Preservatives.

I recently heard something that made a lot of sense. We are often told that shelf-stable food that doesn’t spoil is bad for you. It is full of processed items and preservatives.

What I’m about to say is a regurgitated version of a very simplified concept, but it made sense to think about: What is a preservative?

A preservative is a substance added to products such as food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and personal care products to prolong their shelf life by inhibiting microbial growth, oxidation, or other chemical processes that may cause spoilage or degradation.

Antimicrobial preservatives inhibit the growth of bacteria, yeast, mold, and other microorganisms. They work by disrupting microbial cell membranes, interfering with cellular metabolism, or denaturing proteins essential for microbial growth.

The problem with this is that our gut biome is comprised of bacteria that digest food. Some preservatives, especially those with antimicrobial properties, can disturb the balance of beneficial bacteria in the gut. This imbalance may occur because preservatives not only target harmful bacteria but also affect the beneficial ones. As a result, the composition of the gut microbiome, which is essential for digestion, immune function, and overall health, may be altered.

Basically, the very reason preservatives are effective in creating a shelf-stable food product is the same reason they are harmful for your digestion. It prevents bacteria in your gut from digesting food, the same way it prevents bacteria outside your gut from doing so.

Please read labels and minimize the amount of shelf-stable items you consume. Dehydration is a great way to increase a food’s longevity without adding preservatives.

Here are a bunch of natural preservatives!

citric acid which is included in the above photo, is often developed from black mold. here is some reddit controversy on one of the natural preservatives i just mentioned. that said, citrus, is often a great pervasive, as in lemons , limes etc.

Stay tuned for a post on Kevin Durant this week.