Hyderabad: BHA or butylated hydroxyanisole, widely used by the food industry as a preservative, mainly to prevent oils in foods from oxidizing and to delay rancidity, is considered a possible human carcinogen, doctors said.
Explaining the presence of chemicals and their effects, nutritionist Dr Zeenath Fathima said sodium nitrate which is used in meat preservation gets activated in the process of deep frying and has cancer causing effect.
BHA is found in sausages, dried meats and foods with added fats.
“A diet rich in processed foods is often high in added sugar, sodium, trans fats and therefore comes with a high risk for obesity, Type 2 diabetes mellitus and heart disease,” said nutritionist Dr Fatima Taher Ali.
“With chicken nuggets, you are also getting a bunch of stuff you probably don't want, like sodium, trans-fats and lots of calories,” Dr Ali said.
High intake of added sugar increases the risk of weight gain, diabetes, serum triglycerides, high blood cholesterol, hypertension, cancer and dental caries, she said.
She said that foods higher in added sugars are a source of empty calories with minimum essential nutrients or dietary fibre, which displaces more nutrient dense foods and in turn leads to overfed or undernourished individuals.
