Foods are not all they claim to be. Just because a food is down the health aisle or claims to be ‘natural’ does not always mean it is healthy for us. The best way to determine if packaged foods are healthy is to look at the label. Even then, it can be challenging to know what the ingredients are, particularly those in numbered forms. In this blog post I want to help simplify it for you and look at ingredients to avoid when looking at a food label.
The basics- Ingredient list
The ingredient list is usually displayed above or below the nutrition label and is always labelled from highest concentration to lowest, meaning the food that is labelled first will always be in the highest quantity. This is important to look at to determine what the food is predominantly made up of and what to watch out for.
Vegetable oils
Vegetable oils are a common staple in many packaged foods because it is cheap and easy for companies to use but vegetable oils such as canola, corn, soybean, sunflower, sesame, rice bran and peanut oils are highly inflammatory within the body. Instead, try choosing products that contain coconut oil, olive oil, butter and avocado oil.
Added Sugars
Sugars sneak into foods in many different forms that you may not even recognise as a sugar. The main sugars to avoid are; corn syrup, high fructose corn-syrup, fructose, maltose and sugar alcohols (erythritol, sorbitol, xylitol, isomalt etc.). Better sugars to look for are coconut sugar, stevia, honey. However, keep in mind it is still sugar so checking how much is within the food is important and whether there is also fibre and other nutrients present to determine the nutritional value. Too much sugar will cause inflammation and spike blood glucose levels so try to consume your sugar from natural sources such as fruits in their whole form so that fibre is also present to reduce the sugar spike.
Additives- Preservatives, colourings and artificial flavours
Try to stay away from any foods that contain Additives. Food additives are synthetic, artificially made chemicals that are added to foods to either enhance their appearance, taste, texture or stabilise and preserve them. Food additives can cause disruptions to your gut, food sensitivities, rashes, intolerances, inflammation and even behavioural problems in children. They will generally appear as numbers, making it difficult to know what type of additive they are using. Here is a list of food additives to watch out for.
Food acids: added to food to enhance the flavour and act as preservatives. Some acids are fine such as acetic acid (vinegar) however, the acid to watch out for is artificially produced citric acid, also known as 330. This acid commonly causes reactions and is often added to cakes, biscuits, soups, sauces, confectionary and ice cream.
Anticaking agents: Silicium dioxide E 551 is thought to cause changes in the cells of the gastrointestinal tract, triggering inflammation.
Antioxidants: Naturally occurring antioxidants are great and needing in our diet, however artificial antioxidants are not so great and include; 310-312 (gallates), TBHQ, BHA, BHT, 319-321.
Artificial colours: 102, 107, 110, 122-129, 132, 142, 151, 155, 160b
Flavour enhancers: The major flavour enhancer to steer clear of is MSG 620-625. Other’s to avoid include; 627, 631, 635, hydrolysed vegetable protein (HVP), hydrolysed plant protein (HPP).
MSG (monosodium glutamate)
MSG is a low-cost flavour enhancer, commonly found in seasonings, sauces, canned foods, broths, fast food and processed meats and other snacks. It can cause headaches, sweating, weakness, skin flushing, digestive issues and it is even thought to be linked to metabolic problems.
Preservatives: 200-203, 210-213, 220-228, 249-252, 280-283
Stabilisers, thickeners, gelling agents, emulsifiers: carrageenan 407, guar gum 412, 461, 464, 465, 466, 415
Refined Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are not the enemy however, the type and amount of carbohydrate is what you need to be cautious of. Refined carbohydrates that have been stripped of fibre and nutrients, will go straight into your blood stream, causing a spike in blood sugar levels. This can cause symptoms such as fatigue, low mood, brain fog and weight gain. Due to the spike in blood sugar, refined carbohydrates will convert to fat much quicker, particularly if you don’t need the sugar as energy straight away. Watch out for corn starch, white flour, wheat flour, enriched flour, unbleached enriched flour, semolina and corn flour. You should also look at the fibre content present. If it still has a decent amount of fibre compared to carbohydrates, it is genuinely less refined (but not all the times so look at both ingredient list and quantity of carbohydrates and fibre).
If you see a long ingredient list of words you don’t know or can’t pronounce, it’s probably a good idea to avoid it. Try to keep it simple, fewer ingredients the better and look for fresh wholefoods – the foods we eat tell our body how to function after all.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me and keep an eye on my social stories as I will be sharing more tips on reading nutrient labels + more!
Allison xo
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