Many times people start on a healthy eating journey and are frustrated by their results. It is not uncommon for these people to be shocked and surprised because they have been eating healthy foods, and they are still not losing any weight or becoming more healthy overall. More often than not, this frustration can be avoided simply by learning to read food labels.
Have you ever walked through your local health food store? A common misconception is that simply because something is considered ‘healthy enough’ to be at the health food store that it is healthy overall. The truth is that while the items in your health food store are usually geared towards your health, one look at the nutrition label might reveal ingredients that you are unsure of, more sodium than you anticipated, or higher sugar content than you would like.
Nutrition labels are the best way to know exactly what we are putting into our bodies. No matter how healthy something claims to be, the nutrition label is going to give you the true story. And it may be surprising to know that once you learn how to read nutrition labels, you may find some cheap items in your local grocery store that have the same health benefits or even more than the higher priced alternative at the health food store.
So let’s say that you are looking at two different types of almond butter, one is Jif brand and the other is Justin’s almond butter. The nutrition label on the Jif shows that it is made with hydrogenated vegetable oil. But when you look at Justin’s label, you find that it is made with palm fruit oil. Neither of those oils might mean anything to you at first glance, but with a bit of research, you will discover that palm fruit oil is high in vitamin E and is much healthier overall than hydrogenated oil.
Without knowing how to read nutrition labels, one could easily think that the Jif almond butter is equally as healthy as Justin’s almond butter, but on the contrary, the Jif food is an unhealthy food disguised as a healthy food. Sadly, this happens more often than most people are aware, and without knowing how to read nutrition labels, it becomes very easy to think that you are eating healthy when, in fact, you are doing your body more harm than good. It might be a good idea to do some research on the brands you will be using before you actually start to do your shopping, this way you go into the store knowing that everything you are buying is truly healthy.
