Why choosing healthy foods at the grocery store can be difficult

Why choosing healthy foods at the grocery store can be difficult

I was in the supermarket (supermarket) yesterday and had to shake my head at all the clever misleading food labels that are everywhere. In every aisle I saw tons of products claiming all kinds of things that are supposed to be "healthy" but are not in reality. This is food marketing’s worst deception.

One of the things that really bothered me was that I saw several examples of healthy foods in their natural state and at the same time noticed fake, overly processed versions of these original foods that claimed they were healthier than the natural version.

In reality, all of these fake versions were MUCH worse for you than the original... and they still have the balls to claim that their overly processed "junkified" versions are better.

The sad thing is that millions of people fall for this misleading food marketing every day. Here are some examples that caught my eye:

Example 1: Product claiming to be “better than peanut butter.”

This product is ridiculous! I can't believe anyone would ever believe that this processed garbage is better for them than natural, minimally processed peanut butter.

When you buy a good natural organic peanut butter, there are usually only two ingredients... peanuts and salt. And they don't add a lot of salt so it's not a high sodium product.

However, this fake peanut butter that claimed it was "better than peanut butter" (trying to seem healthier than natural peanut butter based on what it says on the label) contained a list of processed junk you wouldn't believe. First, they remove all natural healthy fats from the peanuts, making it a “low-fat” product. Okay, now you've just taken away one of the healthiest parts of peanut butter...the appetite satisfying healthy fats you need to control cravings and achieve more stable blood sugar levels in your body.

To make matters worse, the healthy fats were replaced with 2 different types of sugar-based syrups as well as additional dehydrated cane juice (aka SUGAR), in addition to refined starches (in case you weren't getting enough blood sugar spikes, nor refined carbohydrates).

This product took something as simple and natural as peanut butter and turned it into a sort of processed junk candy. However, they claim that it is healthier for you than peanut butter. And somehow they get away with misleading the masses like that on their label. Don't be their fool!

Example 2: Product claiming to be “better than eggs.”

I won't go into this in great detail because I recently discussed this entire topic in detail in another e-zine issue.

Basically, this product is just egg whites with a bunch of additional chemical colors, flavors and other nonsense, including artificially added vitamins.

Also, this product essentially ruined a good thing by removing the healthiest part...the egg yolks! And yes, the yolk is the healthiest part of the egg. Anyone who tells you otherwise doesn't know much about real nutrition. The most important thing about quality whole eggs is that they are cage-free and organic.

Most people don't realize that almost all of an egg's high-quality nutrition is contained in the yolk. The majority of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and trace elements are found in the yolk, not the white. Even the protein in the whites is not as high quality in terms of bioavailability without the amino acid profile of the egg yolk to complement the amino acid profile of the whites.

And no, the cholesterol in eggs isn't bad for you...it increases your good cholesterol more than bad cholesterol and improves your overall profile. And the fats in whole eggs are balanced and healthy for you too.

Bottom line…whole eggs are healthier than egg whites. It's not even a close comparison. The label information is just another example of food marketing deception.

Example 3: A product that claims to be “better than butter.”

This was essentially crappy margarine loaded with highly processed and deadly trans fats, but had the nerve to claim it was "better than butter."

Don't fall for it!

Even low-quality butter is better for you than any margarine on the market. One problem with butter is the pesticides and hormones that are often found in improperly raised cows.

For this reason, opting for organic butter is always a good choice, and if you can find grass-fed butter, I would even say it can be healthy for you. Grass-fed butter is higher in the natural form of beneficial conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). In fact, adding a little butter to your steamed vegetables will help your body absorb more vitamins and minerals in the vegetables.

Due to the stable saturated fat content in butter, butter is one of the best oils for cooking. Oils high in polyunsaturated fats such as soy, corn, safflower (and even flax) are the worst to cook with due to their very unstable chemistry. I have a comprehensive article on which oils are healthiest for cooking and which are not based on their chemistry.

Another point...the saturated fat in butter isn't bad for you. We have already beaten a dead horse with this topic in previous articles, but again, you can find more detailed articles on this topic on my website.

For dozens more articles on all of these controversial health and fitness topics, visit my website below. To your health!