Ingredient Why it is Used Why it is Bad

Why I Read the Ingredient Label

The additives I choose to leave on the shelf — and why a “mystery symptom” is sometimes hiding in the fine print.

I try to keep this blog to things I’d tell you as one friend to another. And friend, here’s something I care about deeply: so many of the puzzling symptoms people live with — the fatigue, the headaches, the sudden weakness after a meal — can trace back to something quietly listed on an ingredient label.

I had a college professor who began losing her strength after she ate, and it took real detective work to discover the culprit was MSG. Can you imagine if it had taken her years to figure that out? That’s the part that stays with me. Behind every “this additive is linked to X” is a real person — not a lab rat — feeling unwell and not knowing why.

This whole idea was sparked by a wonderful article by Brett Blumenthal (originally on Shine/Yahoo) listing common food additives worth knowing. I won’t reprint her piece here — it’s hers, and worth reading in full — but I want to share, in my own words, the additives I personally keep out of our cart, and why. As you read, picture a real person behind each one.

How to read what follows: our bodies are all different, and the science on several of these is still debated — some people react strongly, others not at all. So please take this as “here’s why I choose to avoid these,” not a medical verdict. When something genuinely worries you about your own health, your doctor is the best partner for sorting it out.

The additives I skip

• Artificial colors. Synthetic dyes made to brighten food. They’ve been associated in some people with allergic reactions, and there’s ongoing research and debate around dyes and hyperactivity in children. Easy pass for me.
• Artificial flavorings. Inexpensive chemical blends built to mimic real flavors. Some folks report sensitivities like skin reactions. I’d simply rather have the real thing.
• Artificial sweeteners. (Aspartame, sucralose, saccharin, acesulfame-K, and the like.) Highly processed, zero-calorie sweeteners in “diet” products. Some people report headaches or dizziness, and they’re heavily studied and debated. I reach for a little stevia or raw honey instead.
• Certain preservatives. (BHT, BHA, TBHQ.) Added to keep fats from going rancid. Some are questioned for possible health effects, and I’d rather buy fresh food that doesn’t need them.
• Brominated vegetable oil (BVO). Used to keep flavor mixed into some citrus sodas. It’s fallen out of favor with regulators and many brands — another reason I skip brightly-colored soft drinks entirely.
• High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). A cheap sweetener in countless packaged foods and drinks. Diets high in it are associated with weight and metabolic concerns. We just don’t keep it around.
• MSG (monosodium glutamate). A flavor enhancer in many restaurant dishes, dressings, chips, soups, and frozen meals. A subset of people (like my professor) report headaches, nausea, or weakness after eating it. If you suspect it, it’s worth tracking.
• Olestra. An indigestible fat substitute once common in fried snacks. It can interfere with absorbing some nutrients and famously caused digestive misery for some. No thank you.
• Hydrogenated & partially hydrogenated oils. The industrial source of artificial trans fats, long tied to heart-health concerns — so much so that they’ve been largely phased out. Still worth scanning labels for.

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A little confession from our house

Years ago, my husband and I had a running joke: “If it tastes too good to be gluten-free…it probably isn’t.” That was back when I was still trying to eat the processed diet I’d always eaten — just swapping each gluten-filled item for its gluten-free version. And here was the catch: to make those processed gluten-free foods taste good, companies had to pack in a lot of the very “stuff” on the list above.

Once I let go of processed food altogether — even the gluten-free kind — and started eating foods that are naturally gluten-free, everything changed. My food tastes wonderful now. And these days, my husband and I don’t joke about gluten-free food tasting bad anymore, because ours doesn’t.

That’s really the heart of it: read the label, choose real food, and let your taste buds (and your body) recalibrate. Good luck with your own lifestyle changes — you can absolutely do this.

Inspired by “food additives to avoid” by Brett Blumenthal (originally published on Shine/Yahoo) — do seek out her original article for her full write-up. This post shares my own experience and general information, not medical advice; I’m not a doctor, and individual reactions vary. If a food seems to be affecting your health, please talk with your physician.

With much love,

Steffanie