One of the things I missed most when travelling was Tim Tams. Imagine my delight at finding a stash in a Tel Aviv supermarket. I couldn’t wait to get home to show my partner at the time how to do a “Tim Tam Slam”.
Where’s the Cocoa?
Imagine the disappointment to discover that that lovely chocolate coating is in fact made up of these food colourings –
- Tartrazine (102) – linked to irritability and sleep disturbances (banned in the EU)
- Sunset Yellow (110) – linked to hyperactivity (banned in the EU)
- Allura Red (129) – as above (banned in the EU)
- Brilliant Blue (133) – may induce allergic response in those with asthma
- Caramel (150)
The use of colours in our food is growing all the time and it really plays no useful role other than enhance the appeal of certain foods. It’s a sad fact that these foods are mostly aimed at young people. BOOO to that I say!
Flavour, flavour, flavour.
It’s good ol’ MSG – monosodium glutamate (621) and friends (any number with a ‘6’ at the front).
There is a big difference between naturally occurring glutamate (e.g. broccoli and seaweed) and processed free glutamate (MSG). MSG is an unnecessary additive used to make stale, cheap or inferior ingredients taste better.
Excessive glutamate has been linked with:
• Learning disorders
• Brain tumours
• Hyperactivity
• Migraine
• Irritability
• Sleep disturbances
Most recently, MSG has been implicated in the obesity epidemic. Rats fed small amounts of MSG showed a 40% increase in appetite!