Since this is one of the slowest shopping seasons of the year I decided it was safe to make a trip to the mall. It was easy to find a parking space right in front of the biggest "health" food store I had ever seen. I won't mention any names, but let's just say many of the "health" products they sell are not really very "hi" in proper nutrition.
With some time to kill while my wife shopped for clothes, I started reading a few ingredient labels to see what was really in all those flashy looking low carb, high fiber food formulas, protein blasters and health drinks. OK, that sounds really boring, but let me tell you it was fascinating. Maybe this little trip to the big health food chain will help you avoid some of the ingredients that are anything but healthy in many of their products.
First thing I noticed is that this store really loves to sell those enhanced vitamin waters. The brightly colored bottles were everywhere, drawing people to the low prices, the pretty liquids and the dream of a health drink that actually tastes good. Well, I have tried some of that "enhanced water", and I thought it not only tasted awful, but the crystalline fructose (concentrated sugar) content was more than enough bad nutrition in one bottle for me. Oh, and if your body could actually absorb the isolated vitamins infused into the water, you might get your $1.50 cent(s) worth of nutrition. Isolated vitamins that are not attached to whole foods typically break down before the body can use them for fuel. On my trip to the health food store I could see there were no whole food ingredients in those pretty bottles of enhanced vitamin waters or any of the other products I checked.
Here are some ingredients I noticed in the store. These are just a few of the items that I choose to avoid when searching for healthy foods and drinks:
- Crystaline fructose, high fructose corn syrup, sugar
- Artificial sweeteners, Xylitol, Aspartame, Saccharine
- Modified corn starch (really, anything modified)
- Isolated protein - The body cannot easily digest most protein drinks because they are usually made from "isolated" protein, which clogs the lymphatic system.
People are guzzling those protein drinks without understanding the consequences and the real needs of the human body. It is a myth that anyone needs so much protein, except maybe professional bodybuilders, but even that is debatable.
This short list includes just a few of the ingredients I choose to avoid in my health food and drinks. Are there ingredients in your health foods and drinks that you wonder about? Ask me and I'll see what I can find out for you.
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With some time to kill while my wife shopped for clothes, I started reading a few ingredient labels to see what was really in all those flashy looking low carb, high fiber food formulas, protein blasters and health drinks. OK, that sounds really boring, but let me tell you it was fascinating. Maybe this little trip to the big health food chain will help you avoid some of the ingredients that are anything but healthy in many of their products.
First thing I noticed is that this store really loves to sell those enhanced vitamin waters. The brightly colored bottles were everywhere, drawing people to the low prices, the pretty liquids and the dream of a health drink that actually tastes good. Well, I have tried some of that "enhanced water", and I thought it not only tasted awful, but the crystalline fructose (concentrated sugar) content was more than enough bad nutrition in one bottle for me. Oh, and if your body could actually absorb the isolated vitamins infused into the water, you might get your $1.50 cent(s) worth of nutrition. Isolated vitamins that are not attached to whole foods typically break down before the body can use them for fuel. On my trip to the health food store I could see there were no whole food ingredients in those pretty bottles of enhanced vitamin waters or any of the other products I checked.
Here are some ingredients I noticed in the store. These are just a few of the items that I choose to avoid when searching for healthy foods and drinks:
- Crystaline fructose, high fructose corn syrup, sugar
- Artificial sweeteners, Xylitol, Aspartame, Saccharine
- Modified corn starch (really, anything modified)
- Isolated protein - The body cannot easily digest most protein drinks because they are usually made from "isolated" protein, which clogs the lymphatic system.
This short list includes just a few of the ingredients I choose to avoid in my health food and drinks. Are there ingredients in your health foods and drinks that you wonder about? Ask me and I'll see what I can find out for you.People are guzzling those protein drinks without understanding the consequences and the real needs of the human body. It is a myth that anyone needs so much protein, except maybe professional bodybuilders, but even that is debatable.