December 30, 2024 • 23 mins
In this eye-opening episode of Power On Plants, Jarrod and Anita reveal the startling truth about citric acid - and why this common food ingredient isn't what you think. You'll discover:
• The surprising source of 99% of manufactured citric acid (hint: it's not from citrus!)
• Why reading ingredient labels just got even more important
• How this widely-used additive can affect your inflammation levels
• Which "clean" products might be hiding this unexpected ingredient
• Where to find truly natural sources of beneficial citric acid
As certified healthcare professionals, we're pulling back the curtain on food industry practices that could be keeping you from feeling your best. Get ready to learn what's really in your pantry!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey there, sunshine Now.
I know you probably thinkcitrus is good for you, and with
good reason.
It's a fruit right.
We are talking about enjoyingwhole plant foods so that you
can heal your body naturally andfinally feel like doing all the
things God has placed you onthis earth to do.
That's what we're all about.
But here's the thing there'ssomething about citrus that you
(00:23):
may not be aware of, but ifhealth is your goal, it's
something you need to know, andwe're going to be sharing that
with you today so you can turnthat puppy over, read the
ingredients label even moreinformed and you don't bring
home products that you think aregood for you that could
actually be harming you instead.
Hey sister, welcome to the Poweron Plants podcast.
(00:46):
Are you tired of staring intothe fridge wondering what to eat
so you can just feel better?
Do you wanna avoid spendinghours in the kitchen making
complicated meals in the name ofhealth?
Would you love to leave fatiguebehind and finally have the
energy to do all the things youwant to do?
Hi, we're Jared and AnitaRoussel, Christ followers,
healthcare professionals,parents of four and big fans of
(01:09):
great tasting food.
We, too, tried exercising more,eating natural and clean foods,
but we still found ourselvesstruggling with what we thought
were changes that come with ageor bad genes, and we weren't
finding answers the traditionalroute.
So we dug into the research andcreated our secret nutritional
weapon sustainable plant-basedliving.
(01:30):
The truth is, you can eat morewhole plant foods and it's not
hard.
You just need the way that'srealistic and delicious so you
never feel deprived.
If you're ready to enjoy yourmeals, no longer be held back by
your health struggles andactively live your life, then
you're in the right place.
So grab your favoriteplant-based cup of happy pop in
(01:50):
those earbuds and let's getstarted.
I absolutely hate starting thisoff being up on a soapbox, but
there are some things that justlight me up, and one of those
things is being lied to ortricked, and it happens a lot in
the health and health foodindustry.
We think we're buying somethingthat's healthy.
Oh, it's got everything onthere we recognize, and you read
(02:13):
the thing itself which you'rebuying, and maybe water, and
then one other ingredient, whichis the one we're talking about
today, and you think, oh, thisis fine, it comes from an orange
or it comes from some type ofcitrus, and that ingredient is
citric acid.
So today we're going to openyour eyes and share with you, if
you've never heard of thisbefore, why it's not a great
(02:36):
additive to have in your food.
You may want to.
After we talk about this, go andjust look.
I think you'll be surprised athow many things it's added to
that are the better quality foodproducts that you're buying.
And you'll see it in there andyou think, okay, why is it in
there?
Oh well, it's just a naturalpreservative, it's just citrus.
(02:56):
Because of the name, citricacid we think of citrus, and
that's where natural citric acidcomes from.
Well, it's one of the sources,right, Jared?
I mean, it's not just inoranges and lemons.
Citric acid is actually natural.
It is found in God's creation.
It is something he put in thefood and it's actually good for
us.
So then, if it's good for us,why is it not good in the food
(03:19):
products that we're buying today?
Speaker 2 (03:21):
This is one of those things where it's very sneaky,
and you mentioned, anita, thatwe're being lied to.
But I think this is not a sinof commission but a sin of
omission, because they're notreally giving us the full
details.
They're not telling useverything about citric acid.
Now, like you said, citriccitrus oh, it's healthy, right,
(03:43):
kind of like.
One of our favoriteillustrations for looking at the
label is simply potatoes.
Oh, it's simply potatoes.
No, it's not.
No, it's not.
The front of the label is thebillboard and it's lying to you,
because there's way more inthat product than just potatoes.
But with citric acid, it istrue that, yes, it does come
from citrus fruits.
(04:03):
That's where it was initiallyfound and that was actually the
original source whenever westarted trying to purify it for
other uses, like disinfectantswithin your home.
I mean, that's a naturalproduct, correct?
It's used to help preserve foodbecause it does have some
antibacterial properties to it,but it's not just coming from
citrus now.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
So I think a lot of times the reason we see it in
our food today it is used topreserve the food, so you'll see
it in things that have minimalingredients and it sounds
natural.
So you think, oh, this is great, you know, this is good, it's
just citrus.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
A perfect example would be canned foods.
It's used to help preventbacterial growth inside the cans
, and if we're getting it from anatural source, that would be a
great thing.
But we're not getting it fromcitrus anymore, and we haven't
been for probably about acentury now.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
So then we should be asking the question where is
this coming from?
How is it made If it's notbeing extracted from the citrus,
which we know a lot of times?
