HEALTH & WELLNESS: Study Says BMI to Blame For Hypertension, Not Sodium

FORMULATING FOODS

Formulating Foods explores the latest health and nutrition news and research—as well as the latest ingredient and food application innovations—to determine what consumers want (and need) from the food and beverage products they consume, and how industry can make it happen. 

Study Says BMI to Blame For Hypertension, Not Sodium

Rachel Adams

September 10, 2014 - Blog

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High blood pressure—also known as hypertension—is the most prevalent chronic disease worldwide, and a leading risk factor for heart disease and stroke. While high-sodium diets have long been linked to increased blood pressure, a new study suggests body mass index (BMI) may be the main contributing factor of blood pressure levels.

The study looked at data from 8,670 participants from the NutriNet-Santé Study, an ongoing French web-based cohort study. Dietary intakes were assessed using three 24-hour records, while a questionnaire determined lifestyle factors. In addition to the web study, blood pressure measurements were collected and participants underwent a clinical examination.

The dietary questionnaires looked at alcohol consumption, mineral intake—including sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus—and total energy intake. Demographic, health and lifestyle data were collected at baseline and yearly thereafter using web-based questionnaires.

Age-adjusted associations and then multivariate associations between systolic BP (SBP) and lifestyle behaviors were estimated using multiple linear regressions.

Of the 8,670 volunteers, 84 (4 percent) men and 229 (3.5 percent) women reported being hypertensive (without hypertensive drug use). Regarding blood presssure measurements, 586 (28.2 percent) men and 775 (11.8 percent) women were hypertensive. Globally, salt consumption was higher in hypertensive participants compared with those who were nonhypertensive. Hypertensive participants displayed higher BMI than those who were not and they were more active.

Ultimately, there were a variety of factors that impacted blood pressure levels, including fruit and vegetable intake—which positively impacted blood pressure—and BMI. However, the study authors concluded, “BMI was the main contributory modifiable factor of BP level after multiple adjustments."

The relationship between BMI and SBP level was strong in both sexes where SBP was higher in participants with elevated BMIs. Salt intake was positively associated with SBP in men but not in women (results were similar using sodium intake from foods). Further, adjustments of total energy intake (without alcohol) did not modify the results. The negative relationship between consumption of fruits and vegetables was significant in both sexes. SBP increased significantly with the dietary sodium–potassium ratio in both sexes. Alcohol consumption was positively associated with SBP in both sexes.

Of course, these findings don’t take sodium off the radar. FDA recently confirmed its plans to release voluntary guidelines to reduce sodium levels in processed foods and restaurant foods nationwide.

Salt is the greatest contributor of sodium in the diet, and is responsible for 90 percent of the sodium consumed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reducing salt content in food and beverage products can go a long way in sodium-reduction efforts. However, salt contributes both flavor and functionality in a range of applications, and is not easily replaced. Fortunately, Food Product Design dove into the topic in its recent Digital Pulse, The Salt of the Matter: Trends in Sodium Reduction.

FOOD FORMULATIONS: Diet Beverages: Encouraging Unhealthy Selections?

FORMULATING FOODS

Formulating Foods explores the latest health and nutrition news and research—as well as the latest ingredient and food application innovations—to determine what consumers want (and need) from the food and beverage products they consume, and how industry can make it happen. 

Diet Beverages: Encouraging Unhealthy Selections?

Rachel Adams

August 29, 2014 - Blog

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New research from Texas Christian University (TCU) suggests that drinking beverages sweetened with non-caloric sweeteners—versus drinking water or a sugar-sweetened beverage—may encourage unhealthy diet choices.
For the study, published this month in the journal Appetite, researchers conducted three experiments in which 116 participants ages 18 to 25 years were randomly given an unmarked cup filled with either a non-caloric sweetened beverage (a diet soda), a sugar-sweetened beverage (regular soda) or non-sweetened beverage (sparkling water). Researchers then measured their cognition, snack choices and responses to sugary food.

