Still, many clean eaters have picked up an irrational fear of chemicals—especially the ones used as food additives. It’s a phenomenon aptly known as “chemophobia,” and it’s got a bunch of chemists really pissed off. Part of the reason we’re conditioned to fear chemicals is because of influential bloggers like the Food Babe, who consistently use the word to imply danger and toxicity. But mostly, experts say, we fear chemicals because we don’t understand them. “It’s good people are looking at labels and thinking about what’s in their food, but then the panic comes because you don’t know what the words mean,” says Michelle Francl, PhD, professor of chemistry at Bryn Mawr College. “That makes people nervous—and I can understand that.” But saying all chemicals and food additives are bad is like saying all music videos are as inferior as Rick Astely’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”—it’s a blanket statement that’s just not supported by the evidence. (Yes, some substances are the Rick Astley of the chemical world. Others are the Beyoncés. And some are still controversial—the Mileys, if you will.) So how do you separate the bad from the good? First, don’t assume that natural is better than synthetic. “The most toxic chemicals known are natural venoms and toxins,” says Gordon Gribble, PhD, chemistry professor at Dartmouth College. Next, do a little research. We love Chemical Cuisine, a free database and mobile app created by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) that explain what food additives do and where they come from. MORE: 20 Sneaky Names for Nasty MSG And finally, don’t assume that a chemical with a long name is automatically unhealthy. Need proof? Here are 10 scary-sounding food-additive chemicals that are totally safe. Pyridoxine Sounds like an acid that’ll melt your face off, right? Nope, just the official chemical name of vitamin B6, a nutrient necessary to sustain human life. Ascorbyl palmitate This one is an antioxidant made from vitamin C and palmitic acid, a natural compound derived from fat. In foods, it prevents spoilage, and in your body, it’s simply broken down into its parts. Your body uses the vitamin C, and either burns or stores the energy provided by the fat. Carboxymethylcellulose This additive is used to improve and stabilize the texture of foods like ice cream, jellies, and beer. It’s a carbohydrate that’s derived from the cell walls of plants and treated with acetic acid (found naturally in vinegar). Most importantly: Your body can’t break it down or absorb it—it simply passes through. Castoreum The Food Babe made this chemical famous with her video “Do You Eat Beaver Butt?” True, castoreum is derived from small sacs on a beaver’s behind, but it’s not from the beaver’s anal glands. It’s a moot point, anyway, because only about 1,000 pounds of the stuff are used annually and it’s not a significant part of our food supply. It’s also expensive: According to Francl, the amount of castoreum required to flavor a half-gallon of vanilla ice cream costs about $120. Don’t worry: Chances are you’re not eating beaver butt.MORE: 8 “Foods” that Don’t Deserve to Be Called Food Stearic acid This fatty acid occurs naturally in almost all fats. It’s also added to chewing gums to prevent spoilage. It is a saturated fat, but the tiny amounts used as food additives won’t raise your heart disease risk. Natamycin Hate moldy cheese? Then you already love natamycin, an additive that’s produced by bacteria and prevents mold growth in cheese. Silicon dioxide (a.k.a. silica) This naturally occurring compound is found in plants, the earth’s crust, rocks and sand, and our own bodies. In food, it’s used to prevent caking in products like salt. The World Health Organization deemed it safe decades ago, since research shows it causes virtually no toxic effects and is quickly eliminated from the body by the kidneys. Ferrous gluconate This is typically used as the source of iron in iron supplements, but you’ll occasionally see it listed as a coloring agent in canned black olives. Glucono delta-lactone This chemical is most frequently used to increase acidity or as a leavening agent in baked goods. It’s part of a family of additives (including gluconic acid, magenisum gluconate, sodium gluconate, and zinc gluconate) that the CSPI deems “quite safe” based on research. Oxidane Anyone for a cup of oxidane? That’s the official chemical name for water—you know, the stuff you need to drink to stay alive.