Extracting things from the fullpackage that God put it in not
generally a good idea.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Not always the best.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
But here we see, it's not even being extracted from
something natural, it's beingcreated, and so what we should
be asking is where is thiscoming from?
And that's what we're going toanswer for you today.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Where's it coming from and why does it matter?
Because really the source isthe primary issue with citric
acid.
Now, naturally, we find it inhigher amounts with lemons,
limes, grapefruit, pomelos, etc.
You can also find it in smalleramounts in things like
pineapple, strawberries,cherries, tomatoes.
Sorry guys, tomatoes areactually a fruit, not really a
(05:40):
vegetable.
We call them a vegetable, butit is a fruit.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
But isn't that funny, because that's not something I
would normally consider citricacid being in, because you do
think citrus, but it actually isin a lot of other fruits as
well.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Correct, and it's probably in other foods too, in
small quantities, but citrus,obviously, is the major one,
hence the name citric acid.
So if we're not purifying thisfrom citrus, from lemons, limes,
oranges, etc.
Then where are we getting this?
We are actually getting thisfrom Aspergillus niger, which is
called commonly black mold.
(06:12):
Now, this is not the same blackmold as what can be found in
structures that have waterdamage completely different
organism altogether, but canstill have negative health
consequences, which is why we'retalking about it today.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Yeah, black mold is not something I typically think
about wanting in or around myfood at all.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Generally no Mold has never really actually been
considered anything beneficial,especially even if you look
biblically back in the OldTestament, like if something was
contaminated with mold you hadto try to clean it.
You had to have the priestcertify that it was clean and if
you couldn't clean whatever thething was, you had to destroy
it.
Whether it be a garment orwhether it be your house, it has
(06:51):
never really been for humanhealth something beneficial.
Now it has a place.
I know that it will help decaydead material.
So if you have a tree thatfalls in the forest it's not
going to stay there forever.
Why?
Because you have molds andfungus and things like that that
help break it down, but as afood source not the best.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
So when things are used in the way they were
created to be used, it's a greatthing.
It is, and we're thankful forit.
We just need to ask should webe using it to create citric
acid?
Should we be using citric acidthat we get from the black mold
in our food?
So you're saying that if youtake a dietary supplement, you
(07:31):
may be taking a dietarysupplement that contains citric
acid that has been harvestedfrom or made by black mold.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
So that might not be the best dietary supplement to
take either.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
And it might be a good idea, even with the
supplements themselves, to flipthat puppy over Look and see
what's on the ingredients list.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
That's a great tip.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Many times they are hiding there in plain sight,
especially if you're unaware ofwhere those ingredients come
from.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
The thing is, though, it just gets so tricky because
you look at it and you thinkoranges, lemons, limes, just
with the name that we've namedit.
It's crazy that it could besomething derived from a mold 90
, something.
90, what percent of the time.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
99% of what we see in our food supply is derived from
black mold.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
So in other words, it's virtually never from a
natural source in the food.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Yes.
Now what is citric acid usedfor?
It's used to help boost acidity, it's used for flavor and it's
also used as a preservative,like we mentioned previously.
Citric acid, like we said, isnot the problem itself,
especially if it's in itsnatural form.
If it's in the citrus, if it'sin the strawberry, clearly that
is not a problem, and long agothey used to purify it from
(08:46):
citrus, but then, when thedemand for it outpaced the
ability to supply it from thatsource, they were able to find
alternatives, and the one thatwas the most profitable, the
most efficient, was usingaspergillus niger.
Some of the benefits that weknow of citric acid is that it
can enhance the absorption andbioavailability of minerals like
calcium.
(09:06):
Now sometimes you'll see thatin supplements calcium citrate.
Now citrate is the salt form ofcitric acid, so they're very,
very closely linked.
The only difference is citratehas a few less hydrogen atoms
and then it has a metal ion, soit could be calcium, potassium,
sodium, but you could use theminterchangeably.
(09:27):
They're slightly different butrelated.
When they first startedmanufacturing citric acid, this
was before really the advent ofthe FDA, so this was already in
motion, already being done, andso then, when the FDA came on
the scene there.
Older substances were just,quote unquote, generally
recognized as safe, againwithout any safety studies being
(10:04):
done on those, so the problemwe want to highlight is not the
citric acid In this case, though, is potential contaminants that
come from the mold, which canact as allergens.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
Makes perfect sense.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
There is an article in Toxicology Reports published
back in August of 2018 lookingat citric acid as a food
additive, and they werehighlighting four different case
studies where they looked atindividuals where they had some
type of inflammatory conditionand it was noticed that when
they ate products that had thismanufactured citric acid in it,
(10:38):
that their inflammatoryconditions wors was noticed that
when they ate products that hadthis manufactured citric acid
in it, that their inflammatoryconditions worsened and that
when they eliminated it, thatthose inflammatory conditions
got much better.
So what they concluded from thereport while they said it was
not conclusive, there was adefinite link in those instances
, like with one of theindividuals he drank an energy
drink that its second ingredientwas citric acid, second only
(11:00):
behind water.
So when he stopped drinking it,his swelling in his knee went
away and his other symptomsresolved.
