Take care my friends on this forum with what chemicals you consume that are hidden in products you may buy.
A friend recently told me about some wonderful hot chocolate sachets she had bought in a well known clothes and supermarket shop. She told me how wonderful it was and off I went to get some and drove home keen to try it. I looked at the ingredients as soon as I went to make some and saw that it contained E339 - Sodium Phosphate. Looking this up the following is what I discovered:
Overconsumption of E 339 may result in bloating, abdominal pain, vomiting, headache, dizziness, seizures, reduced urine output, and irregular heartbeat. People who are at risk on consumption of E 339 include those with kidney disease, heart failure, colitis, intestinal tears and blockages and those allergic to it.
Now I know that I'm a fuss pot when it comes to food additives, but I certainly won't risk trying this as I know I'm sensitive to them. Since being more aware of what causes AF in me I avoid additives like the plague. I beg you all to do your best to avoid them and see if your AF improves.
Jean
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jeanjeannie50
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Very good advice. The amount of products that have artificial sweetener added is unbelievable, not to mention the other additives too. Nearly everything has preservatives added. My AF improved after checking all ingredients before buying.
Thanks for the info jeanjeannie. I’ve found out to my cost. I had a cardioversion about a month ago, all went back in NSR and stayed, no problems. I know it’s not 100% fix, nothing is with AF.
Day before yesterday, I drank a huge glass of fizzy orange, why I didn’t check it out, I was so thirsty. Lo and behold it was diet and full of aspartame, 😳 well you know what I’m going to write. AF back, big style. It could have been AF was going to start again anyway, however, that fizzy orange didn’t help.
I’m normally so careful as aspartame doesn’t agree with me at the best of times and I’m normally very well hydrated with my plain water, decaf tea and coffee.
Oh well, here I go again on tablets, heart bouncing around but the little horror won’t beat me or ruin my Christmas.
Oh what a nuisance it is for you to be back in AF! I once walked up a steep hill the day after one of my many cardioversions and went back into AF right away. I was full of regret afterwards. I often put a guide on this forum now on what not to do after having one.
I go along with all you've said .... beyond doubt. As you know apart from medication for my AF (since Jan 2010 when first diagnosed ) I've used the skills of a nutritionist to sort out my diet .... calm my gut; calm my heart !
That has been my experience too ... it's not just food per se, BUT, the infintesimally small traces of ingredients that can mess things up. Well said and a very, very solid warning you've given to all.
You are absolutely correct. It’s important for us Afibbers to keep our electrolytes in sync. We are all different and all need different nutrients for our frame. It has taken me 3 yrs. to calm my heart. 👍
It's surprising how many people have discovered the same thing with additives. I'd had 3 ablations before I realised. I knew artificial sweeteners would make my heart race but not other additives.
Thank you Jean for the timely reminder - I too am a fuss post regarding food additives and cleaning products with dangerous ingredients. It's so easy to be tempted by a yummy-looking product, though . . . . and well done for checking.
I'd been watching some American made Christmas films and often saw them make it with real chocolate and ooh and ahh over it, with marshmallows sometimes too. I thought how much I'd like some of that. Then a friend told me about this particular make and how divine it was and I just picked it up without thinking.
Yep I'm careful with cleaning products too. My sister was annoyed a few days ago when a council van spraying weeds at the side of the road passed her by still spraying!! She's had part of one of her lungs removed because of cancer. Surely he could have just stopped the spraying as he passed her!
Just at the weekend I read about all those American candy shops you see everywhere. They were getting raided and stock taken off shelves as a lot contained ingredients banned in UK. Never realised that's why jolly ranchers disappeared here .
Thank you for the heads up. I am going to look it up too. See what other names it might be listed. Here in the US, our food is so full of crap it makes my head swim. Well meaning friends and family who don’t have sensitives don’t understand.
I am once again going to say, chemical sensitivity, which I have are also a liver issue. We could have fatty liver but not enough to show up on a blood test. I am doing some deep dives into this.
Thank you for your response. That's interesting you saying about the connection between chemical sensitivity and the liver. Let us know please if you find any definite link.
E123 Amaranth is banned in the U.S. but we still have it in some 1mg Warfarin/Coumadin tablets here. I refuse to take them and have two 0.5mg ones instead. Before you ask, no I don't want to move on to the newer anticoagulants.
It certainly is more pertinent at this time of year. I just grabbed the box of chocolate sachets without a thought as to whether it had any odd additives in. Thought it was just grated chocolate, but no it wasn't.
Food should be simple but it takes an effort to keep it that way in the face of today’s food industry. Arrhythmia has so many triggers it is important to be aware of what you consume. A sure fire trigger for me is liquorice- but it took me awhile to make the connection.
