The Third - Food Labels

 

Food Labels

Shopping Health Consciously

The world of food is vast now. VAST. It's no wonder a lot of us are confused about what it means to eat healthy, especially as so many things claim to be just that - HEALTHY.

Low fat, low carb, no sugar, no added sugar, diet this and that, the list goes on. Here I come, knocking all of that off the shelf because pretty much all of it is in fact shit. That isn't to say that low carb, low sugar, etc isn't the right way, that's dependant on the individual and their goals of course. It's how we get to the low carb, low sugar, low fat place. Expecting any product by itself to deliver that is useless; it's the overall picture that matters. 

A lot of health experts/nutritionists/dieticians will recommend the "low" products because if you are looking to lose weight - calories matter, always and without fail. I'm just that super "extra" kinda girl who will ask you to do the calories, lose weight and get fitter thing but also pushing you to only consume whole foods - pushing health.

Here's where the labels come in. If the back of the product is reading out like the Bible (lots and lots of words), then you should probably put it down. Anything pretending to be something else? (i.e vegan "meats") PUT. IT. DOWN. If you ever actually read the label on any of those, you'll notice a resemblance to nuclear waste. Yuck. Then there's the low-fat brigade which rocked in sometime before the millennium; whoever suggested that red meat and animal fats cause obesity needs a serious Come-to-Jesus chat (or perhaps just a strong word with grandma, that usually does the trick). It's literally what our bodies are built to consume and digest. 

Next; someone please explain to me why soy is in everything? E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. There is absolutely no need for it and its estrogen imitating properties; if consumed in high doses it can stimulate estrogen production, reduce testosterone production and result in enlarged breast tissue - IN MEN (yes, there is still some debate about that but personally I don't think its worth the risk). Not to mention there's a lot going on in the world on that front anyway, all without the soy. Or maybe it really is the soy... Even if you are not a tofu eating veggie grazer, your exposure is still high as it really is in a lot of foods we eat today. No bueno. No shade towards our vegetarian friends, everyone makes their own choices but unfortunately it's just not what humans are built for - and this is about health.

Back to the labels; if you read the back of any low fat product, you will see it's higher in carbohydrate content than its full fat, sassy OG version. For no other reason than that they've added sugar to make it taste, well, less shit after all the fat has been removed. Not sounding like much of a "healthy" choice, right? On top of the low low stuff, there's the multitude of preservatives and additives, E125 being my favourite and E205 coming in close second. Jokes aside, no food ingredient should read like something from a science experiment. A lot of (I dare say most) kids foods are made with artificial colourings which are directly linked with behavioural issues and ADHD, it even says so on the label sometimes and yet people continue to buy the products. Baffling.

Alright, so next on the hit list: Plant based milk. Never have I ever witnessed a nut or an oat being milked. Personally that's all I need to know about it to avoid them like the plague. However, I am here to inform and educate (once upon a time I was also conned into thinking there was something to them - we live and learn). The labels read much like the "pretend meats" with all the lovely lab-used words and ends in what is effectively a seed oil slurry. Yum. Again, I would be very hesitant to call it health. Speaking of seed oils; those are best left to be used as engine lubricant or to fuel cars. Obesity has skyrocketed since we started using them in our kitchens, they are not what our bodies are designed to digest and whatever "heart healthy" crap anyone has to say about them is just that - crap. Butter, ghee, beef tallow, coconut oil; why on earth did we ever give those up? Some of the finest things in life, and that's exactly what should be on your next shopping list. Bin the oils. 

At this point you're probably wondering whether it's safe to eat anything at all and the sad truth is that in all honesty - for the most part no. Food has become something so far removed from its origin and we, the people, have lost touch entirely with where it should be coming from. Hard truths right here. There is of course a way back, to a better and more healthy way. 

Here goes:

Small steps. Progress is made with lots of little steps, not giant leaps. 

I started with getting rid of the cooking oils, replaced them with butter, ghee for frying (and because oh my gosh it's just the tastiest thing ever) and coconut oil. That was step one. Next up was bread - if it has much more than flour, water, yeast and salt, it's better to be left for lab rats. No need for those E numbers and soy bean boobies. Lastly, the dairy products; if you are lucky enough to be near a farm or can buy farm products - do it. If not, then you're going to have to go in the wilderness of the supermarket and read some labels, like me, a total nerd. For help with local (Kuwait based) brands, reach out to me and I will happily send you in the right direction. I'm also a big fan of receiving photos of ingredients lists for checking (English is the preferred language but I can tap into about 3 others if we're going international). Let's go.

Once you get that ball rolling through better choices, the good feels will follow and that there, is the best motivation. Small steps for a more informed and health conscious you.