But then when he started backdrinking that same drink, then
all those symptoms came back andthen again when he stopped it,
symptoms went away.
So I would say that's fairlyconclusive that yes, something
related to that drink wascausing the problem.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
It's a little more than concerning, let's put it
that way.
I mean, when you have somethingwhere you're drinking it, you
get more inflammation.
You stop it, you're lessinflamed.
You need to start looking atwhat's in that drink.
And all these people weregetting citric acid and they
were all experiencing increasedinflammation.
Yeah, that's concerning.
But again, you're saying it'snot the citric acid itself, it's
(11:45):
citric acid that has beenderived from this black mold,
correct?
And so the concern really isthe mold itself, the source, the
thing that's making the citricacid.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Their conclusion was the potential for the
contaminants from the blackmold's making the citric acid.
Their conclusion was thepotential for the contaminants
from the black mold is causingthe inflammatory response,
especially with the repeatedexposure, since it's used in so
many food items.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
Lord have mercy.
Okay, now I'm a littleconcerned because when you start
looking in your pantry and youstart turning that puppy over
and looking at your salsa andlooking at the hot sauce, you
won't believe how many thingscontain citric acid.
And remember, 90 something,percent, 99, right?
Is that what you said?
It said 99% is what was found ofcitric acid that is in our food
(12:31):
sources today that has beenplaced in there.
We're not talking about naturalcitric acid, again from fruits.
We're talking about the citricacid that's made by black mold.
99% of it in our foodsubstances comes from the source
of black mold, and so whatthey're saying is, the concern
is the contaminants from theblack mold that's in the food,
and that's what we see beingshown from this research study
(12:53):
that you're talking about.
That was in the Journal ofToxicology, correct.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
That may be easy to say, but they purify it Correct,
so it must be pure.
You can never 100% get rid ofthe impurities.
But also, too, most of thecitric acid is made overseas.
Like 56% of it is made over inChina, where we may not know
exactly what their processes are.
So maybe they are purifying itsomewhat, but then there's still
(13:19):
that potential for thecontaminants to get through.
Now, with this constant, chronicexposure, this creates a
chronic, low-level inflammatorystate within the body.
There can be releases ofcytokines, which are mediators
that cause inflammation.
These are molecules that areactually part of the
inflammatory process.
One of them specifically notedwas interleukin-6.
(13:41):
So the significance of this?
Let's say you get an injury.
Well, the body has aninflammatory response, which is
normal.
It's not a bad thing.
You want damaged tissue to beremoved.
You want the framework forhealthy tissue to be laid,
healthy tissue to grow, repairwhatever the injury is.
But then that process stops, itcalms down, it should it should
(14:04):
.
That's normal.
But if you have things thatyou're taking in, whether it's
through your diet, throughenvironmental chemicals, just
whatever if it creates alow-level, chronic inflammation,
then you're never really quitehealing.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
So it's just that constant, underlying, chronic
inflammation, day after dayafter day, bite after bite on
your fork.
And it's not just the citricacid that's grown on black mold.
This is just one of the things.
And the thing is you're gettingit from multiple sources.
So the reason we're sharingthis is not to get you worked up
(14:39):
or upset or worried or fearfulor anxious.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Do not be fearful or anxious.
That's exactly what I was justthinking.
We're not trying to scare you.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
No, you serve a God who is mighty to save, and he is
giving you the information thatyou need to make the best
decisions with what we havetoday.
So once you know these things,you can turn it over and look
and say, well, does it havecitric acid?
Does this salsa have citricacid?
Oh, look, this one has it andthis one doesn't.
Guess which one I'm buyingtoday.
(15:07):
Now I'm going to start buyingthe ones that don't have citric
acid added, because now my eyeshave been opened and I
understand.
And then, when you link armswith somebody who can show you
here's the next thing you wantto be aware of and look at, and
here's the next thing, andhere's the next thing, would it
surprise you that before longyou'd start feeling better?
Can you see clearly how that'sgoing to happen for you when you
(15:30):
have the veil lifted off youreyes and you can say, okay,
here's one thing, now here's thenext thing, and here's the next
thing, and here's the nextthing, and you just, product
after product, you're able tomake the better choices, the
choices that are going to notshut you down, like the enemy
wants to keep you stuck, feelingbad, hurting, aching all the
time, with this constant,chronic inflammation running in
(15:52):
the background and your bodyhaving to try to fight it off,
day after day after day,wondering why am I so exhausted,
why can't I get better?
And I don't mean to laugh,because it's really not funny,
but it's like I just look backand I think, lord, have mercy,
I'm free now.
I'm so free compared to where Iused to be, and it just makes
you want to laugh and smile anddance.
And you are going to get tothat place where you think this
(16:15):
is how I broke free from allthose things because I unlearned
the lies.
First of all, my eyes were opento the lies.
Then I was able to see.
They're there.
You know, these are the thingsthat have been keeping me stuck.
Then you learn the truth.
Well, what should I bereplacing these things with
instead?
One of the things we teach in somany areas is you do not want
to leave an empty hole.
(16:35):
So when we show you somethingthat you don't want to do, we
show you what to do instead.