In the first experiment, the diet soda drinkers were faster to identify the names of high-calorie foods (like hamburger or milkshake) than participants who drank a non-sweetened or sugar-sweetened beverage. “There was no difference among the groups in identifying the words of low-calorie foods like ‘apple’ or ‘carrot’," said study author Sarah Hill, associate professor of psychology, TCU. Hill suggested these results may indicate that diet beverages “prime you to choose unhealthy food items. Those foods are on your mind."

In the second experiment, participants—who were told they were taking part in a consumer product study—were given the choice to take home a bag of chocolate candy, a pack of sugar-free gum or a bottle of spring water. The diet soda drinkers were significantly more likely to choose the high-calorie candy than were the participants who had regular soda or sparkling water.

Finally, to test participants’ response to sugar, researchers had the volunteers eat as many cookies as they wanted and then report on their satisfaction. “We found that drinking a diet drink didn’t change how many cookies they ate," Hill said, “but the participants who had the diet drink did report feeling less satisfied after eating."
But don’t think sugary beverages get a free pass.

Hill notes that, in the sugar response experiment, there was no difference in the number of cookies eaten by those who drank regular soda and plain water. “People just don’t seem to compensate for the calories consumed in a beverage," Hill said. “Even if we consciously think about it, a less deliberate part of our mind might not really register those calories."

Sweetening beverages has presented its share of challenges—sugar-sweetened beverages have been blamed as lead contributors of the obesity epidemic, while non-nutritive sweeteners have been blamed for weight gain and increased cravings. As pressure continues to mount on nationwide sugars intake (as with FDA’s recent proposal to include “added sugars" on the Nutrition Facts panel), product designers are forced to find ingredients that can reduce calories and maintain the sensory qualities consumers seek, often in “natural," clean-label solutions.
The Food Product Design FoodTech Toolbox recently took a close look at the sweeteners landscape in this freereport, to help mitigate some of these challenges that come with reducing sugar content in products. 

APPETIZER Tim Hortons pushes ‘Buffalo Crunch’ doughnut at New York State Fair, horrifying, fascinating Americans

APPETIZER

Tim Hortons pushes ‘Buffalo Crunch’ doughnut at New York State Fair, horrifying, fascinating Americans

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More from Jason Rehel | @culturejunky

@AsEatenonTV/TwitterIs Tim Hortons mocking America with its new 'Buffalo Crunch' doughnut, some commentators are wondering. No, we say, they're paying homage. Still, we're also wondering what those corn chips are about...

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While it remains to be seen if Burger King has bitten off more than it can chew by acquiring Tim Hortons in a whopper of a deal earlier this week, what is painfully (deliciously?) clear is that Tim Hortons already knows how to seduce the U.S. market — and media. It’s called a stunt sweet. And it works, even when Jason Priestley isn’tinvolved.

Pulling off one of their latest patented beigne marketing bombs (note to Gawker, that’s French for “doughnut marketing bomb”) the venerable Canada-based chain released its latest ludicrous concoction at the the New York State Fair this week (it’s available there till Monday).

TwitterOK, ranch dressing is fine, but what about blue cheese? Wouldn't that make more sense?

Meet the “Buffalo Crunch.” And yes, it comes with ranch dressing, for those who were worried. We have it on good authority that the baked good, which includes crushed up chips and “actual Buffalo sauce” as toppings, tastes “a little bit like a chicken wing” although Tim Hortons says it doesn’t contain any meat ingredients.

While reaction on the web has been varied, with Gawker concerned that we’re both stealing Burger King head office AND mocking America (check and check), no less an authority than New Yorkmagazine’s Grub Street blog was falling all over itself to describe the doughnut in detail, perhaps providing Tim Hortons with just the language it will need for new U.S.-style menus:

It consists of a pull-apart yeast doughnut that’s dunked in Buffalo sauce and crusted with crushed-up chips. It combines a staggeringly high number of junk-food influences (Buffalo sauce, tortilla chips, doughnuts) while still managing to make sense. The corn-chip strips in the center are decorative, and the doughnut comes in mild and hot varieties — mild is “toned down” with Ranch dressing. It costs $2.

