Healthy Eating - Reading Ingredient Labels is Essential For Better Food Choices
You may be familiar with the expression "We are what we think" but I also strongly believe "We are what we eat.
" The simplest way to begin improving one's eating habits is to start reading ingredient labels.
It is time to find out what you are actually eating! I subscribe to the theory that if the ingredient list is long and filled with hard-to-pronounce additives and preservatives then I would rather not be eating that particular food! Extremely lengthy ingredient lists almost always indicate less pure foods, with more chemicals added.
There are thousands of laboratory-made chemicals that are added to foods in order to lengthen shelf life or improve the flavor and/or appearance.
Some common additives are artificial flavoring, artificial coloring, Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), BHA and BHT.
The last two (butylated hydroxyanisole and butylated hydroxytoluene) are considered to be potential human carcinogens -- yet they are found in numerous processed foods.
Most of us are familiar with MSG, which is often used in Chinese cooking.
However, it is commonly used as a flavor enhancer and added to processed foods such as dressing, chips, and seasonings.
My husband has a sensitivity to this additive.
On a recent airline flight, I checked the ingredient list of the snack chips handed out by the flight attendant, and was quite unhappily surprised to find MSG listed.
I quickly alerted my husband, just in time to stop him from popping a chip into his mouth! He develops severe headaches from MSG, which is a common sensitivity reaction, so he was glad I had wisely checked the ingredients.
Shorter ingredient lists often (but not always) mean less processing and therefore healthier foods.
For my own healthy lifestyle, I minimize the use of canned and jarred foods.
But when I do buy, I carefully check out the ingredients on the label.
One of my cousins is severely allergic to peanuts and could actually die from ingesting anything containing peanuts.
You can only imagine how carefully he reads labels! At restaurants, he asks many questions before ordering to make sure everything is clear of peanuts or peanut oil.
Obviously, if you have a food allergy or food sensitivity then you are already accustomed to carefully checking out labels -- your life may depend on it! As an "organic flexitarian," I encourage everyone to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables -- preferably organic ones.
You can tell if a produce item is organic by checking the label.
In the U.
S.
, organic produce labels are a series of five numerals, and the first one is a "9.
" Non-organic, also called conventional, are a four-numeral sequence, the first number being a "4.
" Organic produce also usually has "organic" written on it, but usually in very small lettering.
So check out those labels when you are selecting your fresh produce -- and try to stick with the ones beginning with the number nine.
However, consuming any fresh produce -- even conventional -- is far better than scarfing down junk food!
" The simplest way to begin improving one's eating habits is to start reading ingredient labels.
It is time to find out what you are actually eating! I subscribe to the theory that if the ingredient list is long and filled with hard-to-pronounce additives and preservatives then I would rather not be eating that particular food! Extremely lengthy ingredient lists almost always indicate less pure foods, with more chemicals added.
There are thousands of laboratory-made chemicals that are added to foods in order to lengthen shelf life or improve the flavor and/or appearance.
Some common additives are artificial flavoring, artificial coloring, Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), BHA and BHT.
The last two (butylated hydroxyanisole and butylated hydroxytoluene) are considered to be potential human carcinogens -- yet they are found in numerous processed foods.
Most of us are familiar with MSG, which is often used in Chinese cooking.
However, it is commonly used as a flavor enhancer and added to processed foods such as dressing, chips, and seasonings.
My husband has a sensitivity to this additive.
On a recent airline flight, I checked the ingredient list of the snack chips handed out by the flight attendant, and was quite unhappily surprised to find MSG listed.
I quickly alerted my husband, just in time to stop him from popping a chip into his mouth! He develops severe headaches from MSG, which is a common sensitivity reaction, so he was glad I had wisely checked the ingredients.
Shorter ingredient lists often (but not always) mean less processing and therefore healthier foods.
For my own healthy lifestyle, I minimize the use of canned and jarred foods.
But when I do buy, I carefully check out the ingredients on the label.
One of my cousins is severely allergic to peanuts and could actually die from ingesting anything containing peanuts.
You can only imagine how carefully he reads labels! At restaurants, he asks many questions before ordering to make sure everything is clear of peanuts or peanut oil.
Obviously, if you have a food allergy or food sensitivity then you are already accustomed to carefully checking out labels -- your life may depend on it! As an "organic flexitarian," I encourage everyone to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables -- preferably organic ones.
You can tell if a produce item is organic by checking the label.
In the U.
S.
, organic produce labels are a series of five numerals, and the first one is a "9.
" Non-organic, also called conventional, are a four-numeral sequence, the first number being a "4.
" Organic produce also usually has "organic" written on it, but usually in very small lettering.
So check out those labels when you are selecting your fresh produce -- and try to stick with the ones beginning with the number nine.
However, consuming any fresh produce -- even conventional -- is far better than scarfing down junk food!
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