Catch up on the rest of this series here!
In my latest post of this series, I talked about some simple ways for you to make some changes in your diet in order to begin eating healthier.
I also recommended that you start taking a good look at the labels on the food you buy.
Today I’d like to share a few ingredients that you should be alerted to when you see them on a food label. The big NO-NO list. Try to avoid eating foods with these ingredients…at all costs…don’t even get near the stuff…avoid it like the plague…run far, far away! (Or…maybe we’ll be realistic and say…try really hard to not eat it most of the time if you can possibly help it...)
Okay here’s the biggie no-no list:
Hydrogenated oils
High fructose corn syrup
Food dyes
Artificial sugars
I’ll explain these poisons no-no’s in more detail in the next post of this series…but first let me admit to you (so that you don’t feel overwhelmed…maybe) that sometimes our family puts some of this into our mouths. They are found in MANY, MANY “foods” out there, and they are very hard to avoid!! So, don’t despair…just do your BEST! (Isn’t that the point of this whole eating right thing? Do your best! That’s it!)
Notice something about each item in the No-No list. None of them are REAL FOOD! (Remember, we’re working toward eating real food, right?!) They might have started out as real food (might have)…but after undergoing several processes of “this and thats”…they usually end up being some form of freaked out chemical when it’s all said and done. (I made that up all by myself, “freaked out chemical”…like it?)
And then these freaked out chemicals are mixed together with other ingredients (that we may or may not recognize)…put into a box, usually with a label telling you how good it is for you…placed on a shelf and sold to you as “health food”. Or at least as “a part of this balanced breakfast”.
I promise to explain each of these no-no’s in my next Getting Real With Food post…because I think it’s got to be frustrating for you to hear me tell you to avoid them, but not really tell you all of the reasons why. It’s just that I feel like the explanations of each of those terms deserve a blog post of it’s own…and I really don’t want this particular blog post to go on for three years. :)
But, I will tell you this. The process those ingredients have gone through to make them become the freaked out chemicals that they are effect your digestive system in ways that are really scary. When food digests poorly…every organ in your body is effected negatively. Beyond that, these ingredients have the power to change the healthy cells in your body to become unhealthy cells. The cells around your heart…the cells around your brain…
Here are just a few of the foods that contain at least one, if not all of the ingredients in the no-no list:
Pop and candy (Well, we probably all knew that.)
Juice that isn’t 100% fruit (Although sometimes there’s food coloring added to the 100% juice too. Grr.)
Peanut butter (Choosy moms choose…hydrogenated oils? Grr again.)
Cereal (I have been shocked to see that almost ALL boxes of cereal have both high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils in them. And food coloring. Even the ones considered to be healthy cereals.)
Crackers (Grr to Shabisco and Beebler.) (Names have been changed to protect the guilty.)
Unfortunately, that list could go on and on…but I’ll stop with just those few.
Remember though to focus on making small changes! YOU DON’T HAVE TO CHANGE EVERYTHING AT ONCE!!!
Also remember…REAL FOOD tastes so good! Really, really good. (Much better than the “food” provided for you by Keneral Zills and Mellogs.)
Hope to see you back here at WeavenlyDomeShakers…WAIT… Why am I changing MY name? Guess I got on a little carried away there…
Hope to see you back here at HeavenlyHomemakers for more Getting Real with Food encouragement!
Find more Works for me Wednesday here.
Wooo Hooo-
I am first to leave a comment. I totally agree with you Laura. We have almost completely given up cereal, totally given up soda, and peanut butter… hmmmm, my kids hate natural peanut butter…. I will have to see if there are any other options out there.
Crackers!!!! I don’t know about that one Laura, we’ll see.
Toni
Don’t laugh, because I’m serious. What about chocolate? That’s different, right? Surely there is a “good” chocolate bar. I’m right there with ya about candy, that’s butterscotch and lemon drops, right? But, life without chocolate? There has to be something *safe*.
i’m afraid to look at what’s in my pantry. but you are exactly right, small changes work. big dramatic changes are too hard and fail miserably.
I’m not giving up my peanut butter. I don’t like the natural stuff. But once I’m done with the 8,000 bottles of salad dressing I have (hey, I had coupons and they were also on sale), I plan to make my own dressings. I like homemade better, anyway. I was really surprised how much HFCS is out there! If I want it, I’ll pour Karo on my salad, LOL!
