6 Tips To Stop Being Fooled By Food Labels
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1. If you can’t pronounce it you shouldn’t be eating it. If you don’t know what a word means, neither does your body. The body understands how to process whole foods and whole foods are words we can easily read ie, eggs, tomatoes, brown rice, lettuce.
2. Just because something says all natural doesn’t mean it’s good for you. Natural flavours is a perfect example. Manufacturers can legally pack up to 100 chemicals in the two words- "natural flavors"- because chemicals that are derived from a natural source, such as a lemon, make it so. It doesn’t necessarily mean what they take from the lemon is anywhere near natural.
3. Plain and simple, the less ingredients that are listed on a food label the healthier it is for you. Less ingredients = less chemicals. Our bodies weren’t designed to handle tons of ingredients in one food product…we came from cavemen where you ate one ingredient foods all the time. Ie. Just meat, just grains, just fruit….eating like our ancestors is the healthiest way to be.
4. All natural are two words that should be read with caution. Chicken can be “all natural” but they could still be poked with antibiotics and eating GMO feed which makes them very unnatural. Your best bet is to go for things labeled organic for fruits and veggies and grass fed/free range/wild caught when we’re talking about animal and fish protein.
5. The last ingredient matters just as much as the first ingredient. People tend to stop reading halfway through an ingredient list if it’s too long. The last ingredient is usually some sort of artificial sweetener chemical such as sucralose or aspartame and those are considered a neurotoxin. Not to mention some people are highly allergic to this “last ingredient” and when taken out makes all the difference in their health.
6. Know the most highly allergenic foods and stay away from them in food products as much as possible since cross contamination of products is what makes people become super sensitive and allergic to foods. Pretty much every label I read says “This product was made in a factory that also processes soy, nuts & wheat. No wonder these are our top food allergens… we’re eating cross contaminated food with every bite.
Jenn Edden is a certified health & empowerment coach specializing in sugar addiction for over 14 years. She is certified by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. How many times do we get to the end of our day wishing we could have done it differently? And for sure with more energy and without that extra cup of coffee and 3pm snack that has left us not only hungry for something more but has just sabotaged our never ending weight loss goals! Jenn aims to give us back the power that we somehow lost in our busy lives without dieting, deprivation or denial. She simplifies the complex while delivering real results in life, foodand business.
Jenn Edden, CHHC - Sugar Cravings Expert, Author & Empowerment Coach
