SECRET INGREDIENTS

What’s really in your food?
From hidden sugars and synthetic “vitamins” to seed oils and FDA-approved loopholes, Secret Ingredients exposes how processed foods are engineered to taste good—but not serve your biology.

Each article in this ongoing series unpacks the intersection of science, culture, and manipulation in modern nutrition. This isn’t about fear—it’s about awareness, empowerment, and the science of longevity.

Shonda Patterson Shonda Patterson

Secret ingredient: oil slick

Seed oils are hiding in nearly everything—from your snacks to your skin care—and every time they’re heated, they become even more toxic. This piece breaks down how these oils trigger inflammation, age your body faster, and quietly disrupt Black women’s health—and offers simple ways to detox and take control back.Seed oils are hiding in nearly everything—from your snacks to your skin care—and every time they’re heated, they become even more toxic. This piece breaks down how these oils trigger inflammation, age your body faster, and quietly disrupt Black women’s health—and offers simple ways to detox and take control back.

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Shonda Patterson Shonda Patterson

Secret Ingredients: The Delicious Poison Files

Your cravings aren’t a lack of willpower—they’re design. Delicious Poison explores how food chemistry manipulates your brain’s reward system through sugar, salt, and fat, and why understanding that science is the first step to reclaiming control over your health and longevity.

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Shonda Patterson Shonda Patterson

Secret ingredient: sweet lies

Sugar has more names than truth. Sweet Lies uncovers how over fifty forms of sugar hide inside “healthy” foods, why the food industry keeps renaming them, and how these hidden sweeteners quietly fuel inflammation, fatigue, and hormonal chaos.

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Shonda Patterson Shonda Patterson

Secret ingredient: Color Code

Color doesn’t just make food look good—it makes you believe it’s good. Color Code exposes how synthetic dyes like Red 40 and Yellow 5 trick your brain, tax your body, and reshape your cravings. Learn how to see beyond the label and choose color that nourishes, not deceives.

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Shonda Patterson Shonda Patterson

Secret ingedient: The Vitamin Illusion

Fortified doesn’t always mean nourished. The Vitamin Illusion uncovers how synthetic vitamins and “enriched” foods create a false sense of health—and how awareness helps you choose nutrients that actually support longevity.

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