What are you really eating??

One of the common ways we describe to eat healthy, especially when we try to clean up eating habits (meaning going Paleo) we talk about ingredient labels. This is often an over looked part of the food or beverage being purchased by the consumer. Usually the food label is checked for carb, protein, fat (if you don't know what you're doing) and sugar percentages. Although these are important, the ingredient label is either as or more important.
If the product says "sugar free" but contains sucralose or fructose then it contains sugar and a lot of it. In fact most of the sugar free products get away with saying they are sugar free because they remove the sugar, add a chlorine mocule to the sugar molecule, and then reintroduce it back into the product. Yes, I said chlorine, the same chemical you put in your pool to clean it. Yummy :)
When we tell people to go Paleo we usually suggest that when they are buying a product, if it has an ingredients label DONT BUY IT CAUSE ITS NOT FOOD!! If they have to tell you whats in it, which means you dont know just by looking at it, there is a problem with that. No one should not know whats in an apple, or chicken, or water, or turkey, or lettuce. Get my point. If its natural, you should already know what it is. But if you pick up a product and it says things like: hydrolyzed collagen, sodium caseinate, glycerine, polydextrose, maltodextrin, guar gum, cyanocobalamin, D-Alpha tocopherylacetate etc etc then its not food. I dont even know what the hell most of that is or how to say it. (By the ways I got SOME of those ingredients off the back of an Atkins bar) We also suggest that if it has a shelf life longer than 2 weeks, DONT BUY IT CAUSE ITS NOT FOOD. This is also a reason we dont really suggest "protein powders." We dont really know whats in them.
When it comes to foods in general, these rules can apply to everything. For instance I have posted about what to look for when buying meat. Free range, non hormonal, no additive meats. Why? Well here is a breakdown from an article in the LA Times about tasty healthy chicken:
"Overall the birds we liked best for their meats flavor and texture were generally organic or fed special diets and almost all were free range.
According to the USDA requirements, organic chickens must be fed additive-free diets, be raised under specific conditions and not be treated with antibiotics. Generally, the organic chickens we sampled were fed diets almost entirely of corn and soy. Conventional chickens can be fed diets that include animal by products and fat.
Free range chickens are allowed to roam outside of the coop (though the amount of room is not specified); because then can move around, their muscles are allowed to grow more naturally."
Want to know what else is in your foods, check this article out:
http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/10-ingredients-fast-food.htm

Now I understand and am fully aware of improvements in modern foods and nutritions. But some of these are false improvements that are actually potentially harmful additives. A large portion of the things we buy will have an ingredient label on it and contain things that have been added to the product to improve quality or shelf life, I understand this. BUT it doesnt mean that we need it. If the product can be harmful, why buy it. Analogy: If the stove is red and hott, should you touch it? So, if your potential product is dangerous to your health, should you buy it? (And I know from one of you Im gonna hear the old "OH!! But its soooo tasty!!!) In this case I would agree and say yes, it is, its very tasty in fact, and a once in a blue moon induglance hopefully wont kill you, but dont go nuts and have it when ever you fracking want. Our foods are evolving and have had certain things added to them, some of which even could help our general health. Just be catious about what you are buying and what your are putting into your system. This is simply a warning. Why am I warning you? Because I dont want to hear a complaint of why you cant loose weight, stop eating a certain food because its "soooo tasty" or have recently been diagonsed with a disease. I know I may be sounding brash or even like an ass, but I have the potential to help you and you dont want it, then I dont want to waste my time, or yours.
So join my cult and eat healthy. You will look sexier, feel better, preform great, live longer, have healthier children, be smarter, etc etc. My cult is awesome. We even eat ice cream. If you have a problem with my cult, talk to my power animal. PEACE!