And while the aghast/fascinated New Yorkers — creators of the cronut and ramen burger, to name just two other ridiculous but excellent food mashups — immediately began to speculate about the arrival of the doughnut burger across the U.S., it’s not immediately clear whether the Burger King/Tim Hortons merger means menu items, too.

Now, having said that … the Yanks do need a bit of a history lesson to truly understand this development:

Miles Gilbert “Tim” Horton (yes THAT Tim Horton), who helped co-found the chain Burger King is buying in a $12.5-billion deal, played hockey for the Toronto Maple Leafs, yes, but he finished his NHL career with the Buffalo Sabres. The last time we checked, you could even get a Tim Hortons coffee inside the arena where the Sabres play. So, what could be more natural than a Buffalo doughnut in honour of the original Tim, hm?

One last bit of advice … this time for Tim Hortons’ marketers: Get Iggy Azalea to eat one for a TV commercial, buy the rights to Fancy, book the Super Bowl ad, and then don’t look back …

FOOD RE-BRANDING: McDonald’s seeks to shed its junk food image CANDICE CHOI

 
• U.S. Business

McDonald’s seeks to shed its junk food image

CANDICE CHOI

NEW YORK — The Associated Press

Published Monday, Aug. 18 2014, 10:10 AM EDT

Last updated Monday, Aug. 18 2014, 10:12 AM EDT

At a dinner McDonald’s Corp. hosted for reporters and bloggers, waiters served cuisine prepared by celebrity chefs using ingredients from the chain’s menu.

A Kung Pao chicken appetizer was made with Chicken McNuggets doused in sweet and sour sauce and garnished with parsley. Slow-cooked beef was served with gnocchi fashioned out of McDonald’s french fries and a fruit sauce from its smoothie mix. For dessert, its biscuit mix was used to make a pumpkin spice “biznut,” a biscuit-doughnut hybrid.

The event, held in New York City’s Tribeca neighbourhood, was billed “A transforming dining experience of ‘fast food’ to ‘good food served fast.’” Attendees tweeted out photos and the night was written up on various websites.

The evening is part of a campaign by McDonald’s to shake its reputation for serving cheap, unhealthy food. At a time when Americans are playing closer attention to what they eat, the company is trying to sway public opinion by first reaching out to the reporters, bloggers and other so-called “influencers” who write and speak about McDonald’s.

It’s just one way McDonald’s is trying to change its image. In the past 18 months, the chain has introduced the option to substitute egg whites in breakfast sandwiches and rolled out chicken wraps as its first menu item with cucumbers. Last fall, it announced plans to give people the choice of a salad instead of fries in combo meals. And in coming months, mandarins will be offered in Happy Meals, with other fruits being explored as well.

McDonald’s declined to make an executive available for this story, but CEO Don Thompson said early this year: “We’ve got to make sure that the food is relevant and that the awareness around McDonald’s as a kitchen and a restaurant that cooks and prepares fresh, high quality food is strong and pronounced.”

The company faces an uphill battle, especially if the past is any indication. The salads it introduced more than a decade ago account for just 2 to 3 per cent of sales. And the chain last year discontinued its Fruit & Walnut salad and premium Angus burgers, which analysts said were priced too high for McDonald’s customers at around $5 (U.S.).

The problem is that some people simply don’t consider McDonald’s a place to get high quality food, in part because the prices are so low. And while McDonald’s has added salads and a yogurt parfait to its menu over the years, Americans are gravitating toward other attributes, like organic produce and meat raised without antibiotics.

“People just don’t think of McDonald’s as having that premium quality,” said Sara Senatore, a restaurant industry analyst with Bernstein Research.

