Conscious people don’t just shop, they look carefully at what exactly food contains. Nowadays, fortunately, all products must have an ingredient list on the back of the label, so we can easily decide whether we really want to take the product home or leave it on the shelf. We can gather a lot of information from reading a food label, and a lot of information that can prevent us from eating unhealthily. In this article, we draw your attention to some of the information that can serve as a warning sign to avoid eating these and similar foods.
Vegetable oils that cause oxidation
Not all vegetable oils are healthy. Some oils contain unhealthy fats, such as omega-6 fats, instead of unsaturated fatty acids, and are therefore not good for our health. Examples include soybean oil and corn oil. Whenever possible, always use cold-pressed or extra virgin oils in cooking and baking.
Trans fats are not our friend
Margarine, for example, is rich in trans fats, as are pastries, since they are made with margarine. These trans fats are extremely harmful as they raise the concentration of LDL cholesterol in the blood. Oxidation processes cause chronic inflammation and, in turn, cardiovascular disease.
The dangerous sugar
Unfortunately, many foods today contain added sugar. A few grams may not seem like much, but when you add up all these sugars, you end up with a lot of sugar, which can make you gain weight. There are also a lot of foods on the shelves these days that are supposed to be nutritious and healthy, but are packed with sugar. They may be low in fat, but if they have too much sugar in them, they are certainly not healthy. Sugar substitutes are not always safe either, so it’s best to be wary of them too. Examples include maple syrup, corn syrup and malt syrup.
Only avoid artificial sweeteners
Artificial sweeteners are used as a substitute for sugar. Research has shown that some sweeteners are much less healthy over the long term than just eating small amounts of sugar. Some studies suggest that we should be wary of foods and drinks containing aspartame, saccharin or sucralose.
The ingredient that is hard to read at first glance is not good for us
Foods contain preservatives, colours and additives. How do we know that the food we hold in our hands is also full of these substances? It is usually very difficult to read and interpret these words. If a food contains too many unpronounceable and complicated ingredients, it is better to avoid it. The fewer ingredients a food has, the healthier it is. That’s why raw vegetables, fruit and cooked food prepared by us with few ingredients are so incredibly healthy, like fast food, as they need to be stored for longer periods of time, which is why they are not spared additives.
Packaged meats and unprocessed products and other ingredients
Sodium chloride is nothing more than common salt. Most packaged cold cuts contain a lot of salt, so it is also better to beware of these.
We may have had nothing wrong with sulphur or sulphur dioxide additives for a long time, but they can have a negative effect on the health of people with asthma, for example, and over time we may even develop asthma symptoms even if we have not had the condition before.
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Last updated: September 24, 2023