So in this case, you want toget your citric acid from citrus
or from tomatoes or fromstrawberries or from a whole
pineapple right, you don't wantit as an additive on the back of
that label inside your food.
And I promise you, when youstart looking and you now know
it's there, it is going to be abig eye opener and then you're
(16:58):
going to be able to just getthat one thing out.
You don't worry, you're notafraid.
That is not what this is about.
It is about I want to know thetruth, I want to see the truth
because I want to escape beingheld back from all these things,
from just not feeling good, andthis is where it starts.
One thing and then anotherthing, and then another thing,
and before long you findyourself running free.
(17:19):
You're feeling so good at theend of the night you can go out
on date night, you're not soexhausted you have to crash
until the next day when you getup and do it all over again just
trying to survive.
It's no way to live.
We want you to have optimalfuel, the vibrant, overflowing
energy you were created to haveto be able to fully live your
purpose.
You were put here for a purposeand it's so hard to live out
(17:43):
that purpose when you constantlyfeel that way and you don't
understand why and no one'stelling you.
Not only have we worked withmultiple, multiple, multiple
clients of our own that havebroken free in this way.
It's just such a joy to be onthis side of things because,
being healthcare providers, thisis why we went into medicine
and nursing.
We went into medicine andnursing to be able to take our
(18:05):
clients from not feeling good tofinally feeling good again.
But that's not the experiencethat we were having in standard
practice.
So once Jerry got certified inlifestyle medicine and we
learned these things out ofnecessity, because we were
getting sick and we were like,ok, we got to learn this, and
then we learned it also becausewe just our hearts were broken
for our patients, because wejust got tired of the standard
(18:28):
this.
You got to give this drug forthese numbers, and then you got
to give this drug for thesenumbers and this, and then you
got to give this drug for thisdrug.
It's like it's insanity andthis is one sneaky way that our
enemy keeps us stuck.
But you're not going to staystuck that way, because we're
going to take you by the handand walk you step by step
through these things.
(18:49):
But just start with this onething today, like I always say,
just that one thing and don't beworried.
Oh well, all the food's bad andall the food's contaminated.
Like you cannot do that toyourself.
That is not God's way, it's nothis will.
For you to get overwhelmed andbe frustrated by these things,
just say thank you God forshowing me this thing, so that
(19:09):
now I know I can no longer bedeceived in this one area.
So you stop the deception inits tracks.
You get the things your bodywas originally created in that
one area.
So you stop the deception inits tracks.
You get the things your bodywas originally created in that
one area.
And then you move forward.
Now you're no longer where youwere.
You're one step closer tofeeling great, to actually being
able to actively live.
(19:29):
That's our heart's desire foryou.
That's what God wants for youand you're being set free even
today, wants for you and you'rebeing set free even today.
Praise God, what a blessingthat is.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Yes, absolutely so.
In summary, citric acid foundnaturally present in foods such
as citrus or strawberries ortomatoes obviously is safe.
That is the natural source.
That's how the Lord made it.
Manufactured citric acid themolecule itself, is likely safe.
The problem is from thecontaminants found from the
source of the manufacturedcitric acid, which is
aspergillus niger or black mold.
I believe that even if you tryto purify it, you will never
(20:08):
100% get all the contaminantsout, and that is the source of
our problem.
So, like Anita said, we wantyou to be aware so that you can
make informed decisions.
How many people is this causinga problem for?
Like Anita said, we want you tobe aware so that you can make
informed decisions.
How many people is this causinga problem for?
We don't know.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
Right.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
But I'm sure it's a lot and since you didn't know
until now, it was flying underyour radar.
So flip that puppy over, startlooking at what's in your pantry
, start selecting items withoutit.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
Yes and see how you feel.
Vote with your dollars.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Vote with your dollars.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
Because if we start buying more of the products that
don't contain it, maybe they'llstop using so much of it, and I
feel like, after learning whatwe've learned, that would be a
win for everybody.
Okay, friends, so your job isto get into your pantry fridge
freezer, turn that puppy over,look at those sauces, sauces,
(20:57):
all the different things thatare in there that you think, oh
no, that won't have it.
Check it anyway.
I actually think I may haveseen it added to some herbs and
spices.
They add it to a lot of things,so check your herbs and spices.
You won't believe what's inthere besides that herb and
spice.
We're going to be going overthat in the future course,
because it's amazing what theyadd to herbs and spices too.
But look, turn it over and then, when you find the items that
(21:21):
have citric acid, come into ourfree community.
Podcast insiders experience atpoweronplantscom forward slash
P-I-E.
This is a community of yourbrothers and sisters who are all
being set free together,celebrating our wins,
encouraging each other, sharingideas, meal inspiration and
those sneaky things that are intheir food that they didn't know
(21:44):
were there before.
And when you come in, I wantyou to just take a quick picture
and share what you found, evenif it's just one item.
I want you to share what youfound or what surprised you most
.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
That's what I was thinking.
The most surprising product youfound it in, though you were
sure, did not have citric acid,but lo and behold, it was there.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
There it was, and your new favorites are out there
just waiting to be discovered.
We look forward to getting toknow you more inside.
Hi, we can't wait to see youthere and hear what you found in
your pantry.
And until next time, letanxiety and overwhelm go and
know that you are on the rightpath.
