15 Harmful Effect Of Food Preservatives


Thinking of purchasing tinned vegetables, bacon, ready-to-eat meals, crunchy chips and sodas from the supermarket during weekend shopping? Think twice before you do so. These processed foods cause severe health problems because of the overdose of preservatives used in them. The harmful effects of food preservatives might be well beyond your imagination. In fact, the side-effects of food preservatives range from weight gain to chronic heart and brain diseases.

The harmful effects of food preservatives might be well beyond your imagination. In fact, the side-effects of food preservatives range from weight gain to chronic heart and brain diseases. 

Food preservatives are substances used in food materials to keep it safe for a longer period without getting spoiled. Ingredients such as artificial colours and flavours are also added to make processed food look more appealing. Food manufacturers claim that the preservatives used in their products are safe, but that is not the reality. Before consuming processed foods, think about your health. Remember that nothing will beat the taste and safety of homemade foods. 

Top 10 Harmful Substances In Foods To Avoid 

Let us go, through some of the major side effects of food preservatives.

Cancer Not surprisingly, processed food has preservatives and artificial enhancers in excess which causes the formation of cancerous cells in our body and is one of the known harmful effects of food preservatives.

Heart Diseases Processed foods contain preservatives in the form of saturated fats and sugar in excess, which leads to all sorts of heart ailments.

Obesity Some preservatives in foods do not allow you to resist the temptation to eat more. This causes obesity, one of the harmful effects of food preservatives used in processed foods.

Diabetes Just imagine the actual quantity of sugar that our body gets when we consume processed foods. Diabetes is one of the main side effects of food preservatives.

Cholesterol Meat contains saturated fat, the preservative which raises your cholesterol level. Simply consuming fat without any nutrition makes you a suitable candidate for cholesterol related diseases.

Infertility As chemical preservatives are made in laboratories, Genetically-Modified Organisms (GMO) are plentiful in processed foods. This increases the risk of infertility.

Kidney Deterioration Many of the shop-bought items contain phosphate additives which enhance their taste and texture. The surplus amount of these preservatives leads to many kidney problems.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) Smoked and processed meat contains a high amount of nitrates, a chemical preservative. This increases the risk of getting COPD, which is surely life threatening.

Chronic Inflammation One of the harmful effects of food preservatives is chronic inflammation, resulting in various respiratory and neurological problems.

Liver Diseases Processed foods contain refined fructose, which directly goes to your liver and gets stored there. This damages your liver as much as alcohol or other toxins do.


Rapid Ageing Preservatives containing phosphates are added to increase the taste, colour and shelf-life of almost all the processed foods. These will lead to early puberty in girls.

Weak Bones Processed foods contain phosphate, a preservative used to enhance the shelf-life and taste. These foods might taste better, but they weaken your bones and other organs.

Alzheimer’s Disease Some artificial flavouring agents like diacetyl used in microwave popcorn may trigger Alzheimer's disease.

Gastrointestinal Disorders Processed foods are manufactured chemically from its natural form. The preservatives and additives in these canned foods will cause GIT problems.
Stroke Huge amount of sodium and nitrate are used as preservatives in processed foods. This increases the blood pressure of our body, thus damaging the blood vessels.

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source: boldsky.com