In some ways, the image McDonald’s is battling is ironic, given its reputation for exacting standards with suppliers. Thompson has also noted the ingredients tend to be fresh because restaurants go through them so quickly.

“The produce and the products that we have at breakfast and across the menu are fresher than – no disrespect intended – what most of you have in your refrigerators,” he said at an analyst conference in May.

But even that reputation for supply chain rigour was recently tarnished when the chain’s longtime supplier was reported to have sold expired meat to its restaurants in China.

The Price Conundrum

The low-cost burgers, ice cream cones and other food that made McDonald’s so popular since it was founded in 1955 have come to define it. And some people can’t get over the idea that low prices equal low quality.

“It’s the whole perception people get when you sell something cheaply,” said Richard Adams, who used to own McDonald’s restaurants in San Diego and now runs a consulting firm for franchisees.

Anne Johnson, for instance, said she eats at McDonald’s because she can get a burger, fries and drink for about $5. But Johnson, a New York resident, doesn’t think there are any healthy options there.

“Basically, it’s junk food,” she said.

Adding to its challenge, McDonald’s can’t seem to raise prices without driving people away. Pressured by rising costs for beef and other ingredients, the chain tried to move away from the Dollar Menu in 2012 with an “Extra Value Menu” where items were priced at around $2.

But customers are apparently righteous about the $1 price point, and the strategy was scrapped. Last year, McDonald’s changed its tactic a bit, hoping not to turn off customers. It tweaked the name of the “Dollar Menu” to the “Dollar Menu & More.”

McDonald’s low prices also are part of what keeps it from competing with places such as Chipotle, which is touting the removal of genetically modified ingredients from its menu, and Panera, which recently said it will eliminated all artificial ingredients by 2016. Such moves would be Herculean feats for McDonald’s, given its pricing model and the complexity of its menu.

Meanwhile, the company acknowledges there are problems with how people perceive its food. “A lot of our guests don’t believe our food is real,” said Dan Coudreaut, director of culinary innovation at McDonald’s, in an interview last year.

Taking Control of The Narrative

The image of McDonald’s food is a growing concern for the company at a time when U.S. sales have been weak for two years. The last time McDonald’s managed to boost a monthly sales figure at home was in October, and the company warns its performance isn’t expected to improve anytime soon.

McDonald’s has said it has other problems, including slow and inaccurate service at its restaurants. But improving perceptions about its food is also a priority.

Following the dinner in New York last fall, the company hosted a similar event last month for reporters covering the Essence Festival in New Orleans. Beignets filled with grilled chicken and dusted with sugar were served alongside a packet of McDonald’s honey mustard sauce.

Other “chef events” in local markets are planned for coming months, according to Lisa McComb, a McDonald’s spokeswoman. She declined to provide details but said the events will be a spin on a recent contest between two friends to make a gourmet dish out of a Big Mac meal.

McComb said McDonald’s wasn’t associated with that particular contest, which was posted online.

The company continues to tweak the menu, too. The new Bacon Club burger McDonald’s is promoting comes on a brioche bun and looks more like something that might be found at a trendy burger joint. It costs $5 or $6, depending on where you live, making it the most expensive sandwich on the menu.

In Southern California, McDonald’s also is testing a “Build Your Own Burger” concept, with the patties being cooked to order more slowly on a separate grill.

Beyond the menu, the company is determined to take control of its narrative.

“We’re going to start really, really telling our story in a much more proactive manner,” said Kevin Newell, U.S. brand and strategy officer for McDonald’s said late last year.

He added that McDonald’s has gone too long in “letting other folks frame the story for us.”

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ENERGY DRINKS: Are More Americans Croaking from Caffeinated Energy Drinks?

Are More Americans Croaking from Caffeinated Energy Drinks?