You are loved, you are dearlycared for.
(22:23):
You are a child of the king.
You were put here for a purposeand you're going to live that
purpose out, fueled by the mostnutrient-dense foods on the
planet whole plant foods and weare so excited to be a part of
that journey with you.
We'll see you soon, thank you.
Hey there, sunshine Now.
I know you probably thinkcitrus is good for you, and with
good reason.
It's a fruit right.
We are talking about enjoyingwhole plant foods so that you
can heal your body naturally andfinally feel like doing all the
things God has placed you onthis earth to do.
That's what we're all about.
But here's the thing there'ssomething about citrus that you
(00:23):
may not be aware of, but ifhealth is your goal, it's
something you need to know, andwe're going to be sharing that
with you today so you can turnthat puppy over, read the
ingredients label even moreinformed and you don't bring
home products that you think aregood for you that could
actually be harming you instead.
Hey sister, welcome to the Poweron Plants podcast.
(00:46):
Are you tired of staring intothe fridge wondering what to eat
so you can just feel better?
Do you wanna avoid spendinghours in the kitchen making
complicated meals in the name ofhealth?
Would you love to leave fatiguebehind and finally have the
energy to do all the things youwant to do?
Hi, we're Jared and AnitaRoussel, Christ followers,
healthcare professionals,parents of four and big fans of
(01:09):
great tasting food.
We, too, tried exercising more,eating natural and clean foods,
but we still found ourselvesstruggling with what we thought
were changes that come with ageor bad genes, and we weren't
finding answers the traditionalroute.
So we dug into the research andcreated our secret nutritional
weapon sustainable plant-basedliving.
(01:30):
The truth is, you can eat morewhole plant foods and it's not
hard.
You just need the way that'srealistic and delicious so you
never feel deprived.
If you're ready to enjoy yourmeals, no longer be held back by
your health struggles andactively live your life, then
you're in the right place.
So grab your favoriteplant-based cup of happy pop in
(01:50):
those earbuds and let's getstarted.
I absolutely hate starting thisoff being up on a soapbox, but
there are some things that justlight me up, and one of those
things is being lied to ortricked, and it happens a lot in
the health and health foodindustry.
We think we're buying somethingthat's healthy.
Oh, it's got everything onthere we recognize, and you read
(02:13):
the thing itself which you'rebuying, and maybe water, and
then one other ingredient, whichis the one we're talking about
today, and you think, oh, thisis fine, it comes from an orange
or it comes from some type ofcitrus, and that ingredient is
citric acid.
So today we're going to openyour eyes and share with you, if
you've never heard of thisbefore, why it's not a great
(02:36):
additive to have in your food.
You may want to.
After we talk about this, go andjust look.
I think you'll be surprised athow many things it's added to
that are the better quality foodproducts that you're buying.
And you'll see it in there andyou think, okay, why is it in
there?
Oh well, it's just a naturalpreservative, it's just citrus.
(02:56):
Because of the name, citricacid we think of citrus, and
that's where natural citric acidcomes from.
Well, it's one of the sources,right, Jared?
I mean, it's not just inoranges and lemons.
Citric acid is actually natural.
It is found in God's creation.
It is something he put in thefood and it's actually good for
us.
So then, if it's good for us,why is it not good in the food
(03:19):
products that we're buying today?
Speaker 2 (03:21):
This is one of those things where it's very sneaky,
and you mentioned, anita, thatwe're being lied to.
But I think this is not a sinof commission but a sin of
omission, because they're notreally giving us the full
details.
They're not telling useverything about citric acid.
Now, like you said, citriccitrus oh, it's healthy, right,
(03:43):
kind of like.
One of our favoriteillustrations for looking at the
label is simply potatoes.
Oh, it's simply potatoes.
No, it's not.
No, it's not.
The front of the label is thebillboard and it's lying to you,
because there's way more inthat product than just potatoes.
But with citric acid, it istrue that, yes, it does come
from citrus fruits.
(04:03):
That's where it was initiallyfound and that was actually the
original source whenever westarted trying to purify it for
other uses, like disinfectantswithin your home.
I mean, that's a naturalproduct, correct?
It's used to help preserve foodbecause it does have some
antibacterial properties to it,but it's not just coming from
citrus now.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
So I think a lot of times the reason we see it in
our food today it is used topreserve the food, so you'll see
it in things that have minimalingredients and it sounds
natural.
So you think, oh, this is great, you know, this is good, it's
just citrus.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
A perfect example would be canned foods.
It's used to help preventbacterial growth inside the cans
, and if we're getting it from anatural source, that would be a
great thing.
But we're not getting it fromcitrus anymore, and we haven't
been for probably about acentury now.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
So then we should be asking the question where is
this coming from?
How is it made If it's notbeing extracted from the citrus,
which we know a lot of times?
Extracting things from the fullpackage that God put it in not
generally a good idea.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Not always the best.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
But here we see, it's not even being extracted from
something natural, it's beingcreated, and so what we should
be asking is where is thiscoming from?
And that's what we're going toanswer for you today.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Where's it coming from and why does it matter?
Because really the source isthe primary issue with citric
acid.