I’m with Mother Hen. Is there safe chocolate bars?
I have been trying to get away from hydrogenated oils, though …
Thanks for compiling all this info for us!
Now wait, I’m confused. None of the cereal in my cabinet has HFCS, although they do have hydrogenated oils. Fruity Peepios and Cinnamon Toast Munch, plus, um… Kicks. Couldn’t get around that one.
I’ve beat down the HFCS in our house, although I’m still getting rid of the stockpile of ketchup before starting organic stuff. I haven’t started eliminating the oils or dyes, yet.
Great post for WFMW!
It’s insane how many things have HFCS, even “good for you” whole grain bread. But I’ve found that if you buy the bakery bread it doesn’t have all the yuck stuff! I’m not quite motivated yet to be making bread all the time. You forgot about all the fake sugars like Splenda and Equal.
WeavenlyDomeShakers….lololololol
I felt the same about the peanut butter, I found that Skippy’s Natural Or “Flippy’s” has peanuts, sugar,palm oil,and salt as ingredients. It is good, although probably not as good for you as the no sugar kinds.
For a chocolate fix, I usually make my own homemade brownies with good ingredients. BUT, if you must have a candy bar…(and sometimes we ALL must have a candy bar)…I’d say choose a Mershey bar. It’s just mostly milk and cocoa…so it’s not too bad compared to all the rest. (Schmutterfinger, Gilky Fay, Tickers…) (How do you put M&M’s in code?!) :)
OH that goodness about Mershey Bar.. since we live near Mershey, SA lol.
My weakness IS Mershey Bars! How about N&N’s? lol
Hey Laura! I just started reading your blog (I can’t remember exactly how I clicked to it…) and I’m loving all the encouragement and recipes you’re giving for eating REAL food! I’m slowly trying to make this transition for my family. I have a question for you – what do you do for bread? We eat a sandwich for lunch practically every day and buying the really healthy stuff is out of our budget. Just wondering if you might have any suggestions??? Thanks!
OK, I have one more thing to add… The Mershey’s bar you wrote about Laura… has Vanillin FAKE, can you say FAKE vanilla…. read here “Today, artificial vanillin is made from either the petrochemical guaiacol, or from lignin, a natural constituent of wood which is a byproduct of the paper industry.”
I love the TRADER Joes Chocolate bars…!
ALSO just an FYI… Mestle Chips have the FAKE stuff in it too… Sooo does ALOT of stuff… sometimes the CHEAPER stuff has really Vanilla, crazy huh????
And just a word on the dyes, in case no one has read this yet….
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/06/03/couricandco/entry4151130.shtml
My 4 yr old is one of the children that has behavior issues with dyes…. Trying to avoid them is hard, NOT at home, but OUT AND ABOUT!
THANKS for this great blog, I will continue to read often!!!!
Beebler? LoL That was too funny!
BTW, you’ve been tagged! Check out my blog.
I truly was at the grocery store today ready to buy spaggheti sauce, and then I read the label. Item number two or three was high fructose corn syrup. I promptly put it back on the shelf, walked back to the produce section and bought some tomatoes. Yum! It will take a little more time to make my pasta sauce, but I know what is in it!
Thank you for this series. I’ve needed the encouragement! You’ve really got me thinking about what we eat, which is a good thing. I love healthy foods-my only drawback sometimes is the high prices-ouch! But some changes are better than none, right? It’s just so tempting when stuff is free…
I love peanut butter, though I do like the natural kinds, which are better. I also love other nut butters, though I don’t usually buy them because of the price. Has anyone else tried Sunbutter? It’s sunflower seeds instead of peanuts- very good! I have no idea the cost-my Mom gets it at Whole Foods. It’s yummy, though, and healthy.
I love your blog-I’ve recently found it but am already a regular reader. Your writing style makes me laugh-gotta love it!
This list is perfect. You are so right, it is incredible the number of foods that have these products in their list of ingredients. It is work to cut them from our diet, but at least for Eric and I, we feel 1000 times better without them!
I hate to say this Laura, because I LOVE YOU, and I don’t want to be disagreeable…but ah heck…here goes.
My heart beats faster every time I read one of your food posts. I have worked for almost every single major food manufacturer in the last 12 years. In fact, that’s how I met The Colonel – we worked together at one of them.
