I always get a kick out of the false advertising that food companies are so clever at. When people pick up a product, they may read things that say: "No trans fats", "heart healthy", "high in fiber", "fortified with Vitamin D" and other savvy marketing gems. We see that, look at the nutritional charts on the sides and assume that this product must be somewhat healthy for us.
But when we look closely at the ingredients, we notice in small print that it is loaded with garbage such as High fructose corn syrup(hfcs), hydrogenated oils, aspartame, soy lecithin and an array of other dangerous toxins.
As a society, we have been hammered with the importance of calories, fat intake, sodium levels and all of the items typically found on a nutrition label. Yes, I know, these are all important but a lot can be solved just by reading the ingredients labels.
Let's use an example of bread. The unsuspecting consumer will pick up a loaf of wholesome whole wheat bread and the package reads " high in fiber","multigrain", and "no trans fat". Sounds healthy, right? But if you carefully glance at the ingredients, you find high fructose corn syrup (which is in many breads). So answer the question, "Is this a healthy option?"
Let's use an example of bread. The unsuspecting consumer will pick up a loaf of wholesome whole wheat bread and the package reads " high in fiber","multigrain", and "no trans fat". Sounds healthy, right? But if you carefully glance at the ingredients, you find high fructose corn syrup (which is in many breads). So answer the question, "Is this a healthy option?"
Food companies know the buzz words that we are looking for. Most of have the sense to realize that white bread is bad for us, that high calories, lots of sodium and trans fats are dangerous.
But what is the point in trying to avoid all this when there is an added ingredient( hfcs) that is a culprit in everything from obesity to acid reflux to chronic fatigue syndrome.
The answer to optimal health here is not to watch every calorie or ounce of fat but to avoid key ingredients in foods.
We haven't even begun to talk about GMO's, which are found in approximately 60 percent of supermarket foods. Basically, GMO's are made by "forcing genes from one species, such as bacteria, viruses, animals or humans, into the dna of a food crop or animal to introduce a new trait".
But what is the point in trying to avoid all this when there is an added ingredient( hfcs) that is a culprit in everything from obesity to acid reflux to chronic fatigue syndrome.
The answer to optimal health here is not to watch every calorie or ounce of fat but to avoid key ingredients in foods.
We haven't even begun to talk about GMO's, which are found in approximately 60 percent of supermarket foods. Basically, GMO's are made by "forcing genes from one species, such as bacteria, viruses, animals or humans, into the dna of a food crop or animal to introduce a new trait".
So what ingredients do we need to be aware of? Here is a partial list:
-Hfcs
-anything with soy in it
-aspartame or neotame
-hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated anything
-corn syrup
-sucrose
-sucralose
-expressed oils
-sugars
-pasteurized products
-Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
-sodium nitrate and benzoate
-potassium bromate
-food dyes
-bha and bht
-trans fats
-propyl gallte
-olestra
-sodium chloride
-protein isolate
-condensed milk
-malt syrup
-vegetable fat
-maltose
-xanthan gum
-isoflavones
-textured vegetable protein
-equal or nutrasweet
-modified food starch
-hydrolyzed vegetable oils
Reading ingredients is far more important than deceiving nutritional values, which can lead many of us down the wrong road to poor health.
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