Here is What Healthy People Do That Other People Don't

In the last newsletter, you learned how to read food labels.

Today we're going to look at another aspect of choosing healthy foods - reading the ingredients list.

A good indicator of healthy food is the ingredient list.

2 Things You Should Know When Looking at the Ingredient List

1). The healthiest foods are those with the least amount of ingredients.  

2). The ingredient amount is determined by the order in which it is listed.

The higher amounts are always listed first and the least amounts are listed last.

Take a look at Stouffers French Bread Pizza and its ingredients.

Ingredients list for Stouffers French Bread Pizza:

BREAD (ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR [WHEAT FLOUR, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, NIACIN, IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID], WATER, YEAST, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF THE FOLLOWING: SOYBEAN OIL, WHEAT GLUTEN, SALT, SUGAR, ACETIC ACID, LACTIC ACID, FUMARIC ACID,  ASCORBIC ACID, ENZYMES, CALCIUM PROPIONATE [PRESERVATIVE], SAUCE, WATER, TOMATO PASTE, SUGAR, SOYBEAN OIL, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, GARLIC, SPICES, SALT, DISTILLED VINEGAR, ONION, CULTURED DEXTROSE, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, GARLIC POWDER, GROUND PAPRIKA, NATURAL HICKORY SMOKE FLAVOR), LOW MOISTURE PART-SKIM MOZZARELLA CHEESE (PASTEURIZED PART SKIM MILK, CHEESE CULTURES, SALT, ENZYMES, PEPPERONI MADE WITH PORK, CHICKEN, AND BEEF (PORK, MECHANICALLY CHICKEN, BEEF, SALT, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF: SPICES, DEXTROSE, PORK STOCK, LACTIC ACID STARTER CULTURE, OLEOPRESIN OF PAPRIKA FLAVORING, SODIUM NITRATE, SODIUM ASCORBATE, PAPRIKA, PROCESSED WITH NATURAL SMOKE FLAVOR, BHA, BHT, CITRIC ACID TO HELP PROTECT FLAVOR), MARGERINE (SOYBEAN OIL, WATER, VEGETABLE MONO& DIGLYCERIDES, SALT, NATURAL FLAVOR [INCLUDES MILK], VITAMIN A PALMITATE ADDED, VITAMIN D3). CONTAINS: MILK, WHEAT INGREDIENTS.

Notice ALL the ingredients (at least sixty)...

...My motto is, “if you can’t pronounce it or don’t know what it is, don’t eat it”. 

Now, contrast the French Bread Pizza with a package of brown rice.

Ingredients in brown rice:  

LONG GRAIN BROWN RICE.

There’s not much to think about or worry about here – what you see is what you get - one ingredient. 

The closer you stay to whole foods the better you'll be.

This is another great tool you should use whenever you have a question or concern about the integrity of the food you are thinking about eating.

That's what healthy people do.