Too much liquorice, too often can raise blood pressure and/or cause heart arrythmia(s). Not all liquorices contain real liquorice though. So check ingredients and/or be wary. I had some a few weeks ago without any problems but it wasn't much and only over 3 or 4 days.
The amount of sugar/carbohydrates in liquorice is probably a good enough reason to eat it sparingly or avoid altogether.
Here in the US the ingredients in licorice is flavor wheat. Wheat triggers awful inflammation in my body. cutting out wheat in all forms stopped my migraine.
Thanks Jean. I do wonder why they are allowed in products here especially if banned elsewhere..... Awful!! Glad you spotted it before consuming.
Gluten does something simular to me....amongst other things.... but then I'm Coeliacs and a nhs consultant did a brain mri and said I have some damage in the motor cortex as result of my body reacting to gluten, hence tremor. Pretty scary. I'm hyper vigilant over gluten now as it's in all sorts of products you wouldn't think it would be. . So not just additives am afraid. . The brain damage can't be reversed just stopped from progressing further by being strictly GF. Xx
Crumbs who would think that eating gluten could have that effect on the brain. I had two periods a few months ago when I suddenly couldn't talk properly. Scared me, thought they must be TIA's I had a CT and an MRI scan. The Consultant I saw said if he had a brain like mine when he was my age he'd be very pleased, apparently they shrink with age but mine hadn't. I can't say I'm aware of any benefit though - still scatty and forgetful. Must be careful what I say as pride comes before the fall.Have a lovely Christmas.
Thinking back I was under a lot of stress at the time. I have 3 sisters and one of them has learning difficulties. Two of us who are younger live in Devon and we now want her to move near to us so that we can keep an eye on her. This has all been going on since last February when she quickly sold her house and she still isn't here with us - scream! We had planned a lovely family Christmas for her at my daughters house, but she's unlikely to be with us now
I was in the midst of a conversation with her solicitor when it happened the first time, my mind went blank and I just couldn't think what to say. When I tried all I could get was a weird sound, it was really scary and embarrassing. My younger sister who had moved nearer to me a few years ago (so knows what has to be done re moving house) has now taken it all over completely.
No it was never discovered why it happened. I had so many tests at hospital, the service I had from them was first class.
Aww poor you. It does sound all incredibly stressful. Stress does really weird things but can well imagine how scary it must've been. How great that they checked you out so thoroughly. The NHS can be truly amazing.
Hope this Christmas is a good one. Sounds like a lovely close knit family. 😊🎅🌲
I found that processed food was one of the main triggers for my PAF have reduced it completely, but I still get boats of AF. They aren’t as severe but they do still appear
Same here it's the additives that affect my AF. By the amount of answers I've had it appears that quite a few of the members here have noticed the same thing.
Thanks for the reminderJean, gone are the days of just picking something off the shelf without finding your glasses and spending half an hour trying to read the ingredients!
More difficult, and sorry folks another warning, is eating out when you don't know the half of it!! I have had to curb my desire for exotic dishes and just go with something simple 🤣.
It's hard isn't it having to think all the time about what we can and can't eat. I find lately that I don't have much of an appetite anyway. Different types of fruit and also nuts are my go to things if peckish. Yes, eating out can certainly be hard at times and I rarely eat cake these days.
My red flag is 'souring agent',often apple juice? Why, what's wrong with apple juice? Well it's because it means they've put in so much sugar to use as a preserving chemical, that the food is too sweet to be edible, so they then use a souring agent to make it acceptable. Hence it has much more sugar in than you think.
Thank you Jean. Very very occasionally I treat myself to a sachet of hot chocolate and make one last 4 goes, just to flavour a small hot milk I have at bedtime. I always check for sweeteners, especially aspartame and sucralose. Won’t touch those. Will have to scrutinise additives more carefully now.
I have got quite good at knowing what does or does not use those additives. What really peeves me is inconsistency. I have to take/use Gaviscon high strength and was so pleased when I saw the tablet/ lozenges version. Much more convenient for when out and about and more importantly they worked better than the liquid for me. Then I happened to notice they had aspartame in them! Straight away I checked the liquid in case I had missed it or was a new additive but no, it wasn’t there. I have checked several times since and it’s still the same. Lozenges = aspartame, Liquid = none. And yes I had been feeling a bit odd during that time as well but not enough to make me think it was the lozenges.
Artificial additives are a real pain and yes hidden where we least expect. It's so annoying. Your post is a good reminder to check and will hopefully alert others who take Gaviscon.
Well said Jean! I cook mostly from scratch and am pretty strict about processed foods. Hubby would eat all kinds of crap but since I do most of the cooking we have a rule - one portion a week of prepped food like fresh filled pasta, a pie from local food market, or sausages from same. And the odd cake. Hubby likes to bake so that helps. And I feel much better for it.
Sounds like you have everything under control. I cook from scratch too, though I must admit to buying the occasional ready made fish pie. Actually I'm not sure that I've checked the contents of that. Shopping today so will look before I buy.
