Natural Selection

Ever looked at the long list of ingredients on a product and wondered what all those numbers were about? Based on the book by the same name by Bill Statham this ingenious app allows you to look up food and cosmetic additives either by their name or additive number and work out whether it really should be something you ingest or put on your body. It describes the uses of each chemical, potential effects on the body (eg allergen, toxin, carcinogen), symptoms it may cause and where else you might find it. It’s a handy little app to have whether you have chemical sensitivities, allergies, sensitive skin or simply want to be more mindful of the chemicals you expose yourself and your family to.

This is a common flavor starting with S. Look how many ingredients it contains.

Source: Cyndi O’Meara

The groundbreaking Southampton study, published in The Lancet in November 2007, provided definitive  evidence that 6 artificial colours (102, 104, 110, 122, 124 & 129) and the preservative sodium benzoate (211) caused hyperactivity in groups of 3 year old and 8/9 year old children. As a result all six food colours are being removed from foods in the UK by end of 2009.