Josh Long

June 26, 2014 - Blogs

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Since 2004, 34 deaths reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have been linked to energy drinks, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

The non-profit education organization and a lawyer representing the parents of a deceased teenager, Anais Fournier, obtained the documents under the Freedom of Information Act. Fournier’s parents sued Monster Beverage Corp. for wrongful death, though the energy company has blamed her death on a preexisting medical condition.
Fournier’s case is just one of dozens of fatalities tied to an energy drink sector under close watch by consumer advocates, regulators and lawmakers.

Twenty two deaths have been linked to 5-Hour Energy, 11 fatalities have been linked to Monster, and one death has been linked to Rockstar, according to CSPI in a June 25 press release. CSPI revealed 17 previously unreported deaths linked to energy drinks since late 2012.

"As I see in my medical practice, energy drinks are clearly causing symptomatic arrhythmias," said Dr. Stacy Fisher, director of complex heart diseases at University of Maryland School of Medicine, in the release. "These new reports of deaths and other injuries raise the level of concern about the adverse effects of energy drinks."

According to the results of the public records request, FDA received 276 adverse event reports (AERs) connected to energy drinks between Jan. 1, 2004 and March 10, 2014. Of the non-fatalities, 42 involved life-threatening injuries while 115 incidents resulted in hospitalization, CSPI said.

5-Hour Energy and Rockstar did not respond to requests for comment. Monster referred an inquiry to the American Beverage Association, which also did not respond to a request for comment.

The adverse event reports (AERs) don’t prove the energy drinks actually caused the events, FDA representatives have consistently said.

“FDA has and continues to investigate every one of these reports to try to determine whether the product caused or contributed to the event," said FDA spokesman Arthur Whitmore. “Frequently there are other complicating factors, such as existing disease or medications the person may have been taking. Often, despite our best efforts, we are unable to get more information, either because of a lack of medical records or contact information."

Whitmore said the agency has been studying energy drinks for years to determine if they pose an increased risk to consumers other than the caffeine in the products that must be declared on the label.

In a letter Wednesday to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, CSPI asked the agency to start a rulemaking in order to require warning labels on energy drinks to let consumers know about the potential risks of a convulsion, heart attack or other adverse side effects.

Many substances found in energy drinks—including caffeine, guarana, taurine, glucuronolactone, and ginseng—may produce harmful effects, CSPI warned in the letter. “As far as we can tell, the FDA has not examined some of those ingredients for safety, effectiveness, purity, or interactions with other energy-drink ingredients," the organization said.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Hot Dog!

Hot Dog!

Lynn Kuntz

May 22, 2014 - Blogs

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It's Memorial Day and grilling season so let us behold the simple hot dog, both beloved and reviled. While some rail about pig snouts and carcinogens, it doesn’t seem to put much of a dent in the market. In 2012, consumers spent more than $1.7 billion on hot dogs just in U.S. supermarkets says the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council (NHDSC), while sales “remained steady at the retail level, and other venues continue to post high sales as well, including airports, restaurants and ballparks."

Perhaps because of the calendar, hot dogs have been in the news recently. The aforementioned NHDSC released results from a poll that found that consumers who said they have a favorite regional hot dog chose corn dogs (46 percent) while. New York hot dogs( topped with mustard and onions) polled at 38 and  the Chicago dog (mustard, onions, relish, tomato slices, a dill pickle spear, a sport pepper and celery salt 2,100 U.S. adults ag on a poppy seed bun), garnered 26 percent. The survey was conducted online in April 2014 with over 2,100 U.S. adults ages 18 and older by Harris Poll for the Council.

Despite that third place finish, The Daily Meal, a popular foodie/culinary site named Chicago as home of the country’s best hot dog is the Mighty Dog, from Fat Johnnie's Famous Red Hots in Chicago for the second year in a row. The list included five other Chicago hot dogs in the list of the nation's 50 best hot dogs. However they weren’t all traditional Chicago-style. The No.1 dog was a chili-style dog and No. went to Hot Doug's Foie Gras & Sauternes Duck Sausage, which sounds more like some trumped-up foodie homage to an actual hot dog. But it does display the versatility of this particular sandwich.

