What is Brominated Vegetable Oil, and Why is it Used in Soda and other Sugary Drinks?

Brominated vegetable oil (BVO) is vegetable oil, derived from corn or soy, bonded with the element bromine. It's added as an emulsifier, to prevent the flavoring from separating and floating to the surface. The FDA limits the amount of BVO allowed in fruit-flavored beverages to 15 parts per million.

Bromines are common endocrine disruptors, and are part of the halide family, a group of elements that includes fluorine, chlorine and iodine. What makes it so dangerous is that it competes for the same receptors that are used to capture iodine. If you are exposed to a lot of bromine, your body will not hold on to the iodine that it needs. And iodine affects every tissue in your body, not just your thyroid.

If you consume any of the following citrus-flavored sodas and energy drinks then you’re consuming BVO: Mountain Dew; Sunkist Pineapple; Squirt; Gatorade Thirst; Quencher Orange, Powerade; Strawberry Lemonade; Fanta Orange; or Fresca Citrus