Focus on the ingredients
- Chandra Sievers
- Jun 24, 2022
- 3 min read
Are you in the habit of checking the ingredient list for your food? I started doing this a few years ago out of curiosity but I wasn’t taking it too seriously or doing anything about it. I recently started analyzing what I was eating more and more and I didn’t like what I was finding. For a little history.. food labels were originally created for consumer’s safety precautions relating to foodborne illnesses. Most people prepared their own food in their own homes, but with the rising demand for processed and prepackaged foods, there was also a demand for product information and details. By 1966 companies were required to list ingredients on their food products. In the 1970s, the Supreme Court was dealing with issues relating to false health claims as companies were taking advantage of advertising the health value of the food (often exaggerated or false at that) in an effort to sell more. “In 1990, the USDA mandated that all food companies were required to make consistent claims and include a detailed, standardized nutrition facts panel on all products intended to be sold.” The FDA states that “Food manufacturers are required to list all ingredients in the food on the label. On a product label, the ingredients are listed in order of predominance, with the ingredients used in the greatest amount first, followed in descending order by those in smaller amounts.” There is a lot to unpack here and I’ll spare you for now - science is what I love, but I’ll get into that more later :). We still have a long way to go when it comes to the food industry and regulations. Food companies are still able to find ways to work around the system to get certain misleading health claims on their packaging. For example, “no cholesterol” doesn’t actually mean no cholesterol, it just means there is less than 2 milligrams per serving (FDA regulations). Another example is “natural” or “artificial” flavors. Artificial flavoring is often mixed ingredients designed to create addictive behavior, encourage overeating, and leave you wanting more and more. By regulation standards, artificial flavors contain man-made chemicals while natural flavors are derived from plant or animal sources and altered in a lab. However, nonorganic foods can use the term “natural flavors” even if many other ingredients have been added to it (such as preservatives and solvents). Once additional ingredients have been added to the “natural flavors” there typically isn’t much difference from artificial flavors. It only sounds better to the consumer. Flavor manufacturers are currently not required to disclose a full ingredient list. Scary, right? If it includes the word “organic”, such as organic natural flavors, it is much more strictly regulated and a better option. There are many studies linking food additives to health issues, but just like anything - you can find evidence to support claims that additives do not directly cause health problems. I believe there hasn’t been enough research done on this and the effects are more long-term. I tell my clients to pay the most attention to the ingredients list rather than health claims or the nutrition facts. Start asking questions. If you don’t know or understand the ingredients, do some research and find out what you are putting in your body. Food is fuel and the food we eat will tell us a lot about our health and future health. Fill your plate with foods that don’t need an ingredient list. I understand this is easier said than done and I don’t aim for perfection or ask my clients to. Instead, try the 80/20 rule. 80% of the food I eat is natural, whole foods that will support my health goals. Pick one item in your pantry and take a look at the ingredients. Take some time to evaluate your current diet, are the foods you eat supporting or hindering your health goals? Eat better, feel better, live better. - CS
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