Today's Tip: The Labels... they don't tell it all

I apologize in advance if this sounds like more of a rant than anything, but anyone can get upset when they feel they they are being cheated... right?

When you look at some labels in the store, sure you can recognize some stuff on there: flour, sugar, salt, cocoa, etc.  But sometimes, you keep reading, and the words become a little harder to pronounce: Monosodium Glutamate, Glycyrrhizin, Neohesperidin dihydrochalcone, Saccharin, Neotame, Red 40, yellow 50, Blue 30 (since when does food have numbers in it?).... What the heck is all this stuff??

The general rule of thumb when looking at stuff like this is... if you can't pronounce it, don't eat it.

There are now TONS of food additives and preservatives that have been released by the government for consumption.

Many people think, "Well, if the government says it's okay, then it can't be bad for me."  FALSE.

Many people in these government offices are also extremely connected with the businesses they are supporting.  People will also lobby from these companies (give government officials money to help them win campaigns), and in return, those officials agree to help keep their dealings legal. This stuff goes way deeper than that, but the bottom line is: there is a major conflict of interest.

Just because it is legal, does not mean that it is safe.

Too many studies have been done explaining the causal relationships between diseases such as cancer, diabetes, obesity, etc., and the food additives and preservatives that we all consume.

Since more people have become aware of this, demand for foods that are loaded with additives has gone down.  So what do these companies do? They try to literally sneak them by you.

My husband's cousin Amy recently shared with me this article about the future deception of high fructose corn syrup.

This isn't the only thing that they try to sneak past us... We have all seen the ingredients "Natural Flavors", and "Artificial Flavors".  These guys are everywhere.  And many people would turn to the "Natural Flavors" as being better for you. I can't believe that they can get away with this umbrella term.  So many chemicals are under this umbrella term, and they don't even have to tell us what they are. 

Did you know that natural and artificial flavors are actually extracted at the same chemical plants? The difference between these two is not the substance that is being included in the food, but the way it is extracted. And that's basically it.

Even the US Code of Federal Regulations admits that the "significant function [natural flavoring] in food is flavoring rather than nutritional."

Bottom line: be aware of what you put in your body.  Don't trust that the government will do what's best, they have their own interests in mind first. In the end, we are responsible for our own health.