Perhaps it is worth pointing out that many of the chemicals which man produces are exact copies of those already found in nature. Just one example of this is vitamin C, a vital nutrient which of course occurs abundantly in foods such as citrus fruit and tomatoes. The vitamin C produced by man is identical to the natural chemical, both in terms of chemistry and efficacy, and its widespread use is the only reason scurvy is no longer the scourge of many populations whose normal diets do not provide sufficient of/this essential vitamin.

Interestingly, only a small proportion of pest resistance in plants is manmade. Plants develop their own defence mechanisms against pests and these include the use of natural toxins. Indeed, breeding crops for pest resistance may actually increase their natural toxin levels. For example, it is known that a pest-resistant potato had to be removed from the marketplace in the USA when its natural solanine and chaconine concentrations were found to have reached highly toxic levels. Similarly, a pest-resistant celery had to be discarded when workers handling it suffered outbreaks of dermatitis. It was belatedly discovered that the concentrations of 8-methoxypsoralen (a carcinogen) had inadvertently been increased ten-fold! Unfortunately, since new `disease-resistant' crops are not subjected to the same regulatory scrutiny imposed on man-made pesticides, we may never know how the risks and benefits of reducing pesticide use versus natural toxin consumption ultimately balance out.

To a large extent, the assumption that nature is benign has become ingrained in consumers' minds and even embodied in our regulatory codes. Biological materials are regarded as innocent until proven guilty, while man-made ones are assumed guilty until proven innocent. Without a proper body of balanced scientific scrutiny to back them up, assumptions such as these are not only simplistic - they could bedangerous.

However, solutions to problems such as the above will no doubt be found as more and more research is done in this area; there is no doubt that biotechnology will have an increasingly dramatic impact on the agriculture of the future. The genetic improvement of agricultural crops so that they become more resistant to disease, viruses and drought is clearly an important goal in a world already struggling to feed its billions of inhabitants. While the development of pest-resistant plants may never totally replace the need for agricultural chemicals, it could certainly help to decrease our dependence on them and so lessen the level of contamination to the environment - one of the majorconcerns of our times.

The symptoms of food allergy

If you have ever seen a victim of true food allergy after he or she has eaten an offending food, you will know that the reactions can be alarming! The lips swell up almost instantly and an itchy, raised red rash develops along with welts around the mouth. Sometimes the mouth becomes intensely itchy and the uvula (the small tongue at the back of the throat) may become swollen. The foods which most often cause this kind of reaction are eggs, nuts, shellfish, citru fruits and berries. Reactions in the lower part of the digestive tract take a little longer to develop but nausea and vomiting - often accompanied by sudden severe diarrhoea (sometimes with blood in the stools) - may occur within 30 minutes of eating seafood or eggs. This reaction may be followed by flushing, headaches, itching and palpitations which usually disappear after 2-4 hours. All in all, it can be a very unpleasant business!

Highly allergic people should carry an adrenaline inhaler with them at all times, but especially when eating out. If they feel an allergic reaction starting up, they should immediately take in between 3 and 6 puffs of the inhaler. This will prevent any tightness and swelling occurring in the throat. Immediately thereafter a rapidly acting antihistamine (such as Phenergan) 25mg tablet should be swallowed. In virtually all cases, this on-the-spot treatment will enable the affected person to reach medical attention in good time.

Foods may produce allergic reactions in other organs as well. For example, some people can have asthma attacks which may be just as severe as reactions caused by inhaling allergens such as dust or pollens. Allergy to foods may also worsen an existing allergic rash (urticaria) in other parts of the body. In one hospital study in Europe330 patients with recurrent urticaria (also known as hives or nettle rash) were asked what made their condition worse. Foods were said to worsen their skin rash in 30% of cases and 18% thought that drinks did the same. Fruits: vegetables, nuts and fish were the worst offenders.

The best way of looking at this aspect of food allergy is to divide the symptoms that occur into two groups - those that affect the digestive tract (by far the most common) and those that affect other parts of the body. It is important to stress that these symptoms are much more common in young infants and toddlers under 2 years of age than in older children and adults. In fact, there are few examples of food allergy persisting from infancy or early childhood into adult life and the vast majority of babies who are allergic to some foods outgrow their early sensitivity as their bowel matures.

