Misleading Food Labels
Our food aisles are full of nutrient-poor and harmful ingredients. Just because you are buying from an “up market” food chain, does not mean you are eating healthily. Food labelling can be downright misleading, especially when they’re trying to convince you that it’s healthy. I am seeing that now in “alternative” meats, cheeses, and yoghurts that are aimed at vegans and people trying to eat healthier.
They rely on you, the consumer, to be ignorant and uninformed so that they can sell you a product full of stabilisers, yeasts, preservatives, natural colourants and flavourants. They do not care about your health; they care about sales and the stock market!
“GLUTEN FREE”
So many people do better when they’re off gluten. Just because it says gluten free, it doesn’t mean that it’s healthier or nutrient dense. Gluten products are not nutrient dense either. Buying gluten free cookies, snacks, bars, chips, and other crunchy items are often filled with large helpings of sugar, flavourants and preservative. These should only be used if absolutely necessary. Eat real food!
“ORGANIC”
For fruits and vegetables to be organic, they have to be free of chemicals from the soil, pesticides to insecticides. They have to be certified. This cannot be guaranteed as so many palms are greased to get foods passed.
Organic meat is another area that is misleading. The animals have to be fed organic feed, not given antibiotics and hormones, and raised in living conditions accommodating their natural behaviour. So many of the cattle have to be injected for certain diseases. People can say their meat is organic, but you never know about the feed.
The price of organic food is often very high. Start growing your own vegetables on your windowsill, balcony or make a pot garden. Organic cereals and other goods are also filled with high sugars and additives.
“LOW SODIUM”
When sodium is lowered in foods, they often lack taste. More flavourants and sugars are added to these products and trick people into thinking that they’re eating a healthier product.
“MADE WITH…”
Products often say, “made with extra virgin olive oil”, you immediately think you’re eating a quality dressing or sauce, but you don’t read the label further. Well, they are counting on that. Look at the label for the other industrial seed oils like canola, sunflower, or soybean oil. Careful of the wording and their tricks. Make your own and ask me for recipes.
“SNEAKY SUGARS”
Once again, to make a product palatable, they add sugars to canned and pureed tomato sauce, yoghurt, milk, dressing, bread, spice blends, canned products etc. There are over 40 names for sugar. Most people have not heard of them or even care. They don’t research or read labels. Some examples of the names: HFCS, dates, honey, maltose, beet sugar, sorghum syrup, dextrin, carob syrup, sucanat, fruit juice, fruit juice concentrate, turbinado, barley malt, coconut sugar, stevia, grape sugar.
WATCH OUT FOR ANYTHING WITH “E”, “E145”, “E456”.
If there are lots of these on a label, leave the product. They are preservatives, colourants, flavourants, and preservatives.
The food industry relies on our ignorance and desire for sugar, fats, and salt. They keep us addicted and SICK! They get rich and you get poor “health”.
OPEN YOUR EYES AND READ! EDUCATE YOURSELF AS YOUR HEALTH DEPENDS ON IT!
