Unhealthy food labels are the worst. Let’s be honest: when was the last time you looked at a food label?
Think about it…
How many times a day do you look?
Recently, I came across a blog by the NYTimes about the misrepresentation on junk food labels. It got me thinking…
Whether you look at unhealthy food labels before you buy an item or not, putting food in your body without REALLY knowing its contents is risky at best. I realize that some people don’t care what is going in their body; maybe they are oblivious, or maybe it makes no difference. All food is meant to be consumed, right?
WRONG!
It’s essential to know what food contains because manufacturers, especially those with a cheap product, will sneak ingredients that are unhealthy, or even hazardous to the body. Of course, these contents can and are often consumed daily by millions and millions of people when they shouldn’t be. In order to sync yourself on the right path with the food you should be consuming, here is what I suggest:
- Gather the food you eat most often that is currently in your fridge, pantry, cupboard, etc.
- Then, make a list of all the ingredients that are unrecognizable
- Search for each ingredient online and read about it
- When you find an ingredient that is not natural or that sounds potentially harmful to the body, put that food in a donation pile
- Once, you have a pile of “keepers” and a donation pile, make a note not to buy the bad stuff anymore
The next step will be to make better future food decisions. Next time you visit the grocery store, repeat this process with the food you are about to buy. Before you go to the store, make a list of the bad ingredients that you will NOT be buying. If you have any uncertainty about which ingredients are bad and which are good or at least acceptable, make an appointment with a registered dietician. One appointment shouldn’t cost much and then, you will have the knowledge set. To get you started on which ingredients to exclude from your diet, here are a quick few:
- High Fructose Corn Syrup
- Artificial Flavoring/Color
- Hydrogenated (or partially) oils
- Aspartame
- MSG
- Many, many more…
Otherwise, avoiding junk food labels is pretty simple. Most unhealthy foods are grouped together in the supermarket. Doritos is junk food. Coke is junk food. Anything that looks similar is also junk food. For the unhealthy food labels that you’re unsure of, use the steps listed above along with your best judgment. You should be well on your way to avoiding junk food.