Anyway, I know that a lot of products have or DID HAVE a lot of the no-no ingredients, but a lot of them DON’T anymore. Companies are listening to consumers and to research on healthy living. And I’ve been in the plants that make the stuff, and if it says it’s natural ingredients, it really is, even if it’s “processed”.
I just hope that as companies make changes to the way they manufacture products, people will try them again. Don’t write them off forever!
And just for the record…I LOVE me some good cereal for breakfast. =)
Signed,
Devil’s Advocate (but I DO love you and your yummy boys, oh and Matt, too)
Dear Devil’s Advocate, aka One of my Favorite People :),
I love you too and I appreciate that you were comfortable enough with me to be honest about how you feel!
I’m glad to know that companies are listening to consumers and working to make their products healthier. I’ve noticed that during the past year or so they’ve made some improvements and I applaud them for working on it.
I’ve noticed that quite a few things that used to have hydrogenated oils in them don’t any more. And I’m really glad. And I have noticed that some of them still do. So, I do check off and on, which like you said, is a good thing to do instead of writing them off forever.
I’m really not trying to sound judgemental as I write these posts and I pray about it each time because I really just want to help the many people out there who are trying so hard to eat healthy. I know a lot of people are searching and need encouragement.
I also know that “healthy” and “healthy” don’t always jive depending on who you ask. And they (whoever they is) keep changing what they say is healthy…which makes me not really trust they…uh, them.
Which is why I am so much an advocate of just eating basic, real food instead of processed. It just makes sense (and I feel like I have valid books to back me up on that).
Also for the record…I really like breakfast cereal too…and Doritoes…and hot dogs. :) And Whoppers…and Milky Ways…and macaroni and cheese…
I just try not to eat them very often.
And so…I REALLY don’t want to make your heart beat fast. Maybe just skip reading these posts? Because I need to keep writing them. I have so many readers that are trading in their poptarts for real fruit and their jelly beans for green beans. And they want to hear more about this.
:) Laura
Anyone else have any opinions to share about this?!
This series has been fascinating and entertaining to read, but kind of difficult to hear… sometimes… I do so appreciate the information, though. I really do WANT to know this stuff. When I taught middle school (for 8 years) I was always completely grossed out when I walked through the lunchroom. What on earth were those kids eating?!? I’m talking about the school food AND the sack lunches. No wonder there are so many learing issues (and other issues!)in our kids. We are working hard on this at our house. My biggest battle is cost… and I’m working on that! Thanks, Laura!
Ewww, I never allow any of that stuff in to my house. It’s sad how many products are chock full of them! It sure makes finding the right products interesting, LOL!
a solution for the natural pb…get the smoothest one you can find and mix in a bit of honey til it tastes as sweet as you need it…but it tastes just like the bad stuff and kids will eat it…really!
I have been making small changes, and watching what I bring into the house. The more I can COOK, the less we eat out.
I have stopped eating so many potato chips, and now when I had some just today, I could tell the salt was there, and I didn’t feel good about eating them like I did just a week ago.
The “healthy” things like Peanut Butter and cereals will say they take out the sugar, but they fill it up with salt (sodium) and fat (those nasty oils). I look at the sodium content, the sugars, and the fat on the labels. I have preferred to go frozen over canned, because there is less processing, and less additions to nature.
I have spent at least 2 years avoiding soda. I can’t even drink a whole can of Dr. Pepper anymore. It makes me ill, it is too sweet. Water, water and more water. Lemon juice to flavor it up. Even white sugar is better in a recipe at home, because I can control the amount. I love these posts from you, keep up the information!
All that said, I agree with Sally, too. Don’t write off things forever. There are plenty of companies that are making changes. Sometimes, you just have to have a bite.
Thanks for being understanding, Laura. And I still want to read these posts because there are changes that I’m comfortable (and should be) making.
And I’m glad you treat yourself to some of the “evil” things once in a while. =) What would the Hamm Bash be w/o some junk food?? Love you!! And your homemade healthy pretzels!
Okay, I feel really stupid that I even emailed you with my questions. I should have just read this series. I’m getting the hang of it. Excuse me, my husband and I are going to share a box of Munior Jints and watch a movie. What will I use to replace them? THis is going to be a process. Be patient, I’ll catch on.