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Mmmm, Tasty Chemicals


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Mmmm, Tasty Chemicals

 

A new book 'deconstructs' a Twinkie and analyzes all 39 ingredients. Industrial-strength junk food, anyone?

 

"At the heart of the book is the fundamental question: why is it you can bake a cake at home with as few as six ingredients, but Twinkies require 39? And why do many of them seem to bear so little resemblance to actual food? The answer: To stay fresh on a grocery-store shelf, Twinkies can't contain anything that might spoil, like milk, cream or butter. Once you remove such real ingredients, something has to take their place?and cellulose gum, lecithin and sodium stearoyl lactylate are a good start. Add the fact that industrial quantities of batter have to pump easily through automated tubes into cake molds, and you begin to get the idea."

 

"Even so, it can be unsettling to learn just how closely the basic ingredients in processed foods resemble industrial materials. Corn dextrin, a common thickener, is also the glue on postage stamps and envelopes. Ferrous sulfate, the iron supplement in enriched flour and vitamin pills, is used as a disinfectant and weedkiller. Is this cause for concern? Ettlinger says no, though you wouldn't want a diet that consists solely of Twinkies. Ultimately, all food, natural and otherwise, is composed of chemical compounds?and normal ingredients like salt have industrial applications, too. Still, it gives you pause when he describes calcium sulfate, a dough conditioner, as "food-grade plaster of Paris.""

 

For the complete article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17303919/site/newsweek/

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Most food today is nauseating chemicals and has all nutrients processed out of it.

 

I bleieve if I could get ahold of some decent food, i would be doing better.

 

I know my health improves in the summer when there is tons of fresh veggies to be had.

 

I found out that even sodium benozate, which they seem to be putting in everything lately turns into scary stuff inside your body.

 

Dont get me started on MSG.

 

I always hated Twinkies even when I was a kid, they were nauseating and the cream left a weird metallic aftertaste in my mouth.

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You cannot talk about Twinkies without mentioning this website...

 

http://www.twinkiesproject.com/

 

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