Shopping Healthy

There are a few considerations, or things to be aware of, as a healthy food consumer.

Foods are labeled per USDA or FDA requirements. These requirements set minimums and standards. They do not always reflect true ingredients. And some labels have no standardization. For example, “Natural” or “All Natural” are not regulated terms. Neither is “Raw” or “Living.” While I do not wish to malign any particular brands, there are several snack bars I know of which include “raw” on the label and are not truly raw. So how do you know?

Read the labels. One such bar includes “cocoa processed with alkali.” The word “processed” is a good hint. “Cocoa” is another hint. The natural ingredient would be “cacao.”

Last night I was in a store and picked up a label that said “All natural ingredients. No artificial colors.” When I looked at the ingredients, it listed “artificial dye” in the list. Look at ingredients, not marketing on the label.

Another downfall and major area of conce
is nuts. While the label says “raw cashews” I have never seen truly raw cashews sold in any bulk bin or in a package in the average grocery store and many health food stores. The cashews you see in markets are not roasted, however they have been heated as part of the shelling process. Heated enough to kill all the enzymes and severely impair the nutritional value. Since they are not roasted, the FDA allows them to be labeled as raw. So….those snack bars that say “raw”…look to see if they have cashews, as so many do. Not to say you should never buy them but rather to say that you should know what you are buying.

In September 2007 the US Government passed a law to pasteurize all almonds. Again, this is a heat process which destroys enzymes. Any pasteurized food (that includes your beloved fruit juice) has been heated.

The label “organic” and all its variations is another misnomer. Organic laws have also been diluted in recent years. Please see my article on Organic for more information.

Shopping healthy includes cleaning products, soap, sunscreen and what you apply to your skin—the largest cleansing organ of the human body.

Here are some lesser known ingredients to beware of:
Parabens: these can disrupt the endocrine system
Sulfates (sodium laural or laureth sulfate): these can damage ski

Petro chemicals such as mineral oil, paraffin and petrolatum
Parasol 1798 and Oxybenzone: can disrupt hormone balance
Glycols: synthetic chemicals which draw other chemicals into the bloodstream
PEGs and PPGs: synthetic ingredients processed with ethylene oxide, a toxic residual impurity.
DEA/TEA: synthetic chemicals that can combine with other ingredients to form carcinogens
Methylisothiazolinone/Diazolidinyl Urea: preservatives which release a known carcinoge

Here are some processes that may leave residual toxins:
Ethoxylatio

Sulfinatio

Polymerizatio

Quate
izatio

Goodness! So how do you know what to buy?

Ask people who are more knowledgeable (store personnel rarely really know). Read labels. Buy from trusted sources. Two of my favorites are:

Natural Zing a local (Maryland) business providing truly organic food, ingredients, supplements, and kitchen tools — their products are tried and true. They sell organic, unpasteurized almonds, too!

Sunfood Nutrition™ is David Wolfe's company. David is one of the leading authorities in the living foods movement — his products are tried and true.

Healthy Shopping!