Remember the saying “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover?” These days it should be “Don’t judge a food by it’s packaging”. Products that claim to be healthy choices, might not be so healthy after all.
For example, Fiber One Chewy Bars. Sounds like a healthy snack, yes? Not really. The food label lists ethanol, high fructose corn syrup, and hydrogenated coconut oil as the ingredients. Yuck.
Have you read your food labels lately?
How about the Nabisco Fig Newtons 100% Whole Grain Cookies? At first glance one would think these are a healthy choice right? Think again. Ingredients include two chemical preservatives: sulfur dioxide and potassium sorbate, high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil, and other chemical fillers.
We MUST learn how to read and decipher the food labels. With two kids in tow, I don’t have time to research the labels while shopping, so I was so excited when I came across the site eBrandAid. It offers all sorts of information about reading food labels and what they call their Best Brands. (Don’t miss this one about Flaxseed!)
I got in touch with Kerry McLeod, one of the “brand doctors” from eBrandAid, and she graciously allowed me to pick her brain. Her answers really provided a “light bulb” moment for me, and hopefully they will do the same for you.
Q: Please tell me about eBrandAid and how it got started.
eBrandAid is a totally FREE service that offers brief, entertaining, info-packed enewsletters that are sent twice a week via email. Our email tips tell subscribers in plain English how to find the truly healthy brand name foods at the local grocery store.
eBrandAid.com was founded by a team of expert label readers known as “The Brand Doctors.” We have done extensive research by scouring grocery store shelves and reading food labels on a wide variety of categories. We created eBrandAid in order to pass on this important information to consumers. Let’s face it, with more than 20,000 food item in the average grocery store, shoppers (especially busy Mom’s), don’t have time to stand around and decipher food labels – so we do it for them!
In short, our mission is to put shoppers-in-control so they can avoid being tricked by misleading food labels that are actually packed with preservatives, chemicals, and artificial ingredients that are known to contribute to chronic disease and obesity. By really knowing what’s in these foods we’re buying (and eating), and understanding what many of these harmful ingredients can do, shoppers will be armed and ready to make better brand choices for themselves and their families!
Q: I love the term “Practitioner in the Science of Healthy Food Choices (PSHFC)”– how did you come up with that?
When we decided to call ourselves the “The Brand Doctors” we wanted to make it clear that we were not real medical doctors – it’s meant to be tongue and cheek. So, we created the term Practitioner in the Science of Healthy Food Choices (PSHFC) to describe the work we do at eBrandAid. This “degree” means we’re experts in knowing what to buy and what to shun at the grocery store based on the ingredients listed on food packaging!
Q: Prior to becoming a PSHFC you were a “chocolate-chomping, junk-food junkie”. What inspired you to make a change in your diet?
When I became pregnant with my daughter, I decided I wanted to be as healthy as possible so I could set a good example for her from day one. Then, after she was born, I became obsessed with reading food labels! And to my dismay, I quickly realized that many of the foods I was buying, that I THOUGHT were healthy, were actually packed with tons of chemical additives – most of which I couldn’t even pronounce!
When I started researching all of these hard to pronounce ingredients used in the “healthy” brands that I was buying, I found that many of them were harmful! This was confusing to me – because I couldn’t understand how trusted food manufacturers could make health claims on the front of their packaging when their products contained things like trans fats, artificial sweeteners and colors, and other chemicals. The lightbulb went off, when I realized unsuspecting shoppers like myself needed a resource to figure out how to find the healthy brands at the store – and bam – the idea for eBrandAid was born!
Q: Has it always been an easy road, or do you still fall victim to the occasional brownie?
I want to clarify something right of the bat – you might be happy to know that we don’t promote complete abstinence from your favorite less-than-healthy foods, mainly because it’s unrealistic, inflexible, and frankly no fun. We focus on the big picture, making better brand choices and eating in moderation – especially when it comes to “goodies.”
Here’s the deal: If you’re going to indulge every once in a while, you might as well choose the brands that have the least amount of preservatives, additives, and harmful junk ingredients and go for the ones that use all natural ingredients – they’ll taste better and be better for you! For instance, we stay away from sugar free ice cream and cookies – because manufacturers simply replace the fat and sugar with artificial junk ingredients that can be harmful. Plus, “diet” goodies tend to leave a weird aftertaste – yuk!
