Without dramatics or great elaboration, here is a list of common ingredients in foods that I work hard to avoid.  I would love to hear what ingredients you choose to avoid and why.

A huge “duh”: High Fructose Corn Syrup, despite their fluffy (ridiculous) ad campaign
Should be a huge “duh”: Corn Syrup, period
Monosodium Glutamate, aka MSG
Aspartame
Propyl Gallate, which prevents fats from going rancid in food and cosmetics
Propylene Glycol, which I found in my cosmetics, antifreeze, and shredded coconut
Acesulfame K, aka “Sweet One”
Food Colorings, such as FD&C anything
Olestra
Potassium Bromate (see here also regarding iodine deficiency…your bread is a culprit!)
Sodium Chloride, aka “table salt”
Sulfites (very hard, as they are in most beers and wines, but can cause asthma attacks, rashes, headaches, etc)
Non-organic Corn (likely genetically modified, which concerns me because of this, this and this)
Non-organic Berries, Grapes, Apples, Leafy Greens
Meats (for Marc) with Sodium Nitrites or Nitrates, Butylated Hydroxy anything (BHA or BHT)
These can be very tricky to avoid, and I have learned not to take anything for granted.  Now I read every label, and you might be shocked to realize what “healthy”-marketed brands have completely horrific ingredients.

Any food ingredients I need to avoid that I missed?

Always do your own research.  Know what your ingredient list is.  Decide for yourself how you feel.  Plus, be warned that finding credible third-party information from peer-reviewed scholastic independent journals can be incredibly hard to find.  Do not rely on any information supplied by branches of the government, pharmaceutical companies, or food processors… as they have obvious ties and financial interests in securing you to believe what they want you to believe.  In fact, with every single study you find, you have to find out not only who conducted the study, but who paid for that study.  Like the “high fructose corn syrup is made with corn, so it’s good for you” ads: provided by the Corn Refiners Association of America.  That said, please do not rely on scare-tactic emails and Wikipedia as your sources either.

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue