Do preservatives preserve your internal organs thus extending your life?

A lot of people claim that the food we eat is filled with chemical preservatives designed to improve the shelf life of foods. Some suggest consuming these preservatives are bad for us. The problem that I have with this argument is that people are living longer than they ever have.

Could it be that consuming these preservatives is aiding in preserving the internal organs of our body which extends our length of life?

vasuderatorrent said:

A lot of people claim that the food we eat is filled with chemical preservatives designed to improve the shelf life of foods. Some suggest consuming these preservatives are bad for us. The problem that I have with this argument is that people are living longer than they ever have.

Could it be that consuming these preservatives is aiding in preserving the internal organs of our body which extends our length of life?

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If anything the preservatives will indee "preserve" the organs, as in embalming fluid

vasuderatorrent said:

A lot of people claim that the food we eat is filled with chemical preservatives designed to improve the shelf life of foods. Some suggest consuming these preservatives are bad for us. The problem that I have with this argument is that people are living longer than they ever have.

Could it be that consuming these preservatives is aiding in preserving the internal organs of our body which extends our length of life?

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Chemical preservatives are not designed to preserve things that are alive. The prevent decay in things that are dead.

Since controlled decay is how we digest our food, this explains why no human can properly digest a White Castle cheeseburger.

vasuderatorrent said:

A lot of people claim that the food we eat is filled with chemical preservatives designed to improve the shelf life of foods. Some suggest consuming these preservatives are bad for us. The problem that I have with this argument is that people are living longer than they ever have.

Could it be that consuming these preservatives is aiding in preserving the internal organs of our body which extends our length of life?

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NOT your internal organs. You can see it after death. I've been told by morgue staff that bodies last longer now than historically without embalming. However, it's always the internal organs that rot first. I think the skin and the outer tissues last a bit longer though nowadays.

As for living health, depends on the preservative and the dosage and the interactions.

vasuderatorrent said:

Could it be that consuming these preservatives is aiding in preserving the internal organs of our body which extends our length of life?

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Very doubtful. The effect of a chemical on a food is not the same as the effect of a chemical in the human metabolic process.

lizzie said:

Very doubtful. The effect of a chemical on a food is not the same as the effect of a chemical in the human metabolic process.

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I'm sure they lose most of their qualities during the digestion process. However the repeated process of consuming preservatives over and over through the course of several decades is bound to have a beneficial effect. I'm sure the metabolic process doesn't eliminate all of the preservative qualities of the chemical substance.

vasuderatorrent said:

However the repeated process of consuming preservatives over and over through the course of several decades is bound to have a beneficial effect. I'm sure the metabolic process doesn't eliminate all of the preservative qualities of the chemical substance.

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Why would you think so? It's two completely different processes we're talking about.

If anything, preservatives likely have a negative impact on our health.

lizzie said:

preservatives likely have a negative impact on our health.

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I hear that but I don't understand the logic. If these preservatives preserves food, why can't they preserve human organs? There has to be some explanation for humans living longer. I thought it might have something to do with the changes in our food supply. We eat differently than generations of the past. I was guessing it had something to do with these preservatives. Do you have another theory as to why we are healthier than the generations before us? Why are lives are so much longer?

vasuderatorrent said:

I hear that but I don't understand the logic. If these preservatives preserves food, why can't they preserve human organs? There has to be some explanation for humans living longer. ?

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Because preservatives don't "sit" in human organs, with the purpose of preserving them. Organs are living things- not static and not food. Human bodies metabolize everything that gets ingested, and preservatives aren't added to organs. Why are we living longer on average? Modern medicine.

lizzie said:

Very doubtful. The effect of a chemical on a food is not the same as the effect of a chemical in the human metabolic process.

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So eating those desiccant packs that come in my beef jerky really doesn't help me?

Lutherf said:

So eating those desiccant packs that come in my beef jerky really doesn't help me?

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Ummm, no. In fact, I'd generally avoid most anything with the word "jerky" in or on the package. :lamo

vasuderatorrent said:

I hear that but I don't understand the logic. If these preservatives preserves food, why can't they preserve human organs? There has to be some explanation for humans living longer. I thought it might have something to do with the changes in our food supply. We eat differently than generations of the past. I was guessing it had something to do with these preservatives. Do you have another theory as to why we are healthier than the generations before us? Why are lives are so much longer?