Here’s our recommendation: If you’re craving something sweet like ice cream or cookies, go for a really good brand that uses all-natural, real ingredients. Limit your portions and you can enjoy every bite!
Q: Why are reading labels so important to our diet today?
Knowing how to decode food labels is a must, because you simply cannot believe everything you read on a packaged food item! Unfortunately, many food manufacturers use what we call “front label trickery” to insinuate that their brands are healthy. Basically, they can do this because there are no mandated rules that manufacturers must follow-so they use the front of the package as pure advertising to imply that a food item is healthy even if it’s not.
But don’t be fooled-turn the packages over and read the ingredients list and Nutrition Facts labels – this is where you get the whole story. We have found that once shoppers start reading labels, they find that a high percentage of the foods they thought were healthy actually have hidden trans fats and high amounts of sodium, preservatives, and artificial sweeteners, colors, and flavorings.
Q: What are some of the red flag ingredients we should be on the lookout for when reading labels?
Oh my – there are so many – it’s hard to narrow it down to just a few. But, I’d say that our top five “red flag” ingredients to avoid at all costs are trans fats (partially hydrogenated oils), high fructose corn syrup, monosodium glutamate (MSG), all artificial colors, and sodium nitrite. And personally, I also avoid all artificial sweeteners (yes, even Splenda) – not only are they harmful, but I think they have a terrible aftertaste! Also, when in doubt, if the ingredients list is super long it’s a safe bet that the food item is packed with all kinds of junk ingredients. Look for words that you can’t pronounce or terms that sound like something from your ninth-grade chemistry textbook. This is yet another red flag that there are chemical additives that might be harmful.
Q: What are some convenient and healthy snacks that are kid friendly?
I am all about the convenience factor – there are plenty of kid-friendly foods that are easy to grab – you just have to make sure you stock your fridge and pantry with them and not the chemical laden junk – because if there’s a choice, the junk food usually wins!
Here are some of my favorite kid snacks:
- Fage Total 0% yogurt – add your own fruit
- Stoneyfield Farm Fat Free yogurts
- Horizons Organic mozzarella string cheese
- Mott’s Organics Unsweetened Apple Sauce
- Garden of Eatin’ Blue Corn Tortilla Chips
- Froose – it’s a new juice for kids – made from organic whole grains and fruit (available at www.froose.com)
And of course, any whole fruit or veggie!
Q: I am a lousy cook and therefore rely on prepackaged meals way too often. Are there any brands or meals that are nutritionally better than others?
I like most Kashi All Natural Frozen Meals and Amy’s Frozen Meals. Most of their varieties contain zero junk ingredients – however, most are still high in sodium – so, you’ll want to limit your intake of any frozen meal to just a few a week.
Q: When you are grocery shopping, do you find yourself looking in others’ carts and if so, are you shocked or pleasantly surprised?
OMG – if my friends happen to see me at the grocery store, they run the other way so I won’t see what’s in their cart! And, yes, I totally check out other shoppers’ carts! I am sad to say that most of the time I am shocked to see that 90% of what they’re buying is pure junk.
And then, in some cases, I see shoppers making good food choices – but choosing not so good brands. For instance, whole wheat is bread is healthy, but not if you buy the brands that contain high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, and other additives. Yogurt is healthy, but the brands that use artificial colors, tons of added processed sugars, and other fillers – are not. The point is, just a few smart brand changes can provide huge health benefits.
Many thanks to Kerry for taking the time to enlighten me!
She also is offering a bonus for Workout Mommy readers! Anyone who signs up for their newsletter in the next 48 hours will get a FREE copy of ebrandaid’s Grocery Store Survival Guide. This is a seven page e-Report that provides a jumpstart into the challenging and sometimes treacherous world of healthy food shopping. This guide serves up the basic tools needed to quickly zone in on the healthiest brands – starting today! It includes the top list of junk ingredients that are lurking in your foods, the Brand Doctor’s favorite list of BestBrands by category, and a Grocery Store Brand Request form.