Unhealthy Ingredients On Food Labels
You've probably heard this advice before: Read the nutritional labels on food before you buy it. With the obesity rate now double what it was in 1980, that advice is all the more relevant today.
But what should we focus on? There was a time when all we focused on was fat and calories. A couple of years ago, we became obsessed with carbohydrates. But concentrating on only one element misses the mark. There are many less publicized ingredients that are just as detrimental to your health and waistline.
Here's a list of some of the items you should be on the lookout for.
Trans fatsWhat foods are they found in?
Margarine, dips, French fries, donuts, cookies, cake mixes, crackers, and chips all contain trans fats.
What should you look for on the label?
Beware of the following words: "shortening," "partially hydrogenated vegetable oil" and "hydrogenated vegetable oil."
What do the experts say?
There are four kinds of fats. Most experts agree that monounsaturated fats, found in foods like avocados and peanuts, and polyunsaturated fats, the so-called "good fats" that you find in fish, should be eaten in moderation as part of a healthy diet.
Saturated fats are more controversial. Most nutritionists say that light consumption of these fats — 7% of total daily calories at most — is acceptable. Then there are the trans fats. Aside from doctors that conduct studies for food companies, no experts recommend the consumption of any of these fats. Food companies use them in a huge amount of products to increase their shelf life.
Unfortunately, the fat column on food labels generally won't tell you which types of fat they contain. To date, some food companies have bowed to pressure from consumer groups and voluntarily removed trans fats from their products. Most notably, Kraft, the maker of Oreos, agreed to remove trans fat from the popular cookies after a lawsuit was filed by a consumer rights group.
Salt and corn syrup...