Now, naturally, we find it inhigher amounts with lemons,
limes, grapefruit, pomelos, etc.
You can also find it in smalleramounts in things like
pineapple, strawberries,cherries, tomatoes.
Sorry guys, tomatoes areactually a fruit, not really a
(05:40):
vegetable.
We call them a vegetable, butit is a fruit.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
But isn't that funny, because that's not something I
would normally consider citricacid being in, because you do
think citrus, but it actually isin a lot of other fruits as
well.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Correct, and it's probably in other foods too, in
small quantities, but citrus,obviously, is the major one,
hence the name citric acid.
So if we're not purifying thisfrom citrus, from lemons, limes,
oranges, etc.
Then where are we getting this?
We are actually getting thisfrom Aspergillus niger, which is
called commonly black mold.
(06:12):
Now, this is not the same blackmold as what can be found in
structures that have waterdamage completely different
organism altogether, but canstill have negative health
consequences, which is why we'retalking about it today.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Yeah, black mold is not something I typically think
about wanting in or around myfood at all.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Generally no Mold has never really actually been
considered anything beneficial,especially even if you look
biblically back in the OldTestament, like if something was
contaminated with mold you hadto try to clean it.
You had to have the priestcertify that it was clean and if
you couldn't clean whatever thething was, you had to destroy
it.
Whether it be a garment orwhether it be your house, it has
(06:51):
never really been for humanhealth something beneficial.
Now it has a place.
I know that it will help decaydead material.
So if you have a tree thatfalls in the forest it's not
going to stay there forever.
Why?
Because you have molds andfungus and things like that that
help break it down, but as afood source not the best.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
So when things are used in the way they were
created to be used, it's a greatthing.
It is, and we're thankful forit.
We just need to ask should webe using it to create citric
acid?
Should we be using citric acidthat we get from the black mold
in our food?
So you're saying that if youtake a dietary supplement, you
(07:31):
may be taking a dietarysupplement that contains citric
acid that has been harvestedfrom or made by black mold.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
So that might not be the best dietary supplement to
take either.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
And it might be a good idea, even with the
supplements themselves, to flipthat puppy over Look and see
what's on the ingredients list.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
That's a great tip.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Many times they are hiding there in plain sight,
especially if you're unaware ofwhere those ingredients come
from.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
The thing is, though, it just gets so tricky because
you look at it and you thinkoranges, lemons, limes, just
with the name that we've namedit.
It's crazy that it could besomething derived from a mold 90
, something.
90, what percent of the time.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
99% of what we see in our food supply is derived from
black mold.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
So in other words, it's virtually never from a
natural source in the food.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Yes.
Now what is citric acid usedfor?
It's used to help boost acidity, it's used for flavor and it's
also used as a preservative,like we mentioned previously.
Citric acid, like we said, isnot the problem itself,
especially if it's in itsnatural form.
If it's in the citrus, if it'sin the strawberry, clearly that
is not a problem, and long agothey used to purify it from
(08:46):
citrus, but then, when thedemand for it outpaced the
ability to supply it from thatsource, they were able to find
alternatives, and the one thatwas the most profitable, the
most efficient, was usingaspergillus niger.
Some of the benefits that weknow of citric acid is that it
can enhance the absorption andbioavailability of minerals like
calcium.
(09:06):
Now sometimes you'll see thatin supplements calcium citrate.
Now citrate is the salt form ofcitric acid, so they're very,
very closely linked.
The only difference is citratehas a few less hydrogen atoms
and then it has a metal ion, soit could be calcium, potassium,
sodium, but you could use theminterchangeably.
(09:27):
They're slightly different butrelated.
When they first startedmanufacturing citric acid, this
was before really the advent ofthe FDA, so this was already in
motion, already being done, andso then, when the FDA came on
the scene there.
Older substances were just,quote unquote, generally
recognized as safe, againwithout any safety studies being
(10:04):
done on those, so the problemwe want to highlight is not the
citric acid In this case, though, is potential contaminants that
come from the mold, which canact as allergens.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
Makes perfect sense.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
There is an article in Toxicology Reports published
back in August of 2018 lookingat citric acid as a food
additive, and they werehighlighting four different case
studies where they looked atindividuals where they had some
type of inflammatory conditionand it was noticed that when
they ate products that had thismanufactured citric acid in it,
(10:38):
that their inflammatoryconditions wors was noticed that
when they ate products that hadthis manufactured citric acid
in it, that their inflammatoryconditions worsened and that
when they eliminated it, thatthose inflammatory conditions
got much better.
So what they concluded from thereport while they said it was
not conclusive, there was adefinite link in those instances
, like with one of theindividuals he drank an energy
drink that its second ingredientwas citric acid, second only
(11:00):
behind water.
So when he stopped drinking it,his swelling in his knee went
away and his other symptomsresolved.
But then when he started backdrinking that same drink, then
all those symptoms came back andthen again when he stopped it,
symptoms went away.
So I would say that's fairlyconclusive that yes, something
related to that drink wascausing the problem.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
It's a little more than concerning, let's put it
that way.
I mean, when you have somethingwhere you're drinking it, you
get more inflammation.
You stop it, you're lessinflamed.
