The truth about E numbers

The health mafia is strictly against them: E numbers. What’s more, should the average foodie be believed, these colouring, aromatic and flavouring agents are pure poison. But is this true? ‘Not ingesting any E numbers is impossible, simply because oxygen is also an E number.’ ‘If you want to ingest fewer E numbers, you should opt for raw products.’ Below we list some facts and fables about E numbers.

What are E numbers?
E numbers are substances that the European Union has allowed to be in our food. Often our food already contains these substances naturally to a lesser degree. Additives such as E numbers improve our food. They give foods a longer shelf life, better taste or more vibrant colours, for example.

Natural or synthetic
E numbers can be divided into natural (oxygen, tomato red), nature identical (synthetically created natural substances) and synthetic (substances that never occur in nature) additives. It doesn’t matter to our bodies which E numbers you ingest.

It’s often said that E numbers cause weight gain or illness, or allergies, or make kids hyper. But this has never been scientifically proven. Of course, some people may be (hyper) sensitive to certain additives or combinations of E numbers.

The alternative
Not ingesting any E numbers is impossible, simply because oxygen is also an E number. If you want to ingest fewer E numbers, you should opt for raw products such as fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes, farm-fresh cheese and nuts. These foods are not only delicious, they’re healthy as well!

How financially fit are you?
Besides a healthy life, you want a healthy pension. By staying aware of the pension market and react to it in a flexible way, we keep your pension in top condition. Do you already have a pension scheme with BeFrank? Then you can see how your pension is doing on your Personal Pension page. Here you will also find the most important updates. Do you not have a pension scheme with BeFrank yet? Ask your employer about the possibilities.