The Difference Between Natural and Artificial Foods
Is the food you're eating natural or artificial? In some cases, the definitions of the words on food labels are precise; in others, the words can mean whatever the manufacturer wants.
One of the most popular - and most confusing --- words in use is "Natural." There is no federal regulation governing it. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, many foods advertising "natural" contain additives, preservatives, artificial coloring, or other artificial ingredients. The most commonly accept definition of "natural" is that the food is minimally processed with no chemicals added -- but deceptions abound. For example, manufacturers frequently advertise a product as featuring "natural cheddar cheese." The cheese part may, indeed be natural, but the other ingredients can include additives and preservatives. The only way you can be sure to eat foods that are "natural" is to buy fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy products and fish exclusively.
It's a matter of buyer beware regarding other food features,too. For example, the phrase "reduced calories" means that the product contains at least on third less calories than similar foods that a person can buy. If the label says "low calorie" the food cannot have more than forty calories preserving.
A "sugar-free" food, although it has no sugar, can contain an artificial sweetener that contains calories. If the "sugarless" food is not low or reduced in calories, the label must state this. A food product may feature "no preservatives" but might contain other additives such as flavoring or coloring.
Finding how much sugar is in a product can be tricky this is especially true of sugar-coated breakfast cereals. That label does list sugar as an ingredient, but other ingredients might include sweeteners such as corn syrup, fructose, dextrose, or honey. Actually, the product may contain more sweeteners than anything else.
The worlds "fortified" and "enriched" also hold traps in understanding. White bread, for example, may say enriched, but this is what it means: of the twenty-two nutrients processed out, eight are put back in. Although the product may be "fortified" with 100 percent of the Recommended Dietary or Daily Allowance (RDA) of various vitamins and minerals, the original product - especially if it's a grain product - might have contained more of these nutrients and a wider variety of other nutrients.
Types of Food Poisoning
Foods that are labeled "organic" are usually those grown without synthetic pesticides, fertilizer, or chemicals. The government is increasingly gaining greater oversight when it comes to labeling foods "organic".
A list of ingredient is mandatory on most food products, and the ingredients must be listed in order of weight content in the food. For example, if water leads the list it's the primary ingredient. So the best advice is to read all the labeling carefully, including not only the ingredients list but also the number of calories and vitamin and mineral content.
Robin Westen is the author of "Ten Days to Detox: How to Look and Feel a Decade Younger.
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