But back to the hot dog itself. It’s sort of a microcosm history of processed foods in a bun. Its sausage precursors were developed to extend shelf life of perishable meat, likely not the prime cuts. Salt, saltpeter (potassium nitrate) and smoke were used as preservative agents and to improve color, texture and flavor. Inexpensive fillers were sometimes added (think boudin and haggis). So despite the current (mis)perception of modern food technology, today’s hot dog would definitely be something your grandmother recognized as food, including the infamous pink “goo," which is nothing more than uncooked, emulsified meat.

Although that may be changing—and many would say for the better. According to the NHDSC, the popularity of high-protein foods and interest in natural and organic products is driving hot-dog sales. Product development activity is centered on varieties with reduced fat, increased protein and a wide range of flavors such as honey and brown sugar, barbecue, Cajun, hot and spicy, bacon, and teriyaki. The group cites consumer research that points to convenient packaging, preparation and usage information as high priorities. The push for healthier formulations also includes lower-sodium, natural ingredients and cures, and even alternative proteins, plant as well as animal.
So as you sit down to your holiday hot dog, topped with whatever makes you happy—even ketchup—consider the history, the science, and even the art, of the humble hot dog.

FOOD ADDITIVES: How Safe are the Ingredients?

The Truth About 7 Common Food Additives

How safe are the ingredients in your food?

Reviewed by Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, LDBy Martin Downs, MPH
WebMD Feature

If, like many Americans, you stock your pantry with processed foods, you may worry about how safe food additives really are.

Over the years, the safety of many food additives, from food dyes to trans fats, has come into question. A scare over a food additive may linger in our minds long after researchers find that there's actually no cause for alarm. It can take years, or even decades, to find out the truth, and sometimes the case is never really closed.

To help you figure out what’s safe, WebMD took a look at the latest research on seven of the most controversial food additives. Here’s what we found:

1. Artificial coloring

What it is

Artificial food colors are chemical dyes used to color food and drinks.

Foods that have it

Many types of processed foods, beverages, and condiments have artificial coloring in them.

Why it's controversial

Artificial food color is suspected of causing increased hyperactivity in children. Also, the dye Yellow No. 5 has been thought to worsen asthma symptoms. (In the 1970s, the FDA famously banned Red Dye No. 2 after some studies found that large doses could cause cancer in rats.)

What the research shows

In 2007, a British study published in The Lancet concluded that consuming artificial coloring and preservatives in food can increase hyperactivity in kids. Scientists have been studying the link between food additives and hyperactivity in children for more than 30 years, with mixed results. But the results of the 2007 study compelled the European Food Standards Agency to urge companies to voluntarily remove artificial coloring from food products. The FDA, however, hasn't changed its opinion on the use of FDA-approved artificial food colors, which it considers safe when used properly.

Reports suggesting that the food color Yellow No. 5 might aggravate some people's asthma symptoms date back to the 1950s. But in most controlled studies, Yellow No. 5 has not been shown to have a significant impact on asthma, according to a review of all known studies, which is updated every year.

How you find it on the label

The following artificial colors are approved for use in food products and must be listed as ingredients on labels:

• FD&C Blue No. 1 (brilliant blue FCF)       
• FD&C Blue No. 2 (indigotine)
• FD&C Green No. 3 (fast green FCF)       
• FD&C Red No. 40 (allura red AC)           
• FD&C Red No. 3 (erythrosine)
• FD&C Yellow No. 5 (tartrazine)
• FD&C Yellow No. 6 (sunset yellow)
• Orange B (restricted to use in hot dog and sausage casings)

2. High fructose corn syrup continued...

Foods that have it

High fructose corn syrup is a common additive in many kinds of processed foods, not just sweets. Most non-diet soft drinks are sweetened with high fructose corn syrup.

