Q: What is the difference between natural and artificial ingredients? Is a naturally produced ingredient safer than an artificially manufactured ingredient?–Dave

A: Natural ingredients are derived from natural sources –for example,soybeans and corn provide lecithin to maintain a food product’sconsistency, and beets provide beet powder that is sometimes used as a food coloring. Many other additives, however, are not found in nature and, therefore, must be synthetically produced as artificial ingredients (in other words, chemicals). While not all of the artificial ingredients used in foods have known health effects, many have not been well-researched, so read labels carefully and avoid foods containing artificial ingredients as much as you possibly can.

Lisa Tsakos