You need to start looking atwhat's in that drink.
And all these people weregetting citric acid and they
were all experiencing increasedinflammation.
Yeah, that's concerning.
But again, you're saying it'snot the citric acid itself, it's
(11:45):
citric acid that has beenderived from this black mold,
correct?
And so the concern really isthe mold itself, the source, the
thing that's making the citricacid.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Their conclusion was the potential for the
contaminants from the blackmold's making the citric acid.
Their conclusion was thepotential for the contaminants
from the black mold is causingthe inflammatory response,
especially with the repeatedexposure, since it's used in so
many food items.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
Lord have mercy.
Okay, now I'm a littleconcerned because when you start
looking in your pantry and youstart turning that puppy over
and looking at your salsa andlooking at the hot sauce, you
won't believe how many thingscontain citric acid.
And remember, 90 something,percent, 99, right?
Is that what you said?
It said 99% is what was found ofcitric acid that is in our food
(12:31):
sources today that has beenplaced in there.
We're not talking about naturalcitric acid, again from fruits.
We're talking about the citricacid that's made by black mold.
99% of it in our foodsubstances comes from the source
of black mold, and so whatthey're saying is, the concern
is the contaminants from theblack mold that's in the food,
and that's what we see beingshown from this research study
(12:53):
that you're talking about.
That was in the Journal ofToxicology, correct.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
That may be easy to say, but they purify it Correct,
so it must be pure.
You can never 100% get rid ofthe impurities.
But also, too, most of thecitric acid is made overseas.
Like 56% of it is made over inChina, where we may not know
exactly what their processes are.
So maybe they are purifying itsomewhat, but then there's still
(13:19):
that potential for thecontaminants to get through.
Now, with this constant, chronicexposure, this creates a
chronic, low-level inflammatorystate within the body.
There can be releases ofcytokines, which are mediators
that cause inflammation.
These are molecules that areactually part of the
inflammatory process.
One of them specifically notedwas interleukin-6.
(13:41):
So the significance of this?
Let's say you get an injury.
Well, the body has aninflammatory response, which is
normal.
It's not a bad thing.
You want damaged tissue to beremoved.
You want the framework forhealthy tissue to be laid,
healthy tissue to grow, repairwhatever the injury is.
But then that process stops, itcalms down, it should it should
(14:04):
.
That's normal.
But if you have things thatyou're taking in, whether it's
through your diet, throughenvironmental chemicals, just
whatever if it creates alow-level, chronic inflammation,
then you're never really quitehealing.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
So it's just that constant, underlying, chronic
inflammation, day after dayafter day, bite after bite on
your fork.
And it's not just the citricacid that's grown on black mold.
This is just one of the things.
And the thing is you're gettingit from multiple sources.
So the reason we're sharingthis is not to get you worked up
(14:39):
or upset or worried or fearfulor anxious.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Do not be fearful or anxious.
That's exactly what I was justthinking.
We're not trying to scare you.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
No, you serve a God who is mighty to save, and he is
giving you the information thatyou need to make the best
decisions with what we havetoday.
So once you know these things,you can turn it over and look
and say, well, does it havecitric acid?
Does this salsa have citricacid?
Oh, look, this one has it andthis one doesn't.
Guess which one I'm buyingtoday.
(15:07):
Now I'm going to start buyingthe ones that don't have citric
acid added, because now my eyeshave been opened and I
understand.
And then, when you link armswith somebody who can show you
here's the next thing you wantto be aware of and look at, and
here's the next thing, andhere's the next thing, would it
surprise you that before longyou'd start feeling better?
Can you see clearly how that'sgoing to happen for you when you
(15:30):
have the veil lifted off youreyes and you can say, okay,
here's one thing, now here's thenext thing, and here's the next
thing, and here's the nextthing, and you just, product
after product, you're able tomake the better choices, the
choices that are going to notshut you down, like the enemy
wants to keep you stuck, feelingbad, hurting, aching all the
time, with this constant,chronic inflammation running in
(15:52):
the background and your bodyhaving to try to fight it off,
day after day after day,wondering why am I so exhausted,
why can't I get better?
And I don't mean to laugh,because it's really not funny,
but it's like I just look backand I think, lord, have mercy,
I'm free now.
I'm so free compared to where Iused to be, and it just makes
you want to laugh and smile anddance.
And you are going to get tothat place where you think this
(16:15):
is how I broke free from allthose things because I unlearned
the lies.
First of all, my eyes were opento the lies.
Then I was able to see.
They're there.
You know, these are the thingsthat have been keeping me stuck.
Then you learn the truth.
Well, what should I bereplacing these things with
instead?
One of the things we teach in somany areas is you do not want
to leave an empty hole.
(16:35):
So when we show you somethingthat you don't want to do, we
show you what to do instead.
So in this case, you want toget your citric acid from citrus
or from tomatoes or fromstrawberries or from a whole
pineapple right, you don't wantit as an additive on the back of
that label inside your food.
And I promise you, when youstart looking and you now know
it's there, it is going to be abig eye opener and then you're
(16:58):
going to be able to just getthat one thing out.
You don't worry, you're notafraid.
That is not what this is about.