Why it's controversial

Some experts have proposed that people metabolize high fructose corn syrup in a way that raises the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes more than sugar made from sugar cane. Much of the controversy stems from the observation that obesity in the United States and consumption of high fructose corn syrup increased at the same time.

What the research shows

"It's just sugar," says Marion Nestle, PhD, a professor of nutrition and public health at New York University. "Biochemically, there's no difference."

The high fructose corn syrups commonly used to sweeten foods and drinks are 55-58% fructose and 42-45% glucose. Sucrose (cane sugar) is a double sugar made of fructose and  glucose. Digestion quickly breaks down cane sugar and high fructose corn syrup into fructose and glucose.

"There's a little bit more fructose in high fructose corn syrup, but not a lot," Nestle says. "It doesn't really make any difference. The body can't tell them apart."  The American Medical Association recently stated that there is scant evidence to support the idea that high fructose corn syrup is any worse than cane sugar and that consuming too much sugar of either kind is unhealthy.

How you find it on the label

High fructose corn syrup can be found in the list of ingredients on a food label.

3. Aspartame

What it is

Aspartame is an artificial sweetener known by various brand names, including Equal and NutraSweet.

Foods that have it

Aspartame is a commonly used additive for sweetening diet soft drinks.

Why it's controversial

Various health concerns have been raised about aspartame since it was introduced in 1981. Most recently, it has been suspected of causing cancer. There have been reports of aspartame causing seizures, headaches, mood disturbances, and reduced mental performance. A study published in 2005 suggested that aspartame could cause leukemia and lymphoma in rats. Another study, published in 1996, argued that an increase in the rate of brain tumors in the United States could be related to consumption of aspartame.

What the research shows

Dozens of studies in people and animals have tested for effects possibly related to aspartame. The majority of these studies show that things such as headaches, seizures, and mental and emotional problems didn't occur with aspartame more often than with placebo, even at doses many times higher than anyone would likely ever consume. Large epidemiological studies haven't found a link between aspartame and cancer. A study of about 500,000 people, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, compared those who drank beverages containing aspartame with those who didn't. It found that people who drank increasing amounts of beverages containing aspartame did not have a greater risk for lymphomas, leukemias, or brain cancer. Another study looked at data from a large survey done by the National Institutes of Health. The survey included detailed information on 1,888 cases of leukemia or lymphomas and 315 cases of brain cancer. The researchers found no link between aspartame consumption and those cancers.

"For more than three decades, research has found aspartame to be safe, and today it is approved for use in more than 100 countries," says Robert E. Brackett, PhD, spokesman for the Grocery Manufacturers Association, a lobbying organization in Washington, D.C. "In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has confirmed the safety of aspartame 26 times over a period of 23 years, with the most recent confirmation in April 2007."

How to find it on the label

Look for aspartame in the list of ingredients.

4. Monosodium glutamate (MSG)

MSG by itself looks like salt or sugar crystals. It is a form of the naturally occurring chemical glutamate. Glutamate doesn't have a flavor of its own, but it enhances other flavors and imparts a savory taste. Tomatoes, soybeans, and seaweed are examples of foods that have a lot of glutamate naturally. Some scientists say that glutamate, also known as "umami," is the fifth essential flavor that the human palate can detect, in addition to sweet, salty, bitter, and sour.

Foods that have it

MSG is an additive used in many foods.

Why it's controversial

Many people claim to have bad reactions when they eat food seasoned with MSG. In the late 1960s, people started talking about "Chinese restaurant syndrome," alleging that food prepared with MSG at Chinese restaurants made them sick.

What the research shows

Many studies over the past four decades have tested the idea that some people may be sensitive to MSG. Most scientists today agree that if there is such a thing as a sensitivity or allergy to MSG, it's extremely rare. Studies haven't found any regular pattern of symptoms that could be typical of a reaction to MSG. Also, people are more likely to have symptoms if they're given MSG crystals than if they eat the same amount of MSG mixed with food.

