Every once in a while suddenly people start talking about
something new and it takes almost everyone by surprise. The new names and terms
pop up out of the blue on us like wild mushrooms and it evens leaves the health
care professionals a bit puzzled. 'Internet informed' patients ask us something
and we draw a blank? Specially when its not a medical condition or not even a
real medical term. It happened to me when a patient asked me if her headaches
are caused by TBHQ and I was caught off guard.
At that particular moment for the life of me, I could not
comprehend was the heck was TBHQ? I asked some of my physician friends and none
seemed to know or care too much about the perils of TBHQ. Basically dismissed
it as "virtual virus"and not a real threat. I am just glad it was not
a medical related term that I bombed on? and I am not alone?
So what in the world is TBHQ anyways? why are we all talking
about it so much suddenly and what is it really doing to us? I did a lot of
research but still this will be a comparatively a smaller blog topic, as usual
please feel free to email me your concerns and comments.
TBHQ?
TBHQ is the acronym used to describe "tertiary
butylhydroquinone", which is an antioxidant that comes from petroleum
and is related to butane. It is often used as a preservative, applied either to
the carton of fast food items or sprayed directly onto them, as well as in
various other prepackaged food items. Also found in the paint varnish. That
does not sound good for our body?
What it Butane?
As TBHQ is a Butane related product and we all have heard
and used Butane so here is a brief summary of what Butane
is? Normal butane is mainly used for gasoline blending, as a fuel
gas, either alone or in a mixture with propane. Isobutane is primarily
used to enhance the octane content of motor gasoline.When blended
with propane and other hydrocarbons, it is referred to commercially as
LPG, for liquified petroleum gas. It is used as fuel for cigarette
lighters and as in aerosol sprays such as deodorant.
Where is it used?
TBHQ is actually an anti oxidant which reduces oxidative
deterioration in foods it is applied to, delaying the onset of rancidness. It
is particularly effective in reducing the deterioration of fats and oils and
aids in reducing nutritional loss over time and extending storage life.
Is it Toxic?
As a food additive, the FDA does allows TBHQ to make up no
more than 0.02 percent of the total oils in a food. Consuming up to a gram of
TBHQ can cause variable toxicity, and up to 5 grams can be fatal. Fatal is the
real threat here but it would actually take 312.5 McDonald's chicken nuggets
(if they contain a full 0.02% of TBHQ) to consume a single gram so about 1500
nuggets at one time to be fatal.
Consuming high doses of TBHQ (between 1 and 4 grams,
approximately) can lead to lot of symptoms, including nausea, vomiting,
tinnitus (ringing in the ears), delirium and collapse. But the sheer amount of
food consumption necessary to be afflicted by TBHQ toxicity generally makes
these symptoms extremely rare.
Does it cause Cancer?
In toxicity studies, long-term, high-dose TBHQ
administration in lab animals showed a tendency for them to develop cancerous
precursors in the stomach, as well as causing DNA damage. But unlike other
antioxidant additives, it did not cause lung lesions in laboratory animals. So
the answer seems to be no?
So now at least we know a little bit more about TBHQ and it
sure is a great product and is needed for a lot of things but as far as I
am concerned this should not touch our food chain at all. It still does not
seem to be as scary though as it really does not interfere with our food too
much and when it does its usually is used in really small quantities. As long
as we keep the fast foods consumption in limit and as usual portion control is
my main advice to avoid a lot of health related issues. Can it
cause headaches though? That still seems to be
an unanswered question for me?
~Dr V.
