Food Chemicals?
The food chemicals that are limited on the failsafe diet are:
- Salicylates (AKA aspirin, NSAIDS, found in most fruits and vegetables, perfumes, most aromatic smells, artificial flavourings)
- Numerous different polyphenols and salicylate-like aromatics (found in salicylate foods and smells, similar in structure to salicylates)
- Amines (neurotransmitters or pseudo-neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, tyramine and histamine, found in fermented foods like cheese, pickles, hung or vaccuum packed meat)
- Glutamates (additives like MSG, flavour enhancers, hydrolysed vegetable protein, and also found in aminey fermented foods)
- A selection of around fifty food additives, see Fed Up With Food Additives for full information, including:
- Food colourings (E100-200 range, for example tartrazine, sunset yellow)
- Sulphites (used as preservatives in beer, wine, and meats)
- Nitrates (used as preservatives in meats)
- Benzoates, sorbates and gallates (used as antioxidants in most cosmetics, toiletries, drinks, and a wide range of other foods)
- Propionates (mould inhibitors found in virtually all commercial breads)
- Artificial and natural flavourings and colourings (found in most processed and factory-made foods)
Other Food Chemicals
For some individuals, opioid-like peptides (found in gluten and casein), lectins, particularly insulin-like lectins (found in grains and beans), oxalates (found in plant foods, particularly spinach and rhubarb), purines (found in animal foods, particularly shellfish), and phytoestrogens (found in grains and beans, particularly soy), can all cause negative reactions to foods. It is possible to be sensitive to some of these food chemicals without being sensitive to salicylates and amines.
