Don't Trust your Food

When shopping for your food, it's important to arm yourself with a bit of knowledge. Food manufacturers are not always on your side, and knowing a few of their tricks can help you make sure you put healthy and happy food into your body.

First, let's look at some common mis-labeling (why it's legal to say, we don't know).

1. No Trans Fats

Trans fats, or hydrogenated oils, are definitely bad for you, but food can be labeled "No Trans Fats" and still have up to 2.2 grams per serving!!! Can you believe that? So look at the nutrition label and the ingredient list before trusting this label. If it lists hydrogenated oils, put it back!

http://www.treelight.com/health/nutrition/TransFatLabels.html

2. Made from Whole Grains

Every grain starts whole, so that's where this gets sticky. The whole grain label is on a lot of breads and other foods, but again, we must look at the ingredient list to find the real truth. If the ingredients are any type of flour, even whole wheat flour, it's not a whole grain. Flour is powder as you know, and if it's in powder form, it's processed, and not good. So look for sprouted grains the next time you get a loaf.

Now that we've unearthed a few bad labels, let's look at the nutrition label a bit more in depth. Here are some ingredients that might sound harmless, but are not your friends.

Any color dye - they can lead to allergies, hyperactive behavior, tumors, and can be cancerous, so stay away.

High Fructose Corn Syrup - this highly processed sugar is just plain toxic, just google it and you can learn about all the side effects.

Aspartame - this can be labeled as Neotame, Canderal or Nutrisweet. It is in many diet foods for it's low calorie nature, but stay away - http://aspartame.mercola.com/

And finally MSG, which can negatively affect your blood pressure, brain, endocrine system, digestive system etc. The list goes on and on, so let's just agree it's not the best.

MSG is a tricky little guy and is hidden in the ingredient list. Thanks to the Sports Care Center (www.sportscarecenter.net), there is a list of additives that contain MSG at the bottom of this post.

Those are just a few tips, and will hopefully help you get through the grocery store with a healthier basket.

MSG list (www.sportscarecenter.net)

Additives that always contain MSG:

E621, 620, 621, 622, 623, 624, 625)

Hydrolysed anything

Plant protein extract

Sodium caseinate

Calcium caseinate

Yeast extract

Textured protein

Autolysed yeast

Frequently contain MSG:

Malt extract

Malt flavoring

Bouillon

Broth

Stock

Flavoring

Natural flavoring

Natural beef flavoring

Natural chicken flavoring

Seasoning

Spices