The problem with processed foods is that we rarely read the labels that inform us about the content of what we will eat, or we just go straight to read the “calories” and sugars we are eating per serving. It’s rare when we notice the strange names that are in the “ingredients”.
Have you ever imagined you’d be eating truly nasty things like lanolin? If you don’t know what this is … read the whole article and you’ll be surprised to learn that some of these nasty ingredients probably unknowingly ate today.
4 disgusting ingredients that you probably ate today
The not-so-secret ingredient of gelatin…
Why gelatin …? This fun jumping, delicious, sweet dough contains collagen. Sure, because the gelatin is a mixture of colloid type and translucent, it is a derivative of collagen. Do you know what is collagen? It’s a protein molecule that comes from connective tissues boiled in water of animals… wait … what? … Does that mean I’m eating animal cartilage? YES. The essential and abundant sources of gelatin come mostly from pig skin, bovine leather, bone and cartilage of cattle. Nothing vegetarian at all!
All red meals and drinks have carmine
Yes, carmine is the most vivid red to denote red, and comes from the pigments of carmine acid. This red color is perfect for food artificially colored red, purple or pink: ice cream, yogurt, sweets, juice, gelatin (for if you wanted to continue eating it), sauces, jams, etc. Where does carmine come from? Nothing more and nothing less than a small insect commonly known as scale insects, specifically females. Insects are boiled, then dried in the heat and were removed from the abdomen pure carmine.
Those sweet candies can help you polish your furniture
That’s right… Many foods, especially the various types of sweets (candy, cakes, etc) contain shellac, especially substance used to polish furniture. When the candies have brighter shellac last time that fresh and attractive. Where does shellac come from? Well they come from secretions from the lacca worm, originally from Asia. These insects secrete shellac, shiny, sticky liquid that ate dessert at the bakery.
Have you ever eaten castoreum?
I bet you have. Castoreum is a substance secreted by beavers to mark their territory, and occurs in their anal glands. You read that well. This strong-smelling substance was coveted as an elixir in cosmetology, and now use it in food to flavor meals. Almost always castoreum set is achieved with the civet, musk producing perineal gladulas civet. Both are stabilizers of food and are mainly in frozen dairy, sweets, pastries and last but not least, guess in what else? Yes, gelatin.