You’d be hard-pressed to find a Canadian who doesn’t consume food additives. They’re in almost all of the packaged foods you will find at the typical grocery store.

Additives make bread softer, give ice cream that just right consistency and keep bacon from turning an unappetizing shade of grey. They can prevent mould, eliminate the calories associated with a sweet drink and increase the nutritional value of a bowl of cereal.

Yet, ask the average Canadian what additives they’ve eaten in a given day and they’ll probably draw a blank.

“I don’t think Canadians understand [food additives],” says Alexis Williams, a registered dietitian with Transition Health in Burlington, Ont. “People are somewhat aware that they exist, but don’t really know anything about them.”

With names such as calcium propionate, sorbitan monostearate and thiamin mononitrate, it’s no surprise that we feel a bit overwhelmed by the concept of additives, preferring instead to stick to our analysis of the calories, fat and sodium content on our food labels. Many of us trust that whatever additives have been thrown into our food have passed the rigours of food-safety standards.

But this can be a careless approach. We consume a lot of additives — estimates range from 2.5 to 10 kilograms of the stuff each year. Some nutritional experts claim that the body has to work very hard at getting rid of some of these additives, which are considered toxins because they’re not used by the body for its own maintenance or well-being.

That’s why consuming too many of them — or too many of the wrong kind — can take a toll, causing headaches, fatigue, skin conditions, poor concentration and other ill effects.

“These things build up over time,” says Samara Felesky-Hunt, a registered dietitian with the Downtown Sports Clinic in Calgary.

The other problem with additives is that it’s not easy to keep track of which are safe and which are risky, according to Williams.

Some of the scariest-sounding additives are actually benign. Take the three additives mentioned previously. According to food safety advocate group Centre for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, D.C., these additives are safe, if not beneficial. Calcium propionate prevents mould on baked goods; thiamin mononitrate is actually vitamin B1, which is added to enriched flour and fortified cereal; and the ominous sounding sorbitan monostearate keeps oil and water from separating in cakes and puddings.

Meanwhile, sunset yellow might sound downright wholesome, but it is one of several food dyes that the CSPI says should be avoided altogether — in animal tests, it has caused tumours in the adrenal glands and kidneys.

The best way to avoid additives is to keep processed foods to a minimum. “Fresh is best,” says Williams. But that approach might not be realistic for all of us, she adds: “Some people just aren’t into cooking.”

Felesky-Hunt recommends that her clients who are interested in adopting a healthier diet — which always ensures fewer additives because such a diet relies on unprocessed, fresh foods — do so one step at a time. If you become comfortable with each step before moving on, she says, it is more likely that the dietary changes will last.

Tackling breakfast first is a good start, Felesky-Hunt adds. A move away from the frozen waffles and high-sugar cereals and toward more nutritional fare such as oatmeal, berry smoothies and eggs with toast will eliminate most additives and should have you feeling healthier within a few weeks.

From there, you can take on lunch. Brown-bagging fruits, vegetables, yogurt and sandwiches takes only a few extra minutes a day.

“Dinner is the big obstacle,” Felesky-Hunt says, especially during the week, when tight schedules make processed foods more attractive. Many of her clients find it easier to tackle one night per week to start.

What helps this process is that clients often report feeling healthier after just a few weeks of cutting back on additives, she says.

No matter what stage you have reached in making your diet more healthy, there are several additives that most experts agree should always be avoided. They are:

> bha and bht. Butylated hydroxyanisole, or BHA, is an antioxidant that slows down rancidity in foods that contain fats or oils, such as butter, meats and cereal. While antioxidants have become an anti-cancer buzzword, this additive should be avoided, says Felesky-Hunt. The CSPI says BHA is probably a human carcinogen.

@page_break@Dietitians say the other butylate — butylate hydroxytoluene, or BHT — should also be avoided. Reports indicate it causes exhaustion and weakness. Pregnant women and those with underlying medical conditions should be particularly vigilant about avoiding both BHA and BHT, Felesky-Hunt says.

> msg. Monosodium glutamate is a flavour enhancer that can be found in thousands of products, from soup to salad dressing, and it is used liberally in some restaurants. On labels, it’s sometimes masked as “hydrolized vegetable protein” or even “natural flavouring.” (It is indeed a natural substance: the sodium form of a common amino acid.)

Early studies have found that MSG destroyed brain cells in mice; more recent research indicates a link to headaches, nausea, tightness in the chest and other symptoms in some people.

> nitrates and nitrites. Sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite are preservatives that add flavour and maintain the colour of deli meats and fish. They also help prevent the growth of bacteria that cause botulism. But that doesn’t make them a healthy choice. According to the CSPI, they both introduce a small cancer risk.

> artificial colours. The colour added to your food is purely cosmetic yet can carry risks. Although many are easy to spot on ingredient lists — with names like “brilliant blue” and “fast green” — some are not.

Research on the blue dye indigotine, for instance, suggests it can cause brain tumours in male mice.

Erythrosine, for another, can brighten the redness of cherries in your fruit cocktail; it has also been shown to cause thyroid tumours in rats. IE