What's in the box???

Ok so some of you are probably a little young to remember that line from the movie "7", but in all seriousness do you know what is in what you are eating? Unless you have completely ran for the hills and adopted a truly hunter gatherer life style then you still need to have a look on the back to see what you are really eating. here are some good rules I try to live by:

Rule #1: Don't trust a corporation who's main goal is to sell you the the product!! Just because it says heart healthy, low trans fat, sugar free, etc. on the box doesn't tell the whole story. The FDA has been pretty lax overall in regards to food labeling and serving size manufacturers can legally promote, while they are trying to tighten up the reigns there is still a huge gap between fact and hype.

Rule #2: Educate yourself!!! I was absolutely the worst @ this and it took me finding out how much I didn't know to trigger my thirst for educating myself! You should know that hydrogenated soybean oil (or anything hydrogenated for that matter) is @ the least a yield sign when you see it in the ingredients; how about aspartame? It is a commonly used sweetener in drinks and foods that tout a "sugar free" alternative.....if you really knew the story behind aspartame you would probably elect to have the sugared drink. Some others you might want to do some research on, canola oil, corn syrup (especially high fructose corn syrup which they have begun to cleverly disguise as HFCS in labeling), sorbic acid, yeast, soy, gluten.... I could go on for two pages but as you start with these they will lead you to others.

Rule #3: If its a whole food and the ingredients list is longer than 1 line for no apparent reason..... put the the food down and step away from the shelf!! There is a reason its a called a "whole food".... there are very few exceptions to this rule....

Rule #4: If you are trying something new make sure to research it!! The first thing that comes to my mind on this one is Omega-3 Supplementation. I remember the first time we recommended this and the next week I heard someone talking about the super Omega 3-6-9 supplement they had picked up. The had no idea the reason they were taking Omega -3's was to offset an imbalance in omega 3 to omega 6 ratios (Rule #4.5 pay attention in class). The other thing to watch out for with Omega 3 supplementation is that you are getting your Omega 3 from fish oils. The easy way to check this is look on the back and it should say DHA/EPA from fish oil. There is some shady marketing going on out there that are pushing Omega 3 from soybean oil, chia seeds, and flaxseed .. THESE ARE SHORT CHAIN FATTY ACIDS... Spend the money buy from a reputable brand like Carlson or Nordic Naturals.

Rule#5: Just because it has the same name as the brand next to it doesn't mean its the same thing.
The best example I have found is butter, olive oil butter to be precise ( i think fleischmanns has changed the name to spread now )

Fleischmann's Olive oil butter:
INGREDIENTS: Liquid Vegetable Oil (Soybean Oil, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Olive Oil), Water, Reconstituted Sweet Cream Buttermilk (Water, Sweet Cream Buttermilk), Salt, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Vegetable Mono- and Diglycerides and Soy Lecithin (Emulsifiers)

Land o Lakes Olive oil butter:
INGREDIENTS: Cream, Olive Oil, Salt.
Contains Milk.

There's more to a book than its cover and there is definitely more to what you eating than the front of the box is telling you!!