Let’s be honest, when you look at a food label, where do your eyes go first…..
… to the ingredients list….
… or to the calories?
Sadly diet culture’s done a great job of making sure we’ve taken our eye off the ball when it comes to checking what’s actually in the food we buy.
We’re distracted by labels such as ‘low fat’, ‘no added sugar’, ‘reduced salt’ and of course the classic ‘only 99 calories’.
But what’s hiding under all these ‘healthy’ claims….?
…a bonkers list of highly refined, unrecognisable ingredients…
….including hydrogenated vegetable oils, refined sugars, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, emulsifiers, thickeners, gums, anti-caking agents etc.
See the thing it doesn’t matter if the ‘low fat, high protein’ yoghurt is ridiculously low in calories….
….it’ll likely also contain ingredients which are highly inflammatory, contribute to insulin resistance (sucralose is a big one for low fat yoghurts) and wreak havoc on your gut.
Yeah you might be able to eat 5 of them and still be under your daily ‘calorie limit’, but you also might shit your pants in the process!
But seriously, let’s be realistic, avoiding ALL processed food ALL of the time, is a) really hard and b) really restrictive.
And fear of consuming any refined ingredients can escalate into a pretty bad relationship with food (been there!), but simply taking a whole food first approach for the bulk of your meals is going to stand you in pretty good stead for health.
If you need some help navigating food labels, I have a short guide on how to do this:
https://www.boldhealth.co.uk/blog/sneaky-ingredients
As always, I hope this has been helpful!
If you know you need to make some changes but you’re not sure where to start, drop me a message and we’ll see how I can help!
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The content in this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding your health.