Intro

This chapter explores the health implications of food additives, emphasizing rising public concerns and the historical context of these issues. It also features insights from a dedicated expert advocating for better food safety regulations and informed consumer choices.

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Those long, unpronounceable ingredients at the bottom of food labels—what are they really doing to your health?

In this episode, we’re joined by Professor Marion Nestle, a world-leading nutrition expert and author of the groundbreaking book ‘Food Politics’. Marion has spent decades exposing how powerful food companies influence what ends up on our plates — and how little regulation may stand in their way.

We dive into the hidden world of food additives and the regulatory systems meant to protect us. While the U.S. allows companies to self-certify ingredients as “safe” without independent FDA approval, Europe and the UK take a stricter approach. But does stricter always mean safer?

Marion unpacks how these systems differ, which substances might be harming our health, and what consumers can do to reduce their risk. We explore what the science says about additives, inflammation, gut health, and more.

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Timecodes:

00:00 Are common food additives tested for safety?

02:44 The shocking number of additives in a simple loaf of bread

04:14 The real reason your bread is so soft

05:55 The loophole that allows 10,000 additives into our food

07:24 How companies get to approve their own additives

08:46 Why it's so hard to prove an additive is harmful

10:27 The concerning difference between US and European food regulations