[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ theme_builder_area=”post_content” _builder_version=”4.22.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.22.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.22.0″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
How we are slowly killing ourselves without even thinking about it.<\/strong><\/p>\n I picked on a Hovis loaf of bread to get a glimpse of Ultra Processed Foods (UPF) in our daily lives.\u00a0 It turns out that beyond UPF, the humble loaf of bread is a source of ill health.\u00a0<\/p>\n As a chef and restaurateur, I am constantly, on a daily basis, reminded that so many people are gluten intolerant, wheat intolerant and coeliac.<\/p>\n What follows is a litany of chemicals and poisons that one finds on an average and in some cases premium loaves of bread that we consume on a daily basis.<\/p>\n Imagine that you are consuming these on a daily basis.\u00a0 You are giving these poisons to your children. You are then turning round and claiming intolerances, allergies and diseases that, if you take the time out to reflect, realise that they all stem from the poisons you are consuming through daily staples like bread.<\/p>\n A white Hovis loaf of bread has E282.\u00a0 Called calcium propionate, it is a natural acid that acts as an antimicrobial preservative in food products, especially in bakery. It helps in the prevention of mould formation and extends shelf life. It is linked to headaches, migraine, asthma and also aggravates food intolerances.<\/p>\n It has E471.\u00a0 E471 is an emulsifier that can be made with soy (think: soy lecithin). The trick is that it doesn’t have to be soy-based, but since there isn’t any way to tell which type of E471 is used in a product, we recommend avoiding it if you avoid soy lecithin. E471 is similar to glycerin, which may or may not cause any soy-intolerance issues. It strikes me as a little odd that it is impossible to know if the E471 in a particular product is soy-based or animal-based. Not only does it make it difficult for people with a soy allergy or intolerance, E471 can be made with animal products so it affects vegetarians\/vegans as well.<\/p>\n As such E471 has no direct adverse effect on health. Yet the consumption of it is linked to obesity and diabetes.\u00a0 You are basically consuming some very weird, processed fat.<\/p>\n Can you see where I am going with this?<\/p>\n Then there is E472e.\u00a0 E472e is known as DATEM, an acronym that stands for Diacetyl Tartaric Acid Esters of Monoglycerides. Some sources site that it is derived mainly from plant sources but some state that it comes from soybean oil or ethanol. DATEM has been linked to heart fibrosis and adrenal overgrowth in lab animals. There may also be an increased risk of developing “leaky gut syndrome. DATEM functions as a dough conditioner, which is used for strengthening the gluten network in dough during the baking process. It improves the texture and increases the volume in bread.<\/p>\n Although this particular bread does not have it, another very common ingredient used in the process of making industrial bread is L-Cysteine.\u00a0 You will find it in a lot of biscuits, cakes, breads, doughnuts, crackers and a lot more.\u00a0 You might not believe me when I tell you that it is derived from human hair. Yes, my friends, there is hair in your commercial bread.\u00a0<\/p>\n And there is more.\u00a0 Potassium Bromade (an oxidiser that helps bread rise) is linked to kidney and thyroid cancer.<\/p>\n Azodicarbonamide (makes bread whiter than white) is a chemical that forms bubbles in foam and linked to cancer.<\/p>\n Beyond chemicals there are also pesticides.Official figures show that 50% of all bread available in the supermarket has two or more pesticides in it.\u00a0 Five of the pesticides found in the tested bread have links to cancer like cypermethrin, deltamethrin, flonicamid (an insecticide), fosetyl (fungicide) and glyphosate (herbicide, the same as Round up \u2013 banned in Europe from being used in our garden, but OK to put in our food!).<\/p>\n Let me pick on just one of these: glyphosate. You would not believe what is its contribution to your loaf of bread. Glyphosate is sprayed on grains as a pre-harvest dessicant, meaning it is used to artificially dry the wheat to make harvesting easier.<\/p>\n Beyond bread, research found additional 46 carcinogens in other produce, 27 endocrine disruptors\u00a0 (birth defects, infertility, development disorder and so on).\u00a0 The list goes on \u2013 137 pesticides.<\/p>\n We are just scraping the top here.\u00a0 We would need to write tomes on the subject to completely understand and appreciate the dangers of some of the foods that we consume.<\/p>\n You have to forgive my cynicism when someone claims to be coeliac, gluten intolerant, wheat intolerant and so on.<\/p>\n 50 years ago hardly any of this existed.\u00a0 50 years ago hardly any of the current pesticides existed on such a scale.<\/p>\n Studies show that the incidence of wheat intolerance increased at the same rate of the use of pesticides since the 70s.<\/p>\n This is not a plug but the above is the reason why we only use organic flour at Margo\u2019s at the Old Mill in Berkhamsted.<\/p>\n I would never feed these foods to my family.\u00a0 Being so focused and committed to food though, even I fall in the trap of consuming these foods so I understand how difficult it is to avoid them. \u00a0I am aware that I am lucky and privileged to be able to feed my guests, my family and my staff organic food free from chemicals.<\/p>\n It is hard and nigh impossible to avoid these chemicals but we have options.\u00a0 We have choices.<\/p>\n In the last year we have worked with a number of people to see how they react to our organic bread.\u00a0 With the exception of 1 person we were able to \u201creverse\u201d the misdiagnosed wheat intolerance, gluten intolerance and coeliac conditions.<\/p>\n What I find disturbing is that the government that we vote in to manage the country refuse to do anything about this.\u00a0 A forward thinking administration would see that such chemicals in our food is only adding pressure on our health system \u2013 the NHS has to deal with the fallout of the consumption of these chemicals.<\/p>\n When I started our restaurants we were na\u00efve and believed in amazing produce, the perfect world, angels, heaven and pure ingredients.\u00a0 Slowly we discovered that not everything was as perfect as we thought it would be.\u00a0 Tomatoes were sprayed with pesticides, salad leaves were tasteless but pretty, fish was poisoned, flour was bulked with one can only describe as dust.\u00a0 Nitrates, nitrites, sulphates, sulphites, were just the tip of the iceberg.<\/p>\n Life was suddenly ugly.<\/p>\n We embarked on a mission to change things.\u00a0 Slowly, surely, we internalised most processes.\u00a0 We sought organic wherever possible, we make our own charcuterie sans chemicals.\u00a0 Life does not have to be so complicated. But we also understand that people simply do not have the time to do all this.<\/p>\n So we do it for people.<\/p>\n Do not blame your body for your ill health.\u00a0 Blame the food you consume.\u00a0 It is time to start asking questions.\u00a0 It is time to start reading labels before you consume that poison.<\/p>\n What more can I do or say to convince you?<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How we are slowly killing ourselves without even thinking about it. I picked on a Hovis loaf of bread to get a glimpse of Ultra Processed Foods (UPF) in our daily lives.\u00a0 It turns out that beyond UPF, the humble loaf of bread is a source of ill health.\u00a0 As a chef and restaurateur, I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/margosoldmill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/margosoldmill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/margosoldmill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/margosoldmill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/margosoldmill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=188"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/margosoldmill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":190,"href":"https:\/\/margosoldmill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188\/revisions\/190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/margosoldmill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/margosoldmill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/margosoldmill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}