You’ve grabbed that box or bag of food in your grocery store and now you carefully look for hints about the positive or negative health benefits of eating that food. There are at least 10 label claims that you should learn to ignore.
Watch out for health claims on processed foods - even in the refrigerated case
1. All Natural. This label claim is essentially meaningless because the FDA doesn’t define natural so food companies make up their own definitions. Sugar is natural and white flour is natural but if you want to be healthy you shouldn’t be consuming either of them.
2. Low Cholesterol, Cholesterol Free. This claim emerged out of the cholesterol scare decades ago. There is very little credible evidence that eating cholesterol leads to health problems. You could not survive without cholesterol and if you don’t eat it your body will manufacture it from other fats.
3. Low Fat, No Fat. This label became popular during the low fat craze over the past 20 years. You know, the one that lead to our currently obesity and diabetes epidemics. If you have spent any time on this site then you know that consuming fat isn’t what makes you store fat. Yes, there are good fats and bad fats but this label tells you nothing about the quality of the fat. When you reduce the fat you typically increase the carbohydrate portion. High carbohydrate diets are a disaster and should be avoided at all costs.
4. Low in Saturated Fat: More of the same. Saturated fat by itself has very few adverse health risks. Humans have always consumed saturated fats. There is very little hard evidence that eating saturated fat leads to heart disease. Again when you remove saturated fat you often end up with more partially hydrogenated fats called trans-fats. These fats have definitely been associated with heart disease.
5. No Artificial Ingredients. This is another hazy claim that is essentially meaningless. Food can contain high fructose corn syrup or corn starch and still claim to have no artificial ingredients. That’s because these ingredients come from corn. Sugar isn’t an artificial ingredient yet if you want to stay healthy you should avoid this chronic toxin.
6. Whole Grain. The next thing you know the “whole grain” label will show up on a Twinkie wrapper. Companies typically plaster the front of the package with the “Contains Whole Grains”, yet when you read the nutrition label it becomes obvious that whole grains make only a small portion of the product. If you want to stay healthy you should reduce your intake of all grains, especially highly refined grains. Products containing whole grains are often loaded with other toxic components like sucrose (sugar), high fructose corn syrup, corn solids, maltodextrin and similar fare.
7. Sugar-Free. This label indicates that a food has less than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving. It doesn’t say anything about the other ingredients in the product, including various types of fat and carbohydrates. If you want to limit your fructose intake to less than 25 grams per day, you need to avoid all foods containing sucrose (sugar) and high fructose corn syrup. Many sugar-free foods contain artificial sweeteners and there is mounting evidence that many of these sweeteners have potential adverse health affects.
8. Trans-fat Free. You definitely want to avoid these artery-clogging fats but you won’t do so by eating foods labeled as trans-fat free. That’s because the FDA allows food companies to use this label as long as the food has less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving. If you eat multiple servings—and most of us do, then you are getting a blast of these nasty fats.If a food label lists a partially hydrogenated fat, don’t consume it.
Shop the perimeter of the store where real food needs no label
9. Multi-Grain. If one grain is good then multi-grain must be better. Not so fast. We’ve already discussed the fact that most people consume too many grains. Excessive fructose from sugar and HFCS and grain-based carbohydrates are the primary triggers of sugar-brain and CARB syndrome, two conditions you definitely want to avoid. Although whole grains may have some health benefits for some people, foods labeled as multi-grain likely contain highly refined grains, the worst of the worst when it comes to your health.
10. Pesticide-Free.This label doesn’t have much meaning unless the food is certified organic. If you can afford it, organic is the way to go. Then you don’t need to worry about pesticides, antibiotics and other unhealthy chemicals.
reading labels
Now it’s time to get down to brass tacks. Why are you buying foods with a label in the first place? Only fake foods have labels and if you want to be healthy you should be buying and consuming real food. I know you grew up with the stuff so it seems like real food but it isn’t. If there is one lesson you should take away today, it is the fact that there is no such thing as healthy manufactured food. It simply doesn’t exist. The Agricultural Industrial Food complex has never been able to match Mother Nature when it comes to food, so go with the real deal.
Meat, fish, seafood, fowl, nuts, berries, vegetables and fruits should make up the bulk of your diet. I’m not too big on milk but reasonable amounts of cheese, butter and no added sugar yogurt are OK. Grass fed meat and wild fish are preferred. Some people can tolerate whole grains but in my opinion grains should only make up a small portion of your diet.
So next time you find yourself staring at that label, put down the box or package and move to the perimeter of the store where you are more likely to find real food. Your body and brain will thank you for it. Be well!
Dr. Bill Wilson