Unfortunately it’s not just food and a few medications-it’s impossible to obtain ’clean’ prescription medications - all of our heart meds contain unnecessary and potentially harmful additives such as titanium dioxide, various artificial colorants, fillers and stabilisers. I am very careful about checking ingredients lists on food items and excluding/minimising ing those with harmful ingredients. I also look for ‘clean’ options when choosing supplements but unfortunately we don’t have this same choice when it comes to our meds - the pharmaceutical companies are only concerned to maximise profits so will manufacture as cheaply as possible using whatever additives they need to achieve this. This has been a concern of mine for some time now but I don’t know what we can do about it. For anyone interested in the impact of the modern food industry on our health check out the work of Chris Van Tulleken , especially his recent book ‘Ultra processed people’ - it really is ‘food for thought’!
Always read the label if there are more than 5 ingredients a list of chemicals you can’t pronounce or any added sugar corn syrup fructose et al don’t buy it. Buy fresh and grow your own if you can. The food industry operates for profit not your well being…
Good morning Jean. Thank you for the warning - it had me going straight to the cupboard to check the ingredients of the hot chocolate that I have which I'm glad to say contains only cocoa powder and sugar. This finding made me laugh as I realised I could so easily make my own hot chocolate drink from those 2 ingredients and probably for a fraction of the price I'd paid for the branded product. On the subject of food additives generally I like Michael Moseley's advice - don't eat anything that contains ingredients you wouldn't have in your own kitchen cupboards.
Hope everyone has a great Christmas and an AF free new year.
oh god. I’m having a colonoscopy just after Xmas and the meds I have to take 2 lots of this prior to it contains a lot of sodium phosphate. I have to take this as putting it bluntly it open my bowels prior to procedure. Don’t know what to do now 😩
Last night ate some sugar free chocolate digestives. High pulse rate in night. No E numbers but lots of artificial sweetness. Had a similar episode after eating mince pies. Even stranger all my PAF episodes have been in November and December perhaps something to do with Christmas /Pre Christmas diet.
I know 100% that artificial sweeteners will trigger my AF. Which other food additives do - I'm not that sure, but I believe maltodextrin affects my sleep. Before I retired I never slept well on a Sunday night and used to think it was because of work the next day. Then I retired and still didn't sleep well on a Sunday. I had a good think as to why this would be and suspected something in my roast dinner. Yep it was the maltodextrin in the gravy powder I was using. I now make my own gravy and the problem has gone.
Sulphites, preservatives in wine can also trigger peoples AF.
Thanks Jean. Having worked in food warehouse I'm not convinced even by labelling. Don't drink alcohol so no sulphites. But now going to check if the non alcoholic beers contain the sulphites. Thanks.
I saw an amusing but wise quote from an unnamed nutritionist:
"Too many people worry about what they eat and drink between Christmas and New Year. What they really should be more concerned about is what they eat between New Year and Christmas."
thank you. It’s becoming a minefield watching what you eat, at a time of life when I would like to have more faith in what I’m buying, as it makes life a little easier. Cooking a meal from scratch everyday in your 80s is not as easy as it was. Have a nice. Christmas 🧑🎄.
I can understand that it's not so easy as we grow older. However, I have two friends, he's 85 and she's 83 (they could be older). They don't care what they eat now and 2-3 years ago they put up a garden shed together. She mixed the cement for the base (she has AF but isn't aware of it) and he laid it. He made ornamental shutters for the window and they went shopping for lino to put on the floor. It's the cleanest shed you've ever seen with all the garden tools neat and clean hooked to the sides.
I have a sister who has eaten ready made meals for quite a few years now, she never gets ill.
So I'd say to you, eat what you want so long as it doesn't set your AF off.
Sadly not true, my dad was a farmer and I can tell you that cows are injected with all sorts of chemicals to prevent parasites. I don't know about other meat producing animals, but guess they are treated the same.
Thank you Jean for bringing the subject of additives to our attention. We eat very plainly , vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds, dairy food , fresh fish and meat from the local butcher and organic oats and organic milk. I drink fresh orange juice, herbal teas and 1 mug of builders tea ( l need that to start the day ) and plenty of water. I used to grow my own vegetables , no pesticides or herbicides but l am too old apart from tomatoes too do that anymore but all the fruit trees and fruit bushes keep going without too much attention. My whole garden has always been organic. It has been confirmed that everyone has pesticide in their bodies. Most of the food in the supermarket is processed to some degree and has additives. It would take all day to read all the ingredients on everything you pick up. Even jam ; why do they have to add anything to jam. It should be just fruit and sugar. After all , sugar is a preservative. As has been said , there isn't anything you can do about medication and it could be the add ones that cause the side effects. Phew, anyway Jean Happy Christmas to you and yours.
