Foods Persuasive Speech

seizures, headaches, mood disturbances and reduce mental performance” (Downs). Doesn’t that just make you want to reevaluate what you but for you and your loved ones?

Equally mixed in with our foods are chemicals, yes I said chemicals. Now I am not talking about the chemicals from farmers trying to keep bugs from eating their crops. I am talking about chemicals being added into our foods during processing. Let’s take a look at what chemicals are used most often, foods they are put in, how they are affecting humans and what purpose they have for being placed in our foods. The three chemicals that I have found to be used most often in our foods are propyl gallate, silicon dioxide also know as silica and tartrazine yellow number 5 and number

6 which are food dies. Propyl gallate is most commonly place in food as an “antioxidant preservative to protect oily products from oxidation, which would otherwise cause them to go bad” (Wilson). I understand not wanting our foods to go bad but does that outweigh the risks? The most common foods you can find propyl gallate in are things like mayonnaise, gum, dried meats and chicken soups. Propyl gallate has been known to leade to developmental problems, increase risk of cancer, interefere with peoples hormones, cause fertility issues and cause reproductive and neurological problems. Hmmm, make food last longer or save your health and life? Ever heard of silicon dioxide also known as silica, I hadn’t until now. Silicon dioxide also known as silica is used by manufacturers to keep foods dry and dry out foods. This additive is lurking in powder foods like dry soups and coffee creamer. Now you may say, well, I don’t use them that often but would you ever use them if you knew they cause lung cancer, death due to respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease or help to develop autoimmune disease at high doses, I wouldn’t. Last but not least, why don’t we take a look at something so simple as food die, tartrazine yellow number 5 and number 6 to be exact. Tartrazine yellow number 5 and number 6 are simply used by manufacturers to color foods and drinks. Who doesn’t eat candy, cheese, baked goods and drink colored beverages, those are the exact places you might find this chemical. Many think about food dies as harmless or don’t think much about them at all. Well, tartrazine yellow numbers 5 and number 6 have been commonly found to be carcinogens and play a huge role in hyperactivity in children. Now, many people have heard stories of others believing dies placed in foods caused their children to be hyper but did you believe them?
As a result of these findings, one may ask what things can be done by the consumer to avoid these preservatives, additives and chemicals as much as possible or at least cut down on the intake of them tremendously.

First off to avoid consuming too many foods with BHA preservatives one should stick with unprocessed and fresh fruits, vegetables and meats, avoid eating too many foods high in fats and oils. As it relates to sulfites if you can avoid drinking an abundance of wine, dried foods or anything containing sulfites if you ever have an adverse reaction to them or are asthmatic, otherwise you should be fine. When it comes to the preservative nitrites people should eat less cured meats like sausage and canned meats as well as take an extra minute or two to read labels on the foods you purchase. Secondly, when trying to make healthier choices by decreasing the amount of additives you or your family consume on a regular basis again I would highly recommend simply reading the nutrition facts panel before you purchase a product as a little extra time can save your health, make the healthier choice and say no to High Fructose Corn Syrup. Avoid trans fats by limiting your overall daily fat intake, you can ask what kinds of oils your food is cooked in when you are eating out, avoid industrial manufactured trans fats but eat natural trans fats like dairy products, butter fat, beef, lamb, limit sweets and fried foods. If artificial sweeteners are the problem in your life choose to drink more teas, water or seltzer water, something without needing sugar to taste good to you but definitely steer clear of anything that says diet or sugar free as it is sure to have some kind of artificial sweetener in it. Third of all let’s look at what we can do in our daily lives to avoid consuming chemicals, which really just sounds weird even saying. The main way to really and completely avoid chemicals like propyl gallate in your food is to eat more natural foods, grow your own veggies,

and shop at places like Sprout’s or Whole Foods maybe even the Farmer’s Market. If Silicon dioxide also known as silica is something you can afford to take or need to take out of your daily diet one may look into freeze dried foods, drying your own foods at home and if you use a lot of powder creamer one might want to look into a liquid creamer or the use the old fashioned milk and sugar method. We as shoppers and consumers know that this is not an easy process or adjustment to make but if you just implement it in every other product you buy the next time you are at the store it should become natural therefore, take a lot less time. Practice makes perfect. Christine Gerdstadt says, “ You’re going to get more nutrient bang for your buck to eat less refined foods when you can,” (Downs) so try it and you will see.
Now, anyone can see why adults, parents and children should be more careful of the foods they choose to eat or feed their loved ones. By allowing these preservatives, additives and chemicals into our bodies in high doses we are limiting our growth, development and future. Fortunately for us “In the past 50 years, great strides have been made in understanding nutrition and the role it plays in human health as well as seen great improvement in safety and diversity of the diet in the U.S.” (Consumer Research Magazine) but it is a work in progress. So the question is, what foods will you throw out in your home and what new foods will you buy at the grocery store next time you go shopping? Don’t always buy the cheapest foods as you might be cheating yourself or someone you love out of a long healthy life to save a little money, not worth the savings if you ask me.