Most people don’t know how unhealthy puffed foods are

Puffed food is a new type of food developed in the 1960s, also known as extruded food, light food, etc. It is popular among friends because of its unique taste and wide variety.

But today we are not going to talk about how rich its variety is, nor how crispy its taste is, but about its impact on our health. Although many people keep saying that puffed food is unhealthy, most people don’t know how unhealthy it is and why it is unhealthy.

In fact, the potential harm of puffed foods mainly comes from their ingredients[1]. The main nutrient component of puffed foods is carbohydrates.

A large number of studies have shown that this compound will increase the risk of children suffering from high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease in the future. In addition, a large amount of puffed food can easily cause children to feel full, affecting their normal diet. Multiple nutrients cannot be guaranteed and supplied, and malnutrition is very likely to occur.

Another potential factor that may cause puffed foods to harm our health is additives.

In 2011, an article was published on the "Hetao College Forum", which mentioned the results of the second batch of product quality inspections released by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine in August 2010. The results showed that puffed foods have become the hardest hit area of ​​problematic products due to excessive addition of artificial colors and sweeteners, excessive lead content and aluminum residues. These excessive additives will cause varying degrees of harm to the human body.

Aluminum salts, such as alum, are used as leavening agents in the processing of puffed foods. After the body ingests aluminum salts, only 10%-15% can be excreted out of the body, and most of it will accumulate in the body, affecting various biochemical reactions in the body, mainly damaging brain function, and in severe cases, dementia may occur. The impact is particularly greater for children with weaker physical resistance, which can lead to developmental delay, osteomalacia, etc., and intelligence will also be affected to a certain extent.

Another additive in puffed foods, sodium saccharin (commonly known as saccharin), also has no nutritional value to the human body.

Previous studies have found that consuming too much saccharin can affect the normal secretion of digestive enzymes in children's stomachs, reduce the absorption capacity of the small intestine, and reduce appetite. Frequent consumption of excessive amounts of saccharin-containing foods can also cause damage to children's livers and nervous systems.

I believe that everyone must be familiar with the name of pigment (generally refers to artificial synthetic pigment). Many products now contain this ingredient. Although this makes the product look more attractive, this ingredient is toxic. Long-term consumption will affect the impulse conduction of the nervous system, stimulate the brain nerves and cause restlessness, emotional instability, lack of concentration, excessive behavior, etc.

In addition, we cannot ignore the hazards of harmful metals [2]. During the food processing process, the food passes through metal pipes. The inner wall of the metal pipes usually contains an alloy of lead and tin. Under high temperature conditions, the lead is easy to vaporize, and the vaporized lead will contaminate the puffed food. Because lead is a multi-affinity poison, it is difficult to excrete when it accumulates in the human body, causing certain damage to our nervous system, hematopoietic system, blood vessels and digestive system.

In view of the numerous hazards of puffed foods and the fact that most of the consumers of puffed foods are minors, parents must do a good job of persuading their children to avoid long-term and large-scale consumption. In addition, parents should pay special attention not to let their children eat large amounts of puffed foods before meals, as this can easily cause a feeling of fullness, affect normal eating, and further affect physical development.

References:

[1] Zhu Xiaobing, Xu Ruinian, An Wengui. A brief discussion on puffed food[J]. Hetao College Forum, 2011(4):8.

[2] Compressed biscuits. What are the hazards of puffed food? [J]. Food and Health, 2011(5):1.