Reading Labels

   Reading Labels
     When going grocery shopping, I am amazed at the garbage that is put in our everyday food! Reading labels is crucial to know what to buy.  Reading the nutrition facts is very important, but something people often don't know is that it is equally, if not more important to read the ingredients.  If a third grader can't read all the ingredients of an item, it probably has a lot of stuff you don't want in your body.  With that being a general rule, here are three words you definitely want to watch out for.

Third ingredient: Sugar.  About 1/2 Cup sugar with each bowl.

• Bleached, or White flour-  This ingredient is often found in bread, pasta, tortillas etc.  It is very unhealthy and means you are basically eating sugar.
• Hydrogenated or Partially Hydrogenated-  This ingredient is found in a variety of packaged goods.  It adds trans fats to your food, even if the nutrition facts claim there are 0 grams.  It increases your bad cholesterol levels and should be avoided.
• Sugar or High fructose Corn Syrup-  Okay people, this is serious!  You need to avoid sugar! And you wouldn't believe how much food has this killer in it.  From your morning cereal, to your dinner spaghetti sauce, if you aren't careful, you could be consuming mass amounts of sugar every day without even knowing it.  It is literally hidden in your food and is one of the worst things you can consume.  Click here to see the list of 124 things sugar does to your body.

Real Whole Wheat Bread: 5 ingredients, no artificial ones.

A good rule of thumb:  The fewer ingredients there are, the better the food is for you
Click here for more information about reading labels.




The Great Deceptions of Food Companies

Reese's puffs cereal...need I say more?

     We live in a society that is based in consumerism.  Because of this, many companies try to mask the fact that their foods are unhealthy because they know it will effect their profit margins.  Your box of Goldfish may say something like "A good source of grains!"  Or your Sunny Delight will say "100% of your daily source of vitamin C!"  While it is true that they dropped a vitamin in their drink, it doesn't get rid of the fact that they dropped it in sewage!  The amount of preservatives and sugar you consume will far outweigh the nutrients they claim to have.  This is why reading labels is so important.  It's the only way you can truly determine what is healthy and what is not.  
     I love the bread label in the picture shown above.  The ingredients are proudly worn on the front of the package!  No need for deception, they know their food is healthy; 5 ingredients, none that are artificial.

For a greater in-depth Look on reading labels, click here