Unhealthy Ingredients: Follow These Easy Rules to Eat the Healthiest Possible Food

Would you believe that there are no unhealthy ingredients in Lay's Potato Chips? Look on the back and you'll find that it is potatoes, sunflower and/or corn oil, and salt. True corn oil is not the healthiest, and you shouldn't overdo salt (especially not the standard non-sea salt variety). Potatoes are not the healthiest starch either, as they are high on the Glycemic Index. However none of the three are so bad that I would recommend against eating Lay's in moderation. I eat them from time to time.

However, the vast majority of packaged food from large companies is, in fact, very unhealthy and filled with unhealthy ingredients.

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The following are rules that you can use when reading package labels:

1. Most of the time, if you have never heard of an item, it won't be healthy. For example, here is a list of ingredients in Kraft Dips - Guacamole Flavor (yellow is unhealthy, pink is healthy):

Ingredients: WATER, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED COCONUT AND SOYBEAN OIL, CORN SYRUP*, WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE (FROM MILK), FOOD STARCH-MODIFIED, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF POTATOES, SALT, AVOCADO, DEFATTED SOY FLOUR, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, SODIUM CASEINATE, TOMATOES*, VINEGAR, LACTIC ACID, ONIONS*, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL, GELATIN, XANTHAN GUM, CAROB BEAN GUM, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, SPICE, WITH SODIUM BENZOATE AND POTASSIUM SORBATE AS PRESERVATIVES , GARLIC*, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, CITRIC ACID, YELLOW 6, YELLOW 5, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, BLUE 1, ARTIFICIAL COLOR. *DRIED CONTAINS: SOY, MILK.

Here is a list of Trader Joe's Guacamole ingredients:

HAAS AVOCADOS, PLUM TOMATOS, GARLIC, ONIONS, CHILE POBLANO, AND LIME JUICE.

Do you see how one might be healthier than the other? All of the items that are highlighted yellow are chemicals or have been found to be very unhealthy ingredients. The main ingredient besides water is trans fat. There are artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, trans fats, chemicals, and astoundingly, well under 2% of the product is avocados (which should be the main ingredient).

All of the ingredients highlighted pink are completely natural and healthy (at least in moderation). Those that aren't highlighted aren't necessarily bad for you, but why not eat all natural? It tastes better. Your Grandma never cooked with Xantham gum, did she?

2. Absolutely never eat anything with

a) trans fats listed on the label

b) the words hydrogenated, partially hydrogenated, or fully hydrogenated

c) mono-sodium glutamate (msg), a salt-like flavoring that does taste good, but is extremely toxic to everyone, causing symptoms throughout your whole body.

d) high fructose corn syrup or corn syrup - the most unhealthy types of sugar.

e) anything to preserve freshness unless you can tell that it is natural (ascorbic acid is vitamin C which is fine, often they use vitamin e, or other natural items for freshness).

3. Shop mostly in the outside aisles of the supermarket (hopefully the health food supermarket) for things that perish. The inside is usually packaged goods which have much more potential to be poor for your health and have unhealthy ingredients.

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