Straight from the cookbook this app is built on, "Become an Ingredient Reader" and "What's Really In Your Food." Plain language, no chemistry degree required.
If you've personally confirmed you tolerate something on this list (a specific tomato color, a specific grain, a yogurt or cheese you eat), add it as a personal exception on your own Protocol. This baseline is the starting point, not a lock.
From the cookbook's "What to Watch For on a Label": what each one is, where it hides, and what to reach for instead.
Curing agents in most deli meat, bacon, and sausage. This is why every sausage in the cookbook is specified "no nitrates": uncured, nitrate-free versions exist at the same stores.
Sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) is a moisture-retention additive injected into much frozen shrimp and scallops so they weigh more and look plumper. It is also why wet-packed scallops steam instead of sear. Ask for "dry-packed" or "dry scallops" and check the shrimp bag for "additive-free" or "no phosphates."
Preservatives common in bottled dressings, sauces, and juices. Look for dressings and condiments preserved with nothing but refrigeration and vinegar instead.
Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, and caramel color, most often in anything trying to look more vivid than its natural ingredients would allow. If a food's color needs help, that is information.
Liquid oils turned solid through a chemical process. Check the label for the words "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" before any oil.
A petroleum-based preservative used to keep oils from going rancid and stretch shelf life. Shorter, whole-food ingredient lists avoid it.
Thickeners from seaweed or plant fiber, used in some plant milks and canned coconut milk. Not everyone reacts to them, but they're worth checking for on a sensitive gut. Thai Kitchen's canned coconut milk, used throughout the cookbook, has no carrageenan but does contain a small amount of guar gum. If it works for you, add it to Things I tolerate on your Protocol page.
Silicon dioxide, calcium silicate, and similar flow agents added to pre-shredded cheese, spice blends, and some salts to keep them from clumping. Block-cut your own cheese and buy whole spices where practical.
Petroleum-derived preservatives that show up in some cereals, snack crackers, and shelf-stable oils. Avoided by choosing products with shorter, whole-food ingredient lists.