Thefoodweeatseemstohaveprofoundeffectsonourhealth.Althoughsciencehasmadeenormousstepsinmakingfoodmorefittoeat,ithas,atthesametime,mademanyfoodsunfittoeat.Someresearchhasshownthatperhapseightypercentofallhumanillnessesarerelatedtodietandfortypercentofcancerisrelatedtothedietaswell,especiallycancerofthecolon.Differentculturesaremorelikelytocausecertaindifferentillnessesbecauseofthefoodthatischaracteristicinthesecultures.Thatfoodisrelatedtoillnessisntoanewdiscovery.In1945,about35yearsago,governmentresearchersrealizedthatnitrates,commonlyusedtopreservecolorinmeats,andotherfoodadditivies,causedcancer.Yet,thesecarcinogenicadditivesremaininourfood,anditbecomesmoredifficultallthetimetoknowwhichthingsonthepackaginglabelsofprocessedfoodarehelpfulorharmful.Theadditiveswhichweeatarenotallsodirect.Farmersoftengivepenicillintobeefandlivinganimals,andbecauseofthis,penicillinhasbeenfoundinthemilkoftreatedcow.Sometimessimilardrugsaregiventoanimalsnotformedicalpurposes,butforfinancialreasons.Thefarmersaresimplytryingtofattentheanimalsinordertoobtainahigherpriceonthemarket.AlthoughtheFoodandDrugAdministration(FDA)hastriedrepeatedlytocontroltheseprocedures,thepracticescontinue.
