How to Read Food Labels and Make Healthier Choices
Are you looking to transition to a whole-food lifestyle and make healthier choices at the grocery store? One crucial skill to develop is the ability to read food labels effectively. Understanding what's in your food can make a significant difference in your journey toward better health. Let's explore how to read food labels and make informed choices.
Start with the Ingredients List:
The first step in decoding food labels is to examine the ingredient list. This list provides a clear indication of how processed a particular item of packaged food is. Here's how to approach it:
Read Ingredients in Order: Ingredients are listed in the order of their quantity in the product. If sugar is the first ingredient, you can bet that the product is mostly sugar. Similarly, if an ingredient like corn syrup is listed third, it means the product contains a substantial amount of it.
Watch for Complexity: If you come across food labels with twenty or more ingredients, especially if most of them are chemical names that sound gibberish, it's best to put the product back on the shelf and look for something simpler and more natural.
Check Pronunciation: Can you pronounce the names of the ingredients? This helps you identify potentially harmful additives like preservatives, artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners, and other toxic chemicals. Be cautious of complicated names, acronyms, and unfamiliar "product" ingredients.
Consider Serving Size:
Don't be misled by the serving size mentioned on the label, as it can be used to make the nutrition facts appear more favorable to consumers. For instance, a product might list the serving size as one cookie to make it seem lower in calories and carbohydrates, even though most people might eat three cookies at once. Be aware of this manipulation and always consider your actual consumption.
Beware of Harmful Ingredients:
When reading food labels, watch out for these potentially harmful ingredients:
Food Dyes: Artificial food colorings are easily identifiable by their numbered names like Blue #1, Red #40, or Yellow #5. If a product's color doesn't exist in nature, assume it's chemically altered, especially in cereals and candies marketed to children.
Artificial Sweeteners: Be cautious of artificial sweeteners like Aspartame, Sucralose, and Sorbitol, as they are known to cause various health issues. These are commonly found in "low-fat" or "non-fat" products.
Soy Ingredients: Non-organic soy is often genetically modified (GMO) and inflammatory. Watch for ingredients like soy lecithin, prevalent in processed foods.
Soy is not good for us, especially if it's not organic. It's GMO, inflammatory, and a known endocrine disruptor.
Hidden Sugar: Sugar is toxic (GMO), addictive, and an inflammatory food, causing many chronic illnesses. Manufacturers now use other names for sugar to confuse consumers. There are nearly 100 different names.
Be on the lookout for terms like high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, or corn starch.
Excessive Salt: Salt is prevalent in processed foods. Processed foods use salt as a preservative. Excess salt intake can lead to high blood pressure and heart disease. Adding small amounts of salt to homemade recipes is much healthier.
GMO Corn: Corn is GMO and another inflammatory food, that is found in most processed foods.
Corn, especially in the form of high fructose corn syrup, is usually GMO and inflammatory. It offers little nutritional value.
Ensure is touted as a healthy protein drink, and is used in hospitals and other healthcare facilities.
The 1st ingredient is water, and it's not filtered so it's probably full of chemicals.
2nd & 3rd ingredients: SUGAR
Canola, corn, soy: ALL GMO
Lots of chemicals and fake flavorings to cover up the fake products
***20 grams of sugar for 8 ounces***
That is what your TOTAL daily sugar intake should be.
Drink 3 Ensures and you just ingested 60 grams of sugar.
Unhealthy Products:
Avoid products with extensive ingredient lists, especially if they contain chemicals, metals, or excessive sugars. Focus on whole, natural foods instead.
To the mom’s out there beware:
Cheerios are a staple of kid’s diets, but it's unhealthy.
Looking at the label...
Corn starch is #2 and a GMO product.
Even though this label states they don't use GMO products, corn is GMO. It doesn't say organic corn starch, now does it???
Sugar is #3, so your kids are getting more sugar (hidden so you don't realize it's in there).
Manufacturers add sugar to make processed food (that usually has chemicals and metals) taste better.
3 grams of protein??? There are much better choices for kids that have more, or less sugar and are GMO-free!!
Be aware when you shop and be in control of what you eat!!
Understanding Labels:
Food labels tell us where and how our food was grown, raised, or caught and what impacts this had on the environment. Companies WANT you to think their food is healthy and will resort to all kinds of marketing tactics to make you purchase their products.
Familiarize Yourself With the Different Labels:
Here’s how to cut through the confusion so you can tell which labels matter for your health and which don’t.
Labels can be easily differentiated by “certified” and “non-certified”. Choose certified labels as often as possible.
Certified Labels:
Grass-fed: This implies that the animals spend their lives on pasture eating what nature intended; they are not treated with hormones or antibiotics and are not fed unnatural grain.
Organic: In order for animal meat and dairy to be labeled “organic”, the animal must never have been given antibiotics, hormones, GMO grasses, grains, or other types of feed.
GMO-Free/Non-GMO/Non-GMO Project Certified: without the use of genetically modified organisms Produced (GMOs).
Naturally Grown: Reserved for food produced on small farms that abide by the USDA Certified Organic methods of growing and selling locally.
Non-Certified Lables:
No Hormones Administered/No Hormones/Hormone-Free: The USDA prohibits the use of hormones in the raising of hogs or poultry in the United States. Beef may have this label.
Free-range or Free-Roaming: Birds raised in this manner are able to go outdoors in order to engage in natural behaviors. However, birds only have to be allowed 5 minutes of open-air access per day in order to meet USDA requirements. The rest of the time they are kept in tiny cages with no room to move.
Pasture-Fed/Pasture-Raised: This indicates that animals were raised with humane treatment and consume higher levels of micronutrients. For beef, labels must also read “organic” and “grass-fed” to make sure the animals were not fed GMO grains, grasses, corn, or soy. For eggs, this is the safest labeling to ensure that the chickens roam free consume their natural diet, and are never caged.
Minimally Processed: A process that does not fundamentally alter the raw product. Antibiotic-Free or Raised Without Antibiotics: Meat and poultry carrying these labels must not have had any antibiotics administered during the animal's lifetime.
Cage-Free: Implies that hens laying eggs are uncaged inside barns or warehouses. It does not mean the hens have access to the outdoors, but that they may be able to walk, nest, or spread their wings.
Certified Humane Raised and Handled®: This indicates that animals raised for dairy, lamb, poultry, beef, and pork products are treated in a humane manner and without the use of growth hormones or antibiotics. When you see the Certified Humane Raised and Handled® label, you know that the products are from a facility that has met precise, objective standards for farm animal treatment.
Natural: This vague labeling is supposed to imply that the product does not contain artificial flavorings or coloring, chemical preservatives, or artificial or synthetic ingredients. However, this is oftentimes a misnomer and a warning that you should stay away from the product.
Farmed Seafood or Fish Farming: Involves raising fish commercially in tanks or other enclosures and means that these fish are artificially raised and are not wild caught in their natural habitat.
Wild-Caught Seafood: Applies to seafood caught in their natural habitats.
No Additives: Implies a product (or packaging) has not been enhanced with the addition of natural or artificial ingredients.
In conclusion:
Reading food labels is an essential skill for making healthier choices. Focus on simplicity, and natural ingredients, and avoid harmful additives. Additionally, consider choosing certified labels, when possible, for more reliable quality. Remember, the best nutrition comes from whole, unprocessed foods, so prioritize those whenever you can.
Now that you're armed with the knowledge of how to read food labels, you're better equipped to make informed choices and support your optimal health.
Happy and healthy eating!