What's In Your Pumpkin Spice?
Pumpkin spice season is officially here.
As soon as the temperature drops and the first leaves start to change color, everything edible from lattes to muffins, cheeses and ice cream takes on this warm, comforting flavor.
While pumpkin spice is beloved for its association with fall, the flavor itself rarely contains actual pumpkin. It’s usually just a blend of spices that reminds us of pumpkin pie.
So beware: Some products get their cozy flavor with potentially harmful food chemicals.
What’s in your pumpkin spice?
The traditional blend of pumpkin spice contains common spices: cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. But those same flavors in processed food products and beverages may include more than just these natural spices.
Food companies sometimes use artificial or “natural” flavors, both of which may contain preservatives and solvents. “Natural” flavors may sound reassuring, but the term is only loosely regulated. So they can derive from a wide range of sources, including harmful chemicals. But they’re usually a mystery concoction, because flavor manufacturers aren't required to disclose the specific ingredients they use.
Some pumpkin spice products, especially lattes, may also contain carrageenan, a stabilizer made from seaweed extract. Carrageenan has been linked to gastrointestinal inflammation and may harm the immune system.
These products may also contain propylene glycol, a preservative that in high doses causes blood problem like low blood pressure.
