The preservatives in flour / bread / etc are illegal in Europe. My sister is allergic and can’t have any bread in the USA. But can in France and Italy.

Yeah, things like titanium dioxide are considered a carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) yet FDA says its safe for use in food. But i guess trust the science and authorities

IARC usually says that something has carcinogenic potential, which is almost completely useless information for something that we already ingest in absurd quantities without a cancer epidemic.

Please share the names of these preservatives.

Durex and Trustex.

Also non-flouridated, non-chlorinated water.

I lived most of my life in an alpine European village; water was chlorinated and flourinated, more than in my current US location. There was a huge difference in mineral content, US water being almost distilled (1 to 3 French degrees hardness) VS something like 15-20 in Europe

Water hardness varies by location worldwide, including the US.

Non-flouridated is gluten-free, right?

Artisanal

Most sweeteners also have been shown to cause more weight gain than sugar (they screw up your metabolism). Unless you’re diabetic, there’s literally no reason to consume them.

I'd like to see a source on that, because (excessive) sugar literally causes diabetes.

And of course high sweetener consumption is must be strongly linked with in general high calorie input and overweight people trying to reduce calorie consumption.

Your first point probably isn't actually true. The research that first connected the two showed that across a population sugar consumption up -> diabetes rates up. But it turns out that when you control for weight the effect of sugar specifically is much much smaller. To the point where if you're a healthy weight your sweet tooth isn't moving the needle.

Oh that's not true at all. First I think they taste better, they're sweet without being syrup-y. Second it allows me to drink a lot of soda, 5+ cans a day adds up when it has calories. I have no expectation that it helps me lose weight, it's just tastier water.

5+ cans of soda a day seems unhealthy even if it's not caloric, the gas and acid will mess up your stomach.

It is not just tastier water.

Given that in France "water" means carbonated water and you have to specifically ask for "still water" I can't imagine the gas being that bad for you.

Acid I can get behind but soda is by far the least acidic thing I consume on the daily.

The carbonation creates carbonic acid in your teeth. It’s a huge driver of calories.

Of the of the issues with diet soda in particular is your tastes favor sweets. I used to drink 4-8 cans of Diet Dr Pepper daily. When I stopped, after a couple of weeks I found my taste preferences to be very different. I’d favor savory more attractive and sweet stuff would seem too sweet.

I can't fine anything talking about carbonic acid and calories. Is there something you're referring to?

Maybe they meant cavities?

Probably typed “caries” and got autocorrected

Sorry - it was supposed to be “cavities”. Too late to edit I’m afraid.

No, they have not. The evidence points the opposite way (people lose more weight on non-nutritive sweeteners than sugar).

Europe puts plenty of E numbers in their food (the US just spells it out versus hiding it under a number). There are things illegal in the US that are used in food in Europe. A lot of the time, at least for things like pesticides, the different is country of origin of manufacturer.

E numbers have very little to do with this. They are just a way to categorize food additives.

What else would you characterize “ weird artificial junk” as?

E numbers cover everything that can be added to food. Some examples would be E164 Saffron, E290 carbon dioxide, E428 gelatin.

None of these are anywhere near the "weird chemicals category". You'll find that all euro foods have Es in them, but it doesn't mean they have half-tested industrial food additives in them.

Those are very selective things you picked.

E100–E199: Food coloring, such as turmeric (E100) and paprika (E160c)

E200–E299: Preservatives, such as sulfur dioxide (E220)

E300–E399: Antioxidants and acidity regulators, such as ascorbic acid (E300)

E400–E499: Thickeners, stabilizers, emulsifiers, and gelling agents

E500–E599: Acidity regulators and anti-caking agents

This is pretty much the spectrum. Red 40, aka Allura Red AC aka E129 is illegal in the US, legal in the EU, and carries a warning in the EU. Let’s not pretend that the wonderful world of chemicals and industrialization doesn’t exist in Europe.

No one is pretending anything. I said all foods in the EU have E numbers in them, but it doesn't mean they have industrial chemicals.

Allura red isn't illegal in the US.

Also, just wondering, what do you think is the problem with turmeric and paprika?

Growing up in the EU in the 00s there was always the public health concerns of E numbers causing this or that.

Ironic in a way, because E numbers mean that the specific chemical has been cleared as a foodstuff in the EU, IIRC.

Though I suppose it’s more concerning if an approved substance has some unforeseen effect versus an unapproved one and you’d want to investigate further.

I guess it shows how government regulation of naturally occurring substances (though perhaps synthesized, or refined) carries with it a new set of incentives, and reasons to be political. Not that I’m against regulation, but it’s hard if not impossible to have a truly politically neutral approach.

> a lot of the weird artificial junk that are allowed to be put into your food is illegal in Europe

What are some examples? A list would be helpful.

I don’t follow this too closely, but having been in Europe for a few weeks, the food tastes noticeably better and is often cheaper than the US.

One of the things you notice is shorter ingredient lists on prepared food. The ingredients in Italy for McDonald’s French fries are: potato, salt, oil. In the US there’s 7-8 including hydrogenated soybean oil and flavor/color agents. Oreos were similarly different, and arguably better tasting.

I believe they regulate flavors and coloring additives differently, and many people feel both of these type of items can be problematic.