Sodium benzoate, a preservative used commonly in soda drinks, when mixed with citric acid or ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) can create the carcinogen benzene[1] when put in the same bottle together.
Big Food Tried to Keep this a Secret
The FDA has known about this cancer causing by-product for more than 20 years, whereas the public only found out in 2006 that these 2 ingredients can create a public health crisis.
Still, even though the mixing of these 2 ingredients causes serious side effects, no one is still willing to address this health hazard as the ingredients are still found together in many soft drinks on the market.
Some soda companies also use a variant formula using potassium benzoate which has exactly the same effect when mixed with citric acid.
The Facts Don’t Lie
A Belgian Study carried out in 2008 found that benzene formation from sodium/potassium benzoate and citric acid is made worse when the ingredients are bottled in plastic packaging.[2]
In the same year, Diet Coke decided to drop the additive sodium benzoate, also known as E211, due to fears that it caused DNA damage.[3]
Plus, the same ingredient has been found to cause hyperactivity and/or ADHD[4] as well as irritating allergies which prompted swift EU bans. These conclusions were drawn from a 2007 study that was carried out in Southampton.
Failed by the Food Manufacturers
Soda drinks are consumed the most in areas where people are living close to the poverty line, often because of how cheap these drinks are.
And obviously a large part of making these choices still falls solely with the individual. But there is no denying that for those who are struggling to get by, the food manufacturers and stores that sell them know full well that people who buy soda drinks may not be completely aware of the ingredients in them.
At present, there is just no way of knowing whether the ‘elite’ have planned it in this way, enjoying the dumbing down of the consumer in the process, or have simply failed to correct the problem.
It’s not hard to believe that the consumer is not valued very much when food manufactures create drinks that they know contain ingredients with high chance of causing cancer right from the get go.
Choose Health & Longevity Over Price
As humans we are capable of so much more. We are also capable of escaping the deadly cycle of disease if we become ingredient savvy and read more about the wrong-doings going on in our food industry that the media simply does not focus on enough.
This is the only way to protect ourselves from the big corporate greedy hands trying to get us to spend our hard earned cash on their unhealthy products.
So vote with your pocket every single time you shop, and choose products that are healthier for you in the long run rather than going for food and drinks that are appealing only due to their seemingly great price. As in the long run, if you don’t, you will be paying the true price of these bargain foods and drinks with your own health!
sources:
- [1] https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/intheworkplace/benzene
- [2] https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf072580q
- [3] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1021820/Diet-Coke-drop-additive-DNA-damage-fear.html
- [4] https://www.southampton.ac.uk/mediacentre/news/2007/sep/07_99.shtml