The Born Loser by Art and Chip Sansom for October 16, 2014
October 15, 2014
October 17, 2014
Transcript:
Uncle Ted: What's all the fuss about preservatives in food?
Brutus: Preservatives could be harmful to your health.
Uncle Ted: Hey, when you're as old as I am, you want all the preserving you can get!
I think he’s messing with you. Sodium benzoate is a common metabolite of a lot of foods including cinnamon, apples, plums/prunes, and cranberries. It is rapidly and easily expelled by the kidneys, and it is not stored by the body. The concentration is not high enough to keep the swarm of skin and gut bacteria in check, so it won’t extend your shelf life by much if at all. The cancer link, if there is one, probably comes from it reacting with ascorbic acid (vitamin C) to form trace amounts of benzene. That reaction requires more energy than you’re going to get in the body, so I doubt it’s anything to worry about.
stlmaddog5 about 10 years ago
It’s said that embalming isn’t necessary anymore, as the preservatives we’ve been ingesting all these years keeps our bodies from decaying.
Boots at the Boar Premium Member about 10 years ago
I think he’s messing with you. Sodium benzoate is a common metabolite of a lot of foods including cinnamon, apples, plums/prunes, and cranberries. It is rapidly and easily expelled by the kidneys, and it is not stored by the body. The concentration is not high enough to keep the swarm of skin and gut bacteria in check, so it won’t extend your shelf life by much if at all. The cancer link, if there is one, probably comes from it reacting with ascorbic acid (vitamin C) to form trace amounts of benzene. That reaction requires more energy than you’re going to get in the body, so I doubt it’s anything to worry about.
jppjr about 10 years ago
I’ve been using that line for years.