Digestive symptoms

The immediate reactions which occur on contact with an allergenicfood have been discussed above, as have the other common reactions such as vomiting, diarrhoea, nausea and abdominal pain.

In studies on babies in London, doctors were struck by the fact that there seemed to be a link between putting the infants onto artificial feeds and the onset of colic and diarrhoea. It appeared to be mainly the large bowel that was affected and if the babies were taken off these feeds, their colitis (inflammation of the bowel) cleared rapidly. It was found that the major cause of the problem was cow's milk, though some of the babies had reactions to soya and beef proteins. To find out what was happening, a series of studies were done, using a tube with several well-positioned reflecting optics which allowed the inside of the large bowel to be seen clearly. What this showed was that there was noticeable inflammation of the wall of the colon, which disappeared when the offending food was withdrawn.

Food intolerance appears to be closely linked with the Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or 'spastic colon' which occurs in adults. In this uncomfortable condition, abdominal pain is accompanied by diarrhoea or constipation. In one research project 21 sufferers from IBS were put onto what is known as an 'elimination diet', consisting only of meat, fruit and water. Fourteen of them found that their symptoms cleared and wheat was identified as the most common cause of symptoms. Maize and dairy products were next on the list.

Reactions to food chemicals

In addition to chemicals which occur naturally in foods (for example, caffeine in coffee), there are numerous others which may be incorporated - either directly or indirectly - into food during the growing, storage or processing stages. These chemicals include flavouring, colourants and preservatives. The first two are the most common - because of their very wide distribution in foods, beverages and pharmaceutical products, practically everyone has some daily contact with one or more flavouring and colourant. However, the consumer is often surprised to learn that an everday food product contains either a synthetic colour or flavour or both.

In many cases the foods are those especially designed for children, for example sweets and various breakfast foods. Tartrazine is the most common colouring agent used and is found in a wide range of foods, beverages and medicines. The adverse responses to it are similar to those caused by aspirin and can include very severe reactions. Most commonly, it causes urticaria, asthma, nasal discharge and itching. The flavour-enhancer monosodium glutamate (MSG) is usually found in prepared meats, meat extracts and in Chinese food. People who are sensitive to MSG may have a reaction known as the `Chinese Restaurant Syndrome' after eating foods containing the offending compound. Sweating, a feeling of weakness and a tight feeling in the chest are the symptoms.

All this means that people who are sensitive to certain chemicals should be extra careful about reading all food labels carefully and should avoid those foods and drinks which contain possible problem causers. However, it is important to emphasise that naturally occurring chemical substances - such as caffeine in tea, coffee and cola drinks and theobromine in chocolate - may also have adverse effects such as insomnia, restlessness, abdominal pain and nausea in sensitive people. No additives are responsible for these reactions.

The Cost of Organic Food

It's true, organic foods often come with a higher sticker price. Because of this, some argue that the organic movement is an elitist one—only offering healthy foods to the wealthiest. In fact, the mean income of a frequent organic food buyer in the U.S. is $43,280—solidly middle-class^— and 31 percent of frequent organic buyers make under$15,000 a year. And as more people buy organic, the more ,the prices will go down: Suppliers will have to place orders, which means more farmers will be encouraged to farm organically because they have a steady market for their goods. So this increases the easy availability of organic food, which often leads to a reduced price for consumers.

Some people willingly pay the price for organic foods, seeing this as a charity donation—a way to support the health of the planet or the farmers who are trying to do right by the land and their communities. In some spiritual communities it is even seen as "tithing"—which means taking a portion of one's income and giving it back to the world in a way that supports the greater good. Yet other people see it as a kind of health insurance payment, recognizing that by ridding their bodies, and the bodies of their children, of agricultural chemicals they may have fewer medical bills.

CAN WE REALLY AFFORD "CHEAP" FOOD?

There is another issue: We need to think carefully about the hidden costs of nonorganic foods. For years, we've been forced to buy into the chemical contamination of our planet and bodies under the guise of creating abundant, "cheap" food. But how cheap is it really? The real cost of industrial farming never shows up on the price sticker at the grocery store. The price never shows the money taxpayers pay for government subsidizing of agribusinesses. The grocery store price also doesn't reflect how much we pay for our damaged health and weakened immune systems. It's almost impossible to measure how much we spend trying to clean up and cope with the environmental damage caused by chemical intensive farming, but in the U.S., it's estimated to be $9 billion a year. We just cannot afford this "cheap" food much longer. About three million tons of pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides are used on this planet every year! Every continent is burdened with the ongoing cost of cleaning up this chemical contamination, especially in streams, rivers, and lakes.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Unfortunately, it will take a long time for the earth to break down and heal itself from much of the poisoning caused by farming with chemicals. For now, we can't easily rid ourselves of what we have already done, but we can stop adding more. And there is one sure way to do this: Eat organic. If you buy "certified organic" food, you are guaranteed that it was grown without chemical pesticides, GMOs, chemical fertilizers, sewage sludge, or preserved with ionizing radiation.

Purists may think we shouldn't bother with organic certification if it's being co-opted by corporate interests. But we must also keep in mind that the booming organic certification movement is doing an enormous amount to protect consumers as well as the environment from the harms caused by industrial agriculture. Organic certification offers us important safeguards—forcing agribusiness to abandon some of its more destructive practices. A whole line of McOrganics or Organic Coke may seem like horrible aberrations, corrupting the sacred intentions of the organic pioneers. But any restraints we can put on the corporate world are important. And in some instances, corporations might actually give greater economic strength and consumer recognition to small, ethical businesses without corrupting their core values. For instance, when M&M-Mars bought Seeds of Change it helped finance a wonderful company that has remained dedicated to sustainable farming and protecting the purity and heritage of our seed supply.

As we said, the rising availability of organic foods gives us solid evidence of the power of consumers. It tells us that we are forcing the corporations, some of which are the biggest names in agribusiness, to change their farming methods in order to capitalize on the fastest-growing trend in the industry. And in the next chapter I'll tell you more about what you can do to directly support the small-scale, deep organic farmers we value so greatly.

Avoid Pesticides and Other Chemicals

Unless you primarily purchase organic foods, one item in three in your kitchen cabinet or refrigerator will likely contain pesticide residues. Government testing has found residues from as many as seven different pesticides on a single head of nonorganic lettuce. So if one of your main reasons for buying organic is to reduce your exposure to farm chemicals, you may want to substitute organic for the produce that typically has the highest levels of chemical residues.

U.S. shoppers should also avoid imported, nonorgani_c fruits and vegetables, since they consistently contain more residues than domestic samples. Also, many chemical corn.. panies take the pesticides that are banned in the United States and unload them in countries where there are fewer government restrictions.

Another bonus of certified organic foods is that they have to be processed without many of the food additives that have been linked to diseases such as cancer, heart disease, migraine, hyperactivity, and osteoporosis. For instance, the enhanced red color of some nonorganic strawberries comes from the fungicide captan, a probable human carcinogen that irritates skin and eyes, and is highly toxic to fish. Phosphoric acid in fizzy drinks has been linked to osteoporosis. Aspartame, an artificial sweetener in nonorganic foods, is linked to mood swings and migraines, and MSG (monosodium glutamate) is linked to asthma and headaches.

Feed Children and Babies Organics

As we said, children are especially vulnerable to the effects of pesticide residues. And we now have scientific evidence for what common sense already told us: Children and babies who are fed mostly organic foods have lower levels of pesticide residues in their bodies than children who are fed nonorganic foods. So it is well worth the investment in feeding children organic foods.

If you have no choice but to serve nonorganic foods, parents can reduce exposure by serving children vegetables with thicker skin, shells, or peels, since soft-skinned fruit and vegetables seem more likely to contain residues. According to research from Consumer Reports, pesticide residues in a single serving of peaches "consistently exceeded" the EPA's safe daily limit for a forty-four-pound child. Since pesticide residues can be transferred (often in a more concentrated form) through the placenta and breast milk, it is especially important that women who are pregnant or breast-feeding follow these guidelines.