Do you know what is in your food?
We live in a world where our food industry is hugely dependent on consumers preferences, because at the end of the day, every product wants to be sold. Not only that, but with an expansive number of foods on the market, each product wants to be a little bit better than the next. What does this mean? The manufacturers will go to far lengths to make their product the tastiest and most addicting. What does this mean for us as the consumer? We end up following their lead. Every product that comes out that is a little sweeter, saltier, creamier, or chocolatier will win our taste buds over, and then we set a new level ox expectation when we eat a food. This pulls us farther away from natural-tasting foods and traps us into the ultra-processed food world.
As not only a registered dietitian, but someone who loves to cook and bake, I am constantly working to show people how to make delicious food without falling into the ultra-processed food trap. If you don't let yourself into it, it cannot entangle you. Sure, you may have an Oreo or bowl of cereal now and again, but if you strive to make real food the majority of what you eat, then you will keep your taste buds and sensory spaces open to many flavors and textures. However, many kids are growing up on purely ultra-processed foods and this is keeping them trapped in this space, where their desire to try naturally sweet (but slightly bitter) strawberries is less. They would rather have concentrated fruit juice that adds enough sugar and citric acid to keep the taste "perfect." The same goes for vegetables that might have a natural sulfur taste that is always removed in the factory when making "broccoli tots" or "mac and cheese with powdered cauliflower" (but, yes, I'm getting my kids vegetables!).
My mission is to help people understand that there is no way to be perfect and avoid all ultra-processed foods if you live in America. We live in a busy world where this attempt for perfection will leave you frustrated and anxious because we are not supported with the healthy food supply to keep us nourished amidst our busy lives. However, if you are intentional and do what you can every day to fight the battle to keep buying locally, getting your meat from farms, getting your vegetables from your garden (or the grocery store when needed) and limit purchases from the middle aisles in the grocery store, you will be able to support your body and a healthy lifestyle and find balance.
The best way to determine if your food is ultra-processed and lacking nutrition is to look at the ingredient label. If a food doesn't have an ingredient label, this is often the best. This means that it is a food that isn't processed and "is what it is." An apple or banana stands for itself. A bunch of lettuce or bag of potatoes doesn't need to explain what else may be in it. These foods are easy, and they should make the majority of our diet. The other foods that do have ingredient labels have to tell us what is in the food, with the first ingredient being the item that makes up the most of the food, and each ingredient on down in the order of what is next. Many ultra-processed foods that are "bad choices" are starting with some sort of enriched or refined flour, sugar or syrup and oil, usually seed oils. These ingredients lack ANY nutrition. They contribute to inflammation and chronic disease. If your food item has these ingredients listed within the first 5 ingredients, you may want to think again about purchasing them.
There are typically a lot more ingredients that show up on the label, and many are very hard to read and understand. Is this alarming to you? That you are ingesting a food item with ingredients that you cannot pronounce? I would hope so! I created a list below that guides you on what ingredients to avoid, what ingredients to limit and what ingredients can be okay in moderation. This list can be debated, but I have done research to help create this list as best I can. Research changes every day, so this list may need modified in the near future. We always have to be on the lookout for new, scary ingredients as the food manufacturer's are smart and determined to still make the best product that may not be the best for our health, but rather, for their wallet.
You've got this! Don't stop trying to do your best when it comes to understanding the food that you eat.
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