Trying To Eat Clean? Avoid These 11 Food Additives

While we can't totally eliminate toxins from our lives, we can take steps to lower the toxic load of our food. Here are a few things to try to avoid if you're looking to eat a little cleaner:

Used protect crops from pests, industrial pesticides have been linked to birth defects1 and certain cancers2.

Organic foods are required to be synthetic pesticide-free. Check out the EWG's Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen lists to see which fruits and veggies are sprayed with the most (and least) pesticides. And organic or not, be sure to rinse your produce off before eating it.

These common processed food preservatives have been declared safe but the FDA but are considered possible human carcinogens by the International Agency for Research On Cancer. They’ve also been associated with hormone disruption3 and smaller sperm size in men, and are banned in the UK.

Check the ingredient labels of your packaged foods to make sure they aren't preserved with BHA or BHT.

This hormone is fed to cows to increase their milk production. It produces elevated levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in dairy products, which have been found to increase the risk of colon cancer in men4.

Choose organic or hormone-free dairy products.

Dioxins and dioxin-like compounds (DCLs) accumulate in the food chain and are present in many ingredients including meat, dairy products, and fish. Beyond being environmentally damaging, dioxins can be harmful to human health in high doses because of the way they are absorbed and stored by fat tissue5. According to the FDA6, "Studies suggest that exposure to DLCs may lead to a variety of adverse health effects including reproductive and developmental problems, cardiovascular disease, increased diabetes, and increased cancer."

Eating organic when possible and limiting your consumption of meat and dairy products will help you avoid dioxins.

Found in food and beverage can linings, this hormone mimicker is suspected of promoting breast and prostate cancer7, reproductive and behavioral problems8, obesity9, and diabetes10.

To ensure your food is BPA-free, look for cans labeled "BPA- and BPS-free", avoid plastic packaging labeled with the number seven, and don't put plastic food containers in the microwave as its chemicals can leech when heated.

Used in deli foods like processed meats, these preservatives have been linked to cancer in some studies11, though more research still needs to be done on them. Nitrate is also a common contaminant in drinking water and the EWG states that "the federal legal limit for nitrate in drinking water fails to address the growing concerns about chronic, low-level exposure to nitrate and potential cancer risk."

Filter your tap water using a high-quality filter and watch your intake of processed meats.

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) form when coal and gasoline is burned, and we can consume them when we eat grilled or charred foods. This class of chemicals has been found to increase cancer risk in animals12, though research on their impact on human health is limited.

Pre-cook your grilled foods and finish over low flame.

Like PAHs, Heterocyclic Amines (HCAs) can form when food is cooked over an open flame. They are most commonly found in cooked meats and have also been associated with increased cancer risk13.

Pre-cook your grilled foods and finish over low flame.

Acrylamide is a chemical found in fried, starchy foods like french fries and potato chips as well as grains that have been cooked at high temperatures. According to the American Cancer Society, it's not yet clear if the levels of acrylamide in foods raise cancer risk, but some organizations like the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classify it as a probable human carcinogen.

Avoid fried foods, snack chips, crackers, toasted cereals, cookies, and bread crusts.

Some synthetic food dyes have been linked to neurological disorders like ADHD14.

Look for food that has been dyed using natural ingredients like dragonfruit, spirulina, and carrot.

Much of the corn, soy, cottonseed, and canola15 grown in the US is made from GMOs. The long-term human health impact of GMOs is unclear, but these crops are often sprayed with chemical pesticides that we know to be unhealthy.

Look for organic food when possible. By definition, a food that's labelled USDA certified organic will also be GMO-free.