It is about I want to know thetruth, I want to see the truth
because I want to escape beingheld back from all these things,
from just not feeling good, andthis is where it starts.
One thing and then anotherthing, and then another thing,
and before long you findyourself running free.
(17:19):
You're feeling so good at theend of the night you can go out
on date night, you're not soexhausted you have to crash
until the next day when you getup and do it all over again just
trying to survive.
It's no way to live.
We want you to have optimalfuel, the vibrant, overflowing
energy you were created to haveto be able to fully live your
purpose.
You were put here for a purposeand it's so hard to live out
(17:43):
that purpose when you constantlyfeel that way and you don't
understand why and no one'stelling you.
Not only have we worked withmultiple, multiple, multiple
clients of our own that havebroken free in this way.
It's just such a joy to be onthis side of things because,
being healthcare providers, thisis why we went into medicine
and nursing.
We went into medicine andnursing to be able to take our
(18:05):
clients from not feeling good tofinally feeling good again.
But that's not the experiencethat we were having in standard
practice.
So once Jerry got certified inlifestyle medicine and we
learned these things out ofnecessity, because we were
getting sick and we were like,ok, we got to learn this, and
then we learned it also becausewe just our hearts were broken
for our patients, because wejust got tired of the standard
(18:28):
this.
You got to give this drug forthese numbers, and then you got
to give this drug for thesenumbers and this, and then you
got to give this drug for thisdrug.
It's like it's insanity andthis is one sneaky way that our
enemy keeps us stuck.
But you're not going to staystuck that way, because we're
going to take you by the handand walk you step by step
through these things.
(18:49):
But just start with this onething today, like I always say,
just that one thing and don't beworried.
Oh well, all the food's bad andall the food's contaminated.
Like you cannot do that toyourself.
That is not God's way, it's nothis will.
For you to get overwhelmed andbe frustrated by these things,
just say thank you God forshowing me this thing, so that
(19:09):
now I know I can no longer bedeceived in this one area.
So you stop the deception inits tracks.
You get the things your bodywas originally created in that
one area.
So you stop the deception inits tracks.
You get the things your bodywas originally created in that
one area.
And then you move forward.
Now you're no longer where youwere.
You're one step closer tofeeling great, to actually being
able to actively live.
(19:29):
That's our heart's desire foryou.
That's what God wants for youand you're being set free even
today, wants for you and you'rebeing set free even today.
Praise God, what a blessingthat is.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Yes, absolutely so.
In summary, citric acid foundnaturally present in foods such
as citrus or strawberries ortomatoes obviously is safe.
That is the natural source.
That's how the Lord made it.
Manufactured citric acid themolecule itself, is likely safe.
The problem is from thecontaminants found from the
source of the manufacturedcitric acid, which is
aspergillus niger or black mold.
I believe that even if you tryto purify it, you will never
(20:08):
100% get all the contaminantsout, and that is the source of
our problem.
So, like Anita said, we wantyou to be aware so that you can
make informed decisions.
How many people is this causinga problem for?
Like Anita said, we want you tobe aware so that you can make
informed decisions.
How many people is this causinga problem for?
We don't know.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
Right.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
But I'm sure it's a lot and since you didn't know
until now, it was flying underyour radar.
So flip that puppy over, startlooking at what's in your pantry
, start selecting items withoutit.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
Yes and see how you feel.
Vote with your dollars.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Vote with your dollars.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
Because if we start buying more of the products that
don't contain it, maybe they'llstop using so much of it, and I
feel like, after learning whatwe've learned, that would be a
win for everybody.
Okay, friends, so your job isto get into your pantry fridge
freezer, turn that puppy over,look at those sauces, sauces,
(20:57):
all the different things thatare in there that you think, oh
no, that won't have it.
Check it anyway.
I actually think I may haveseen it added to some herbs and
spices.
They add it to a lot of things,so check your herbs and spices.
You won't believe what's inthere besides that herb and
spice.
We're going to be going overthat in the future course,
because it's amazing what theyadd to herbs and spices too.
But look, turn it over and then, when you find the items that
(21:21):
have citric acid, come into ourfree community.
Podcast insiders experience atpoweronplantscom forward slash
P-I-E.
This is a community of yourbrothers and sisters who are all
being set free together,celebrating our wins,
encouraging each other, sharingideas, meal inspiration and
those sneaky things that are intheir food that they didn't know
(21:44):
were there before.
And when you come in, I wantyou to just take a quick picture
and share what you found, evenif it's just one item.
I want you to share what youfound or what surprised you most
.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
That's what I was thinking.
The most surprising product youfound it in, though you were
sure, did not have citric acid,but lo and behold, it was there.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
There it was, and your new favorites are out there
just waiting to be discovered.
We look forward to getting toknow you more inside.
Hi, we can't wait to see youthere and hear what you found in
your pantry.
And until next time, letanxiety and overwhelm go and
know that you are on the rightpath.
You are loved, you are dearlycared for.
(22:23):
You are a child of the king.
You were put here for a purposeand you're going to live that
purpose out, fueled by the mostnutrient-dense foods on the
planet whole plant foods and weare so excited to be a part of
that journey with you.
We'll see you soon, thank you.
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