Eli5? What are food preservatives actually and why is it said that eating them is bad ??
In: Chemistry
A food preservative is just anything that slows down the process of food going bad and/or maintains its freshness for long periods of time. Some preservatives are natural, like salt, sugar, vitamin c, and nitrates or nitrites. Others are chemicals that don’t occur naturally and are manufactured, like ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid or butylated hydroxytoluene.
Not all food preservatives are bad, and some are only bad in large amounts or over long periods of time. For example, salt and sugar are fine but too much of either is unhealthy. Others have shown, at least in animals, that large amounts or regular consumption over long periods of time are associated with an increased risk of cancer. Also, there’s the simple fact that a lot of preserved foods also happen to have a lot of things like salt, fat, and sugar, which are all bad for you in large amounts.
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