BHT. Do you really know what you're ingesting?
How many people here sit down every morning to a bowl of cereal, maybe 2, and head out the door? Your kids are the same, why? Because it's one of the easiest things to grab in the morning. Nothing wrong with that. If I'm in a hurry or not in the mood to make a protein shake or an egg breakie I do the same, but would you ever think you're grabbing a bowl of cancer with that? Okay, I'd say that was a little over dramatic, but it isn't. I'm not going to dissect the types of cereal here, don't care whether you're eating the sugary stuff, the healthy stuff, or the inbetweeny cereals, I'm talking about the packaging and the antioxidants they use. BHA, butylated hydroxyanisole and more specifically, BHT, butylated hydroxytoluene.
I read my ingredient lists like a hawk, not only due to allergies, but also because I want to know what is in my food. Although not as strict an adherent to the rule as I should be, "if you can't pronounce it, you shouldn't eat it" is probably the best one we can live by. Now BHT, it's a synthetic antioxidant used as a preservative and closely related to BHA, it should be noted that it is approved by the FDA and receives a GRAS rating, or, Generally Recognized As Safe. That means if you aren't sitting down and ingesting it by the bucketful you should be ok. Riiigggghhht. Everything in moderation, I guess. lol But here's the thing, when things such as BHT are in almost everything we eat, put on our faces (yes it's in cosmetics and moisturizers too) it becomes an accumulative toxin in our bodies. Not to mention our kids that are eating 1-2 bowls of cereal every morning before they go to school. And now the bomb.......
Though recognized as a GRAS by the FDA, the same Government also recognizes that it "can be a promoter of thyroid cancer." I don't know about you, but after reading this article regarding the tests done, and the mere possibility that it could cause cancer, I make sure anything I eat does NOT contain BHT. Here is the crappy news: It isn't just in cereal and cereal packaging. I picked up a package of Kellogg's "nourish" bars last week and, yep, it contains BHT. I was going to throw them away but I think I'll get a refund! And as mentioned is also not just found in food but also makeup, and moisturizers.
Here's the good news: If you want to avoid this chemical, it's a bit easier made by the fact that General Mills does NOT use it in their products, but Kellogg's does. So you can simply avoid purchasing one companies product over the other IF it is a concern to you. BHT and BHA are actually banned in the UK, Japan and the EU due to their unsafe nature. Now that's food for thought.
