Hidden Dangers in Foods

Eliminating allergens from my diet seemed easy at first.  But that all changed with a trip to the grocery store.  There was sugar, corn, wheat, soy and/or gluten in everything!  My spare time was spent reading labels and yet I was still making mistakes. Some things were obvious no-no’s, but others seemed okay until I tried them.  I generally paid a heavy price for not understanding the mysterious language of ingredients.

Food manufacturers are extremely skillful at hiding potential allergens behind unusual, relatively innocent-sounding names, like hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP).  We tend to overlook the “hydrolyzed” and focus on the “vegetable protein,” which sounds like a good thing.  Well, it’s not, especially if you’re allergic to MSG, soy, corn, or wheat.  In fact, whenever you see the word hydrolyzed connected to the words “vegetable, plant, or whey,” beware.

Hydrolyzed proteins are created using a chemical process called acid hydrolysis, which breaks down the protein into amino acids.  These hydrolyzed proteins are used as flavor enhancers in everything from soups to hot dogs and pose a real threat to people like me. 

Sugar is another tricky one disguised as sucrose, fructose, glucose, lactose (sugar found in milk), Maltose (malt sugar) and dextrose (another name for glucose and sometimes added to iodized salt!).  Sugar of some sort is a major ingredient in everything!

Then there was the ever-present corn.  It is a delicious and popular food enjoyed by millions of people everyday, but for the allergic person it can be a nightmare.  And it’s not just in the tasty hush puppies or the breading on that crunchy fried fish.  Corn is also in that hard to remove food-grade wax used to keep our produce looking fresh. Of course it’s in cornstarch (a major ingredient in baking powder), in corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup (both of which are terrible for you, allergic or not).  It’s in vegetable oil, and even in some vitamins.  In fact, the items that do not contain corn would make a much shorter list.

Soy is quickly becoming the new corn, commonly used and hidden in many products.  Hiding behind words such as natural flavoring, hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), hydrolyzed plant protein (HPP), and vegetable broth, soy sits unnoticed by the untrained eye. It is frequently found in bullion cubes, chicken broth, canned soups, vitamins and dietary supplements.  I have found only one brand of a Vitamin E supplement that does not contain “soy lecithin” as an ingredient. It is much more expensive than most brands, but well worth it if you can’t have soy.  Even some highly regarded, scientifically-studied brands of fish oil contain soy lecithin. The soy lecithin is only a small addition, serving as a thickening agent, but it’s still too much for me.  Within hours of consuming it I’m plagued with contact dermatitis and the scratching battle begins. Yes, this is the dreaded itch that keeps on itching! Fortunately, the Metagenics brand does not have soy and is also an excellent fish oil.

Avoiding my food allergens was certainly not going to be as easy as I’d hoped.  But with perseverance, a lot of research, and my local Whole Foods Store, I have finally learned which brands are relatively safe for me.  Fortunately, many responsible food manufacturers are making it easier to avoid food allergens by boldly labeling their products as having no soy, corn, gluten, etc.  I am very grateful for that bit of help!