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Umm, humans have been using chemical preservatives for thousands of years.

sangha said:

Umm, humans have been using chemical preservatives for thousands of years.

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What is your theory as to why we are healthy and living longer than generations past?

vasuderatorrent said:

What is your theory as to why we are healthy and living longer than generations past?

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Improved sanitation and nutrition

lizzie said:

Because preservatives don't "sit" in human organs, with the purpose of preserving them. Organs are living things- not static and not food. Human bodies metabolize everything that gets ingested, and preservatives aren't added to organs. Why are we living longer on average? Modern medicine.

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Is modern food fighting against the efforts of modern medicine? Is modern food and modern medicine a dynamic duo putting us in the bracket as the healthiest human beings ever to live on this planet? or is it something else entirely?

Our food seems to be much more delicious and much more advantageous to survival. I could be missing something. Has modern medicine advanced so far to offset any negatives that we are experiencing through a poorer food supply?

Something is going good and I just thought that preservatives preserving life made a lot of sense.

sangha said:

Umm, humans have been using chemical preservatives for thousands of years.

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Which one was the most popular in the ancient days?

Maltodextrin? Dextrose? Monosodium glutamate? Disodium guanylate? Disodium inosinate? Polyglycerol esters? Alpha-Tocopherol acetate? or some other popular preservative like salt?

I have eaten all of these preservatives.

vasuderatorrent said:

A lot of people claim that the food we eat is filled with chemical preservatives designed to improve the shelf life of foods. Some suggest consuming these preservatives are bad for us. The problem that I have with this argument is that people are living longer than they ever have.

Could it be that consuming these preservatives is aiding in preserving the internal organs of our body which extends our length of life?

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Actually we're expected to see a down-turn in life expectancy in the coming generations, who have eaten far more preservatives than their parents. We are already seeing it in some demographics -- it's been rather dramatic for women who are poor.

It's not the preservatives that lengthen lives. It's medical technology. People are living longer, but in very poor condition, and with the aid of huge amounts of medicine and life support measures. They could be living longer in better condition, but our diets and healthcare system kind of screw that up. Some other places do have longer and better life expectancies, despite eating far less preserving crap than we do. The American life expectancy is actually quite poor, for a developed nation.

Even if the tissue is preserved, that isn't going to make the organ WORK better. Your computer doesn't usually overheat because the fan snapped in half. It overheats for some other reason -- junk inside of it, reduced efficiency of some kind of moving part, etc. You can preserve the fan material all day long and that's not necessarily going to mean it'll work well. Same with organs.

However, it does seem to help preserve tissue. Dead people last a little longer than they used to, and funerals are a bit less of a rush. But it only seems to help you when you're dead. There's no evidence it's helping your organ actually function.

Lutherf said:

So eating those desiccant packs that come in my beef jerky really doesn't help me?

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Don't know about you but they make me thirsty.

vasuderatorrent said:

Which one was the most popular in the ancient days?

Maltodextrin? Dextrose? Monosodium glutamate? Disodium guanylate? Disodium inosinate? Polyglycerol esters? Alpha-Tocopherol acetate? or some other popular preservative like salt?

I have eaten all of these preservatives.

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Salt, lactic acid and nitrates probably top the list

sangha said:

Chemical preservatives are not designed to preserve things that are alive. The prevent decay in things that are dead.

Since controlled decay is how we digest our food, this explains why no human can properly digest a White Castle cheeseburger.

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ew

I hate all those nasty chains: mcdonalds, wendys, burger king, taco bell, they all gross me out.

vasuderatorrent said:

I hear that but I don't understand the logic. If these preservatives preserves food, why can't they preserve human organs? There has to be some explanation for humans living longer. I thought it might have something to do with the changes in our food supply. We eat differently than generations of the past. I was guessing it had something to do with these preservatives. Do you have another theory as to why we are healthier than the generations before us? Why are lives are so much longer?

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"there has to be something that explains why humans are living longer."

Yeeeeaaaaaaa preservatives are doing that.

Because better healthcare, diets, plentiful food, etc. mean nothing when it comes to extending life spans...

Luftwaffe said:

"there has to be something that explains why humans are living longer."

Yeeeeaaaaaaa preservatives are doing that.

Because better healthcare, diets, plentiful food, etc. mean nothing when it comes to extending life spans...

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It's just a fun theory that gets the brain turning. :lol:

vasuderatorrent said:

it's just a fun theory that gets the brain turning. :lol:

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xd!!!