I have nothing sugar jacket because, to be honest, the food industry is already doing enough. And now I sound the alarm bell about glycerol.
You may not have heard much about this colorless, odorless, sweet-tasting food additive, but you are about to place because this stuff places children in the hospital.
Glycerol is a chemical that is used by large food to keep products moist, to improve their texture and, perhaps above all, to replace added sugar in so -called healthy offers.
While you did your best to prevent the usual suspects, corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, refined sugar demolition inside this small nightmare under the radar.
In some brands you will find protein bars, fried products, dairy products and, the most notorious in the United Kingdom, brightly colored slushie drinks that children love.
Sounds harmless, right? It is not.
Researchers in the UK recently studied the cases of 21 children, ranging in age of two to seven-year-old, who were admitted to the hospital shortly after drinking a single 'Zero-Sugar' Slushie who was artificially sweetened with glycerol.
Yes, you read that well. A single slushie.
In the US, Glycerol is only one of the 10,000 chemicals that the food industry can legally sneak into your food under an FDA -Maas in 1958, created by the congress.
Most children lost consciousness. Four needed brain scans. They had an attack.
The newly identified state is called 'glycerol -intoxication Syndrome'.
In adults, too much glycerol can cause headaches, nausea, dizziness and bloating. But the bodies of children are smaller, their metabolism works differently, and when they consume too much glycerol at the same time, their blood sugar can fall so quickly that they can black -out.
Glycerol is of course not new. It has been added to food for decades – only now the food industry uses more of it. Much more.
Some areas of law in the US have implemented 'sugar taxes' or surcharges on sweetened drinks to discourage their consumption by making them more expensive. And the public has also become much more health -conscious.
So Big Food responded by reducing sugar content. But the food industry is also desperate to keep things sweet, so they have loaded their products with sugar substitutes, such as glycerol.
Also known as glycerine, this additive is a sugar alcohol. It is not sugar, but it tastes like this. And children consume more than ever before.
Slushies in the UK are some of the greatest perpetrators, because sugar or glycerol is needed to prevent the drinks from Goo freezing in sturdy blocks. And the result is that children are dosed with more sugar alcohol than their small bodies can handle.
But here is the really shocking part: Glycerol is technically considered 'safe' by the Food and Drug Administration and some food agencies of the European Union. But let's really be: 'safe' according to these food regulators can only mean 'immediately fatal'.
In the US, Glycerol is one of the 10,000 chemicals that the food industry can legally sneak into your food under an FDA -Maas in the congress in 1958.
At the time, 'generally recognized as safe' or grass standards were determined to set certain food additives-such as salt, yeast, flower and egg-free of the rigorous pre-market review and approval processes of the FDA.
That did not mean independent tests and no long -term studies. Food manufacturers had to decide for themselves whether something was 'safe' before they add it to your favorite snacks.
Also known as glycerine, this additive is a sugar alcohol. It is not sugar, but it tastes like this. And children consume more than ever before (stock image).
But here is the good news. On Thursday, the health and human services – Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Plans to eliminate grass standards for many foods sold in the US.
“We have launched a review of the grass standards and we will lose the grass standards for most products,” Kennedy told Fox News.
'We have 10,000 [GRAS] ingredients [in the US]… and in Europe they only have 400, and [Americans] Have the worst chronic disease burden in every country in the world. '
Go figure.
This is undoubtedly a big step to tackle the American health crisis, but there is no reason to wait until Kennedy acts.
You are not powerless. You have freedom of choice and it's time to use it.
Read every damn label. If it says that glycerol, glycerine or e422 (an indication of the European Union) – put it back on the shelf.
Avoid buying ultra -processed food for yourself and your children as often as possible. I know – it's easy, it's handy and they love it. But what is more important? Their long -term health or a temporary tantrum?
Ask better. Food companies are not really going to change unless we force them.
Speak. Complain. Stop buying brands that yield profit on people. Teach your children. Teach them to recognize outfall credients and make better choices. They are never too young to learn how to protect themselves.
At the end of the day you are the gatekeeper of what goes in your body and your child. Stay informed, remain vigilant and do not trust that, just because something is being sold in a store, it is safe.
Jillian is a TV star, author and health expert. She was a personal trainer on the biggest loser and is now organizing her own podcast, who really keeps it