Sounds like you're doing well now. I had good intentions of growing my own food when I retired. Did the first year and then that was it, now grassed over.
I was brought up on organic food, my dad grew all we needed in the garden. I remember him storing vegetables between bales of straw in the garden. He would say to my mum what do you need for dinner today. We were poor (wasn't everyone in the 1950's) and a big family I'm proud of the way he worked so hard.
Goodness knows why preservatives are in jam. I try to keep to the same medication makes, think they all contain nasty fillers. I try to find vitamins that have as little fillers in them as possible, Vitabright seem to be quite good.
When my husband had to change his diet to a “kidney” diet due to autoimmune disease that attacked his kidneys,,,we were advised to clean out the pantry to a minimum of foods in boxes and cans,,,,most other foods would be ok,,,,this would be eliminating lots of things heavy with additives! It took some time to create meals with what was left,,,fresh foods including minimal meats, plenty of fruits and veggies and some breads,,,we have tried to stay the course these past 5 years,,,we have both lost weight and are probably a lot healthier for it,,,my afib is occasional for which I am thankful,,,and his autoimmune anca vasculitis is in remission,,,,ai believe your thoughts on additives are quite correct!
It's good to hear that you are both doing well on your new diet. Is tinned fruit a no-no for your husband? It's amazing to hear how a good diet has helped him
I do my best to avoid rubbish food, but I have to admit I've just been shopping and bought two fresh cream choc éclair cakes and ate them both - well they were on offer! In general I'm very good with my diet and have noticed that my skin is a lot better than it has ever been.
Not sure on the tinned fruit,,but he has little interest other than a fresh banana in life! Have a lovely holiday season and wishes for good health for. 2024!
Thanks for the heads up - what a shame to miss out on your hot choccy!
I’m convinced that, many years ago, my excessive consumption of Diet Coke (with all its nasties) was the initial trigger for my AF.
I did a bit of label checking myself the other day. For the last couple of years my lovely daughter has bought me the ridiculously expensive (but totally wonderful) Beauty Advent Calendar from a well known dept store. Last week, one gift was some sleep drops with CBD oil. Not only do I occasionally suffer with insomnia, but a bottle of these drops retails at a whopping £51 so I was very excited to get them.
But ….. You've guessed it - this time it was contra indicated for those on anti coagulants. You experts were probably aware of this - but I’m so miffed at discovering yet another ‘no no’.
No, I've never heard that we shouldn't use CBD oil. Thanks for making us aware. It may be a good idea to put your own post on the forum about that as people are more likely to see it then. This post of mine is near it's end.
Any drink labelled diet is pure poison for us AF sufferers with it's artificial sweeteners. I too was bombarding my system with them, thinking it was healthy not to consume sugar. I think they were the initial cause of my AF too.
efsa.europa.eu/fr/efsajourn.... Here is what I found. It is a red die. It’s been banned here is the US but it is still allowed in the UK. I hope that link works because is shows all the food it is in, in the UK.
yes it is crazy. Here in the US we have Lobbyists, they are professional advocates who work to influence political decisions on behalf of specific organizations and people. They often contribute large sums of money to campaigns and often they get whatever it is they are influencing. Have you seen the movie or read the book on the Strickler family? They actually really strong armed a member of our FDA to get their highly addictive pills passed and okayed. FDA has to approve almost everything in this country. I am wondering if in the UK you have a similar situation. Many of us here don't trust the FDA. that is why the recent vaccine push was under emergency use, because then it didn't have to go through any departments scrutiny. The same is done to our food, olive oil, honey are examples of being not necessarily what we are told it is. One has to be their own advocate to stay healthy, Not to mention as I have before that all these chemicals do go through the liver.
Another example, is our soda pop, which I rarely drink. It is loaded with High Fructose Corn syrup. It is horrible for our liver, it. causes Non alcoholic fatty liver. I recently learned we need a ratio of fructose and glucose which comes naturally in fruit, to not affect the liver. So much to learn and so little time, LOL. something about being older and wiser. when younger we were invincible. we have a phrase here and I certainly didn't listen. "what you do to your body while under 30 you will pay for when your over 30".
I'm in Canada and just took a look at which foods our government has approved sodium phosphate. They've eliminated in some foods since 2021 but I didn't realize it's still in approx. half of the frozen seafood brands, mostly shrimp and some fish and tinned powdered chocolate drink. Also in one brand of canned milk. I'll definitely now be buying the ones without. Appreciate the information.
Yes it's dreadful what they're putting in our food these days. All to keep it looking good so that we fools to buy it. I feel that day by day we're discovering more and more what's causing us to feel unwell with regard to food additives.
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do statins prevent strokes or is it myth? Any support to answers welcomed
Anyone got the real stats re strokes or is it just general one liner for all AF sufferers 
Waiting for Cardiology Appt...so upset!
