What is Your Food Really Made of?

Many prepackaged and processed foods advertise seemingly healthy claims on their cover, but be warned, they may not be what they seem. Manufacturers use alternative and less common names to hide dangerous ingredients.

The Three Big Perpetrators:

1) Refined Grains- aka enriched wheat, cracked wheat, stone ground wheat, fortified multigrain, rice and puffed rice.

2) Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils – aka trans fat. (Note that manufacturers list their products as having 0 grams of trans fat by decreasing the serving size which makes the food contain less than .5 grams per serving).

3) Refined Sugars – aka High Fructose Corn Syrup, glucose, fructose, maltodextrin, sorbitol, mannitol, dextrin and maltose. The refining process of these sugars removes over 80% of chromium, manganese, zinc, magnesium and other valuable nutrients from the original food.


What They Hide In:

1) Breakfast Cereal – Can contain all three perpetrators as well as food coloring agents and synthetic nutrients. Instead, try looking for cereals with little to no sugar added with whole grain at the top of the ingredients list.

2) Margarine and Butter Substitutes – Margarine literally is hydrogenated vegetable oil and other butter substitutes also list hydrogenated oils at the top of their ingredient list. Instead, try experimenting with olive oil, hummus or honey.

3) Breads, Bagels, Croissants – Most commercial brands contain all three perpetrators. Buy bread products made primarily with whole grains and few other ingredients.

4) Health Food Bars – Don’t be fooled by the name, most of these bars pack in enriched wheat, trans fat and refined sugars. Instead, look for whole food bars with natural sources of energy such as whole grains, nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables.

5) Flavored/ Vitamin-Enriched Water – These waters are flavored with refined sugars and the vitamins are often times synthetic, made from coal tar (petroleum) from China. If regular water is too bland for your taste, try mixing in 100 percent juice.

6) Crackers, Pretzels and Popcorn – Crackers usually contain all three perpetrators while pretzels and popcorn often times contain enriched wheat and trans fat. Instead, pop your own popcorn using canola or olive oil and salt sparingly. Also try adding your own seasonings to create variety. When buying pretzels and crackers, look for whole grain options.

7) Salad Dressing – Many dressings contain high fructose corn syrup, low fat dressings usually contain the highest amounts. Look for organic and all natural dressings or just use good old oil and vinegar.

8) Pasta – Most pasta is made from enriched wheat. Buy whole wheat options instead.


Always read through the ingredients list of packaged food before you buy them to make sure you know what you’re really going to be consuming. Once you get used to which brands offer what, it should be easy to keep you and your family healthy.