ADVERTISING: Advertorial — Decoding food labels: Part I
While I am an advocate of and prefer a whole food diet, invariably processed foods enter the scene more often than I would like. This is true for millions of people worldwide. How do we navigate the myriad choices we have and try to stay on the healthy side of things? Because the population as a whole seems to be drawn towards eating healthier, and demanding a better quality of food presented to us, manufacturers and therefore marketers, are making labels harder and harder to decipher. Many intentionally trick the public into believing what they are eating is healthy. Just as we can make an evil person appear like they are an angel, and an angel appear evil, the same is being done with our foods with the caveat emptor (“let the buyer beware”) lurking behind the label.
So how can we keep from being fooled by misleading claims? I could write a book on this topic alone, so I will try to keep it short. First, the word “natural” means nothing. I just cleaned my kitty litter box. I use “natural” litter. It doesn’t mean I’d like to lick my fingers afterwards! Even cyanide and arsenic are not only natural, but organic, and can still kill you!
“Organic” foods are the best, right? Yes, they are preferred, but “organic sugar” is still sugar. Beware of that. The USDA allows 3 differentiations: “100% Organic”, which is exactly what should be in the product; “USDA Organic” — means 95% of the product must be organic; and “Made with Organic” — 70% of the product must be organic. Labels that say “Made with Organic Ingredients” or “ingredient” means only a few or even one ingredient is organic.
Beware of sugar. I compiled a list one time of all the names of sugar that you could find on a label — it was 20 years ago, plus, there are many more since then. I couldn’t find it, but I believe it was 127 different names! In reading ingredient labels, you need to understand that the ingredients are listed in the order of the most amount of ingredient to the least. If the first 3 are a sugar, water or grain, move on to something else. But know that many manufacturers use multiple sugars so it doesn’t appear at the top of the label. The words “light,” “low calorie,” “low carb” or “low sugar” often mean sugar has been replaced by something worse, like an artificial sugar, chemical flavoring, or trans-fats.
One day a man was robbed of $100. The thief ran away, but then stopped and gave the man back $6 of the $100 he took from him, and it was Monopoly money! That is what “Fortified” or “Enriched” means. They processed out all the good nutrients and “enriched” back a little bit (with a few synthetic vitamins) so it could be called a food. You’ve still been robbed!
I was just beginning to have fun, but ran out of my word count. Stay tuned for part II!
Want to hear more from Holly Carling? Check out our podcast. Search for VitalHealth4You on your favorite podcast listening app or go to vitalhealthcda.com/podcasts/.
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Holly Carling is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Licensed Acupuncturist, Doctor of Naturopathy, Clinical Nutritionist and Master Herbologist with over four decades of experience. Carling is a “Health Detective.” She looks beyond your symptom picture and investigates WHY you are experiencing your symptoms in the first place.
Carling is currently accepting new patients and offers natural health care services and whole food nutritional supplements in her Coeur d’Alene clinic. Visit Carling’s website at www.vitalhealthcda.com to learn more about Carling, view a list of upcoming health classes and read other informative articles.
Carling can be reached at 208-765-1994 and would be happy to answer any questions regarding this topic.