The Doctors: Bread Additives
What’s really in your bread? Today The Doctors tackled the food secrets you’ll want to think about the next time you go to the grocery store.
Already they have investigated whether there should be a Tax on Sugar to fight America’s growing obesity epidemic. They also pulled back the curtain on the world of Chlorine Chicken Processing, which leading food manufacturers admit is how they do business.
Plus, they showed the hazards that may be Hiding in Your Ice Cream and giving your kids ADHD. Now, they are turning their eye to breadsticks, rolls, and other yeasty treats.
Is your favorite bread item bad for you? Besides calories, some bread products contain known carcinogens.
Dr. Travis Stork pulled out a bread basket featuring a variety of favorite breads. But he said there’s something you should know about some of your favorite bread products. They could contain a substance that is banned in Canada and Britain and classified as a Carcinogen by the state of California and our own EPA.
Bread & Potassium Bromate
This chemical is called Potassium Bromate, and it helps dough rise. The FDA said it is found in trace amounts, so maybe that is some consolation. Dr. Jim Sears said he has noticed that high quality artisan bread can sometimes be flaky, and this chemical is used to maintain elasticity in mass produced bread.
Chef Rocco DiSpirito said he prefers the flaky bread. He said that many chefs prefer a particular type of flour for making bread, which does not contain Potassium Bromate.
The Drs TV: Bread & Azodicarbonamide
“If you can barely pronounce something, it’s probably a chemical you don’t want in your food,” Dr. Travis said. The chemical Azodicarbonamide is used to make plastic and rubber products, but it’s also in your buns and bagels.
Do Bread Additives Cause Cancer & Asthma
According to the World Health Organization, this chemical can cause respiratory problems and asthma symptoms. However, it’s legal in the US and even exists in whole wheat breads.
Dr. Travis Stork said you should be sure to check out you food ingredient lists and nutrition facts during your next trip to the grocery store. You can learn some common tricks, such as the fact that the suffix “-ose” probably means sugar.
Thank you for reporting these types of things. We Americans are so blinded by all the glitter and gold we sometimes forget that our health is under attack on a daily basis.
We eat these types of chemicals every day then wonder why the huge increase in the number of cancer cases and other serious ilnesses.
I wish industry would worry a little less about profit, and a little more about health.
Thanks again,
John