Read Food Labels and Ingredients Lists
When you go grocery shopping it‘s important to read food labels thoroughly; a lot of nasty chemicals, additives and preservatives can be hidden in the ingredients list. At first glance, the nutritional information on a packaged product will look fine — no trans fats or only three grams of sugar. However the chemicals hiding in the ingredients list can still do your body harm. To give you an idea of what I’m talking about, let’s take a look at the contents of three different kinds of bread, all of which sound pretty healthy: organic whole-wheat, organic sprouted grain, and light whole-wheat.
Whole Foods Organic 100% Whole Wheat (1 slice, 110 calories): whole wheat flour, water, canola oil, vital, wheat gluten, sea salt, yeast, cultured wheat flour, enzymes (wheat flour, enzymes, ascorbic acid)
Food for Life Organic Sprouted Grain Bread Ezekiel 4:9 Low Sodium (1 slice, 80 calories): organic sprouted wheat, organic sprouted barley, organic sprouted millet, organic malted barley, organic sprouted lentils, organic sprouted soybeans, organic sprouted spelt, filtered water, fresh yeast.
Oroweat 100% Whole Wheat Light, (2 slices, 80 calories): water, whole wheat flour, wheat gluten. oat fiber, soy fiber, molasses, fructose, cracked wheat, yeast, salt, wheat bran, nonfat milk, barley, wheat fiber, brown sugar, dextrose, natural flavor, calcium propionate (preservative), rye malt, soybean oil, sodium stearoyl lactylate, mono and digycerides, guar gum, xanthan gum, ethoxylated mono and diglycerides, monocalcium phosphate, soy lecithin, carrageenan gum, propylene glycol, caramel color, ascorbic acid.
Both organic breads only have nine ingredients compared to the 32 ingredients that are in the conventional/non-organic whole wheat light bread. Think about it: can it really be necessary to add 23 extra ingredients to bread? The fact is these ingredients are only there to keep expenses for raw materials as low as possible, and to extend shelf-life and increase profits. Of the three breads examined here, I would definitely pick the Food for Life organic sprouted grain bread—the cheapest and healthiest! I also understand all of the ingredients, and know that they have not undergone refinement or processing, but are left for me to consume as God intended!
