Scientific Article 3

Additives that inhibit the growth of bacteria, yeast, and molds in foods are known as perservatives. Salt an example of an additive has been used for years to lower the water activity of meats and foods that inhibit the growth of bacterial growth. Adding acids like vinegar lowers the pH levels in food which also helps lower bacterial growth. Additives are used maintain nutritional value, control pH, enhance flavor, and provide color. Some foods additives are antimicrobial agents, antioxidents, artifical colors, artifical flavors, bleaching agents, nutrient additives, and thickening agents. The FDA has to approve all additives before they can use them in foods.

http://www.faqs.org/nutrition/A-Ap/Additives-and-Preservatives.html

http://www.foodsafety.gov/~lrd/foodaddi.html

Additives can be good but they also can be harmful. Additives like sodium nitrate used in hot dogs and luncheon meats contains small amounts of cancer causing chemicals called nitrosamines during cooking. Tests have been done that show that some additives can cause cancer like six artificial food colorings that include blues #1, #2, and #3, green #3, red #3, and yellow #6. Two artificial sweeteners saccharine and acesulfame K, or acesulfame potassium, and potassium bromate in white flour products. Monosodium glutamate (MSG) can cause headaches, nausea, and difficulty breathing for people. Artificial coloring which is another additives has been shown to cause children to become more hyperactive and can worsen asthma. Aspartame an artifical sweetener has been reported that it has cause seizures, headaches, nausea, and mood disturbances.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1671688,00.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/12/22/health/webmd/main4682996.shtml

Additives can be good in some foods but not all additives are safe. I think that additives should be tested more thoroughly before they are put into the foods we eat. Food additves might help how our food tastes or looks but certain additives are being added like sodium nitrate that can cause cancer. When studies show that these additives are causing side effects as serious as cancer, worsening asthma, seizures, head aches, nausea, and others then they need to stop putting them in foods and find the problem with the additive. Additives are causing people’s health to get worse. Some additives may be safe but for the additives that aren’t safe they should be tested or even stop being used in foods. I think additives are bad because they cause health problems that can not be fixed.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Natural-Health/2008-04-01/Food-Additives-Hyperactivity-ADHD.aspx

http://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition/101/food-safety/are-additives-bad-for-you.aspx

FOR KIDS: Sugar-pill medicine

Susan Gaidos

December 16th, 2008

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/39298/title/FOR_KIDS_Sugar-pill_medicine

Emily Kammerdiener

12/22/08

The research found that placebo actually triggers a certain part of the brain then it releases dopamine. This helps the nerve cells communicate with each other and then you start to feel better. It also releases opioids which is a chemical reponse to pain. Conclusions that can be drawn from the research is that you could actually try placebos instead of real drugs and start to feel better. It can really help people with anxiety. The information is presented so it can be safier for some people to try placebos first and see the effect. I think this information is important and also very interesting. I think this is interesting because people can actually get better using placebos instead of real drugs. When taking the placebos you don’t have to worry about all the side effects the real drugs have. It is of value to myself and others because it is safier and maybe a better alternative to try than real drugs. It is not contradicted by other studies. Medical reasearchers conducted the studies. They studied this subject because they wanted to show people they could maybe get better without real drugs and that it may be good to try.

Questions that could be asked and that I have are how did placebos come about? How exactly do placebos help people feel better with certain conditions? I think placebos would be a good thing to try because it cuts down on risks that real drugs have and they still could work for you.

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