Nutrition label or ingredients list?

[dulaney0330]

First and foremost, the best foods are fresh and not packaged. However, for the foods that are, how do you determine the benefits of a particular food..the label or the ingredients list?

I was looking at a chocolate chip pop tart nutrition label/ingredients list and the list had about 40 ingredients with hydrogenated oils and colorings and a lot of sugar. Sounds bad.

But then the nutritional label says it only has 2 grams of saturated fat and has vitamins like iron, vitamin c, riboflavin, zinc (average 10%).

I lean toward the list but my sister points to all the nutritional vitamins and I need a rebuttal!

Thanks!

[WordKeeper]

Why not look at both.

Vitamin C, zinc and iron can be beneficial but hydrogenated oils, food coloring, and sugars cannot be made nutritious. That's my argument.

[dulaney0330]

Originally Posted by WordKeeper

Why not look at both.

Vitamin C, zinc and iron can be beneficial but hydrogenated oils, food coloring, and sugars cannot be made nutritious. That's my argument.

Well I am looking at both and that was my point: is one or another a deciding factor?

[liamona]

Originally Posted by dulaney0330

I was looking at a chocolate chip pop tart nutrition label/ingredients list and the list had about 40 ingredients with hydrogenated oils and colorings and a lot of sugar. Sounds bad.

But then the nutritional label says it only has 2 grams of saturated fat and has vitamins like iron, vitamin c, riboflavin, zinc (average 10%).

If there's more than ten ingredients on the list, I don't usually bother reading it and put the package back on the shelf.

Even if they have a short list, most of the time I end up putting back about 99% of packaged foods, because they often list processed high PUFA oils like canola or safflower in the first five ingredients.

A cookie with "only" 2 grams of saturated fat is definitely a deal breaker for me.

[MightySunTzu]

Originally Posted by dulaney0330

Well I am looking at both and that was my point: is one or another a deciding factor?

Processed sugar, processed white flour, hydrogenated oil, food coloring, probably "artificial flavors" and "natural flavors" (ie: msg). I would dare say there are far better ways to get your vitamin C, zinc, riboflavin and iron... and what's in there has probably been supplemented, not naturally occuring in the food. 2 grams of saturated fat doesn't tell us how unhealthy the food is. Some of the most horrifyingly bad foods have no fat at all.

Can your sis really be believing that these "chocolate chip pop tarts" are anywhere near as good for her as other food alternatives ?

[dulaney0330]

Originally Posted by liamona

If there's more than ten ingredients on the list, I don't usually bother reading it and put the package back on the shelf.

Even if they have a short list, most of the time I end up putting back about 99% of packaged foods, because they often list processed high PUFA oils like canola or safflower in the first five ingredients.

A cookie with "only" 2 grams of saturated fat is definitely a deal breaker for me.

What packaged foods do you get? I am curious.

[dulaney0330]

Originally Posted by MightySunTzu

Processed sugar, processed white flour, hydrogenated oil, food coloring, probably "artificial flavors" and "natural flavors" (ie: msg). I would dare say there are far better ways to get your vitamin C, zinc, riboflavin and iron... and what's in there has probably been supplemented, not naturally occuring in the food. 2 grams of saturated fat doesn't tell us how unhealthy the food is. Some of the most horrifyingly bad foods have no fat at all.

Can your sis really be believing that these "chocolate chip pop tarts" are anywhere near as good for her as other food alternatives ?

very true.

she will debate me on anything, though.

[MightySunTzu]

Originally Posted by dulaney0330

very true.

she will debate me on anything, though.

In truth, many people (dare i say the vast majority?) are just not at a place within themselves to desire healthful eating strongly enough to be willing to sacrifice sweets and other empty calories, fast foods, deep fried foods, and other processed foods which have had a good portion of the nutrients removed from them and lots of really bad stuff added in.

A person who is arguing the nutritional benefits of "chocolate chip pop tarts", is most certainly not really serious about eating nutritiously. I'm sure that all of us know many such individuals.

[ginkgo]

You can buy cheap vitamin pills with lots of vitamins in them. They cost pennies to make so I would not worry about them in foods.

I think that it is better to look for the bad ingredients like if the first ingredient is HFCS. The ingredients are in order of largest to smallest also. If an ingredient is salt, look at the sodium since with salt some foods have like 3,000 mg of sodium.

This really belongs in the fast post so I will add it there. Salt has no calories but makes you fat. It causes people to retain water. Not only does the water fast cause people to lose water weight but a juice diet or any diet with no salt causes them to lose water weight. I have a big section about this on Losing Weight.

If someone goes on a diet with no salt, they will lose all that water weight just like on a fast. Salt is not a food. A quarter pounder burger is 4 ounces. You could eat lots of them and not die. If you consume 4 ounces of salt at one time, then you die.

Salt causes water not to work. If you drink sea water on a raft in the ocean, you get more dehydrated. Salt is anti-water. Your body decides to add or subtract water to your body by the concentration of sodium in it. It is normal to retain lots of excess water weight when consuming a fair amount of salt.

On the site above you can read how even the AMA wants to make salt a restricted substance. Of course they (MDs) make their money from people getting heart attacks and strokes, but with too many, there is not enough money in the country to pay for it. Dr Shelton says that on a fast someone can lose up to 80,000 mg of sodium in a single day. Urine and sweat are very salty since the body is desperate to get rid of it. But people who do not consume salt do not have salty sweat and urine.