Broad Audience Title

Could your favorite foods be robbing you of your health?

Scientific Title

The effects of long-term dietary exposure to tert-Butylhydroquinone (tBHQ) on zebrafish growth parameters, organ development, and gene expression

By Emily Rose Leonard
Biomedicine/Biosystems
iCons Year 4
2021
Photo of a bag of chips
Executive Summary 

The synthetic preservative, tBHQ, is often added to ultra-processed foods to prolong the shelf life and prevent spoiling. Previous research has linked tBHQ to ADHD, asthma, allergic reactions, reduced immunity levels and carcinogenic effects. Americans with highly-processed diets are at greater risk for exceeding the recommended daily intake value set by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). With the current challenges of both the COVID-19 pandemic and the obesity epidemic in the United States, it is essential that we identify and regulate modifiable risk associated with adverse health outcomes, such as decreased immunity and cancer.

Problem Keywords 
food
processed food
food additive
zebrafish
Scientific Keywords 
developmental toxicology
toxicology
synthetic antioxidant

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