Reading the ingredients on any ordinary package of snacks, flavored water, cereal, or diet soda is like reading the U.S Constitution…and by that I don’t mean it inspires a sense of patriotism. I mean that, like the Constitution, there are lots of words that we take for granted in their meaning. And while the Constitution’s highfalutin rhetoric sounds poetic, the alphabet soup of words on the back of a box of multi-grain crackers rings hollow.

There’s no question that additives and preservatives make foods taste better, but they leave our health in a truly bitter state.  Be it sodium nitrate, aspartame, monosodium glutamate or high fructose corn syrup, the effects of these adversarial additives can be downright deadly.

Again, the list is too numerous to mention, but here are three of the most common food additives that you need to consider before taking your next jaunt to the grocery store

Sodium Nitrate

If you’ve ever had a slice of bacon, a ham sandwich, or a hot dog, sodium nitrate was chief among the ingredients used to make it.  Ever notice how hot dogs seem to last forever in the fridge?  This isn’t natural; this is a direct result of sodium nitrate, as the additive preserves the color – and the life – of your average frankfurter.  But that’s about the only thing sodium nitrate preserves, because as studies and as a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association indicates, foods cooked under high temperatures that contain sodium nitrate develop compounds that animal studies have shown can cause cancer.

BHA and BHT

How can such small words cause such big problems?  Well, firstly, they’re not words, they’re abbreviations for butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydrozyttoluene (BHT).  For whatever reason, you often see these additives together, primarily on boxes of cereal, packs of gum and vats of vegetable oil.  Similar to sodium nitrate, they’re used to preserve freshness and prevent spoilage.  But the only thing that goes rotten is one’s health when consuming foods that have this dastardly duo among the ingredients.  Studies going back to 1974 document the negative side effects associated with them, from adversely affecting the urinary and thyroid glands, to the promotion of lung tumors.

Trans Fats

Whenever you have the entire health world – including the often lax Food and Drug Administration – recommending you avoid a food additive entirely, you know it can’t be good for you.  Trans fats are essentially piranhas in today’s health society.  And for good reason.  Unlike some food additives that have a handful of redeeming qualities (like sugar, as we all do need some sugar for energy), trans fats have none at all.  Restaurants and food companies are fast replacing their use, as they’ve been directly linked to an increased risk of heart disease, kidney failure, and stroke.  The foods highest in trans fat are those you’re probably avoiding already, like French fries (eight grams in a medium serving), pound cake (four and a half grams in one slice), and doughnuts (five grams in one doughnut).

So, are you forever tasked with reading ingredient listings?  Not necessarily, so long as you stick to the all-natural section at your local grocery store.  More and more of them are propping up in traditional grocery stores, so you no longer have to go to the nearest Whole Foods Market for organic products.