"It's very hard for me to believe that there's a problem with it," Nestle says. Nevertheless, some still swear that they have bad reactions to MSG. "People who think they have problems with it should avoid it," she says.

How you find it on the label

Some food labels come right out and say that a product contains added MSG. But there are other ingredients that may contain MSG such as "hydrolyzed soy protein" and "autolyzed yeast."

5. Sodium benzoate

What it is

Sodium benzoate is a food additive used as a preservative.

Foods that have it

Sodium benzoate is used in a variety of processed food products and drinks.

Why it's controversial

It's suspected that sodium benzoate, in addition to artificial food color, may increase hyperactivity in some children. Sodium benzoate in soft drinks may also react with added vitamin C to make benzene, a cancer-causing substance.

What the research shows

The 2007 Lancet study that linked additives with increased hyperactivity included the preservative sodium benzoate.

In 2006 and 2007, the FDA tested a sample of almost 200 beverages from stores in different states that contained sodium benzoate and vitamin C. Four of the beverages had benzene levels that were above federal safety standards. The drinks were then reformulated by manufacturers and later deemed safe by the FDA. The agency points out, however, that the tests were limited and that it's still not known how much benzene consumers could be exposed to from beverages.

How you find it on the label

Sodium benzoate is listed among the ingredients on a product label.

6. Sodium nitrite

Sodium nitrite is an additive used for curing meat.

Foods that have it

Sodium nitrite is usually found in preserved meat products, like sausages and canned meats.

Why it's controversial

There is a theory that eating a lot of sodium nitrite might cause gastric cancer.

What the research shows

There is evidence that sodium nitrite could have been to blame for a lot of the gastric cancers that people had in the past. Until the early 1930s, gastric cancer caused the most deaths of all cancers in the United States. After that, more Americans began to use modern refrigeration and ate less cured meat. Also, producers started to use much less sodium nitrite in the curing process around that time. As these changes took place, deaths from gastric cancer also dropped dramatically.

This theory has been debated for decades, and it is still an open question.

How you find it on the label

Sodium nitrite will be listed as an ingredient on the labels of food products.

7. Trans fat

What it is

Trans fats are created when manufacturers add hydrogen to vegetable oil. Trans fats are food additives in the sense that they're mainly added to the food supply by manufacturing processes, although small amounts of trans fats are present naturally in animal fat.

Foods that have it

These "partially hydrogenated oils" are used most often for deep-frying food, and in baked goods. Margarine and vegetable shortening may also be made with partially hydrogenated oil.

Why it's controversial

Trans fats are believed to increase the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

What the research shows

Most scientists now agree that eating trans fats can be very harmful to health. Trans fats have been found to lower people's HDL (good) cholesterol and raise LDL (bad) cholesterol. The American Heart Association recommends getting less than 1% of your daily calories from trans fats.

How you find it on the label

Product labels are now required to list the amount of trans fat in a serving. Partially hydrogenated oil may also be listed as an ingredient.

But many fried foods and baked goods that are laden with trans fats are served in restaurants, and they don't come with nutrition labels. To avoid trans fats, it's best to limit your overall daily fat intake.

"Usually, when you increase the total amount of fat you consume, you increase the amount of trans fat as well," says Benjamin Caballero, MD, a professor at the Center for Human Nutrition at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. If you reduce your total fat intake from 13% of your daily calories (which he says is typical for Americans) to less than 10% (which is recommended), you probably won't exceed the limit on trans fat.

"There are so many controversial studies about ingredients that are a little more emotionally mediated by one study showing it harmful and another study showing it not harmful, and then people say, ‘What am I to do?’”

"You're going to get more nutrient bang for your buck to eat less refined foods when you can," says Christine Gerbstadt, MD, RD, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.