Don’t Let Food Labels Make A Fool Out Of You! 
You’d never knowingly eat something guaranteed to harm your health; yet, every day you run the risk of doing exactly that! 

In this Special Report you’ll learn what to look for and what to look out for on food labels and how to quickly determine if the food you are considering is healthy or harmful.

Food affects your health in many different ways.

Heart health, blood pressure, bone density, immune system strength, liver and kidney function, muscle and joint soreness, nervousness, irritability, and your ability to concentrate are just a few of the things powerfully effected by your food choices.

Making Sense Of Food Labels Is Easy When You Know What To Look For 

You don’t need a degree in chemistry to be able to INSTANTLY understand what’s important and what’s not on a food label.  In fact, all you need are a few basics about ingredients and which ones cause a healthy or unhealthy reaction.

The most important things to know when reading food labels are the simplest.  Once you get the basics down you’ll understanding food labels like a pro and may even be tempted to put on a food label reading demonstration at the next party you attend. 

About Digestion

It takes energy and essential nutrients to digest food.  Unless a food gives you more nutrients than you consume digesting it, eating the food leaves you in worse shape nutritionally than if you had eaten nothing at all.

About Macronutrients

Everything that crosses you lips is broken down into three macronutrients; protein, carbohydrate and fat. Each one serves a different purpose and causes different reactions in your body.

About Hunger

What you feel as "hunger", is your brain sending you a message saying, "I need nutrition! I need vitamins and minerals", "I need some essential fats and protein, FEED ME so I can keep you healthy and keep you going!"

The only reason you "need" to eat is because your body needs macronutrients, (protein, carbohydrate and fat), to run on and it needs essential nutrients, (vitamins, minerals, etc.), to keep you heart, liver, kidneys, immune system and everything else working properly.

Beware of "empty calorie" foods!

When you eat empty calorie foods you stay hungry no matter how many calories you consume.

• Chase a hand full of cookies or a bag of chips and a candy bar with a soda water and your stomach may be full, but you’ll be starved for nutrition and hungry again in no time.

Grocery store shelves are littered with bags, boxes, packages and cans of food that are high in calories, loaded with chemicals and woefully low in nutrition. Avoid them like the plague!

A nutritionist once said, "We dig our graves with our teeth." No doubt he was referring to the empty calorie, chemical rich, micronutrient unbalanced, garbage-food that has become so popular.

· Empty calorie foods are a complete rip off.
· Empty calorie foods do not satisfy your appetite.

Empty calorie foods are like nutritional hot checks!  Processing them uses up more nutrients than the food provides, leaving you with a nutritional deficit.

Empty calorie foods are loaded with chemicals and preservatives that force your liver to work overtime, burn up essential nutrients and drag you down.

Empty calorie foods usually contain the worst possible mix of macronutrients; high in carbohydrates and low in protein, healthy fats and fiber.

Empty calorie foods include most snack food and fast food, all junk food, candy, white flour products, commercially processed foods and more.

Beware of Chemicals & Preservatives

The FDA has awarded over 8000 chemicals, preservatives and food additives the coveted GRS designation.  GRS stands for Generally Recognized as Safe.  Food processing chemicals are a multi-billion dollar a year industry.

Most Food Additives Are Chemicals

I don’t know about you, but I’m not too jacked up about eating food laced with chemicals that are "generally recognized as safe".  What do you think?

Chemicals, additives, preservatives and dyes play no role in building health and vitality. In fact, they pointedly work against it.

Health experts warn against eating processed food because chemical additives like nitrates, nitrites, sulfates, sulfites, transfatty acids damage your health.  It’s that simple.

AVOID CHEMICAL STEW

Most processed foods are loaded with processing chemicals, not one of which will do you any good at all!

HERE IS A COMPLETE LABEL READING COURSE IN A SINGLE SENTENCE

If the food contains ingredients that have chemical sounding names you aren’t sure how to pronounce, DON’T BUY IT!

Not reading labels and exposing yourself to the risk of consuming potentially dangerous chemical ingredients is like picking up strangers in dark alleys and inviting them home, it could lead to disaster because you just don’t know what you’re dealing with.

UNDERSTANDING PROTEIN, CARBOHYDRATE & FAT

Whether it’s pizza, steamed broccoli, candy or a steak dinner, ALL FOOD is composed of protein, carbohydrate and fat in some amount and ratio.

Food labels tell you how much PROTEIN, CARBOHYDRATE and FAT is contained IN A SINGLE SERVING, but for that information to be meaningful, you have to know what protein, carbohydrate and fat do in your body and how these macro nutrients effect your health.

Let’s take a closer look at protein.

Protein is made of amino acids and amino acids are the raw material building blocks your body needs to build muscle and make thousands of different protein combinations that keep your immune system strong and keep you healthy.

Without adequate protein your body will become soft and weak and you will not have the amino acids you need for a strong immune system or proper organ function.

There’s been hot debate for years over how much protein is the right amount, but there is one thing everyone agrees on; protein is essential and without it you will eventually become weak and ill. Most people tend to get too little protein in their diet, not too much.

As far as food labels go, protein content is NOT the most important thing to be concerned with.  But generally speaking, the higher the protein content listed on the label the better. 

Realistically, unless you are going out of your way to consume a high protein diet, it’s unlikely you will ever over consume protein.

FATS - THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY

There’s a lot of confusion and misunderstanding about the role fat plays in human health. Certain fats are extremely good for you and others are extremely bad. Here’s what you need to know to make healthy choices.

Good fats include the essential fatty acids the omega 3’s and 6’s.

You get these essential fats in cold-water fish, seeds and nuts, (flax seeds and walnuts are especially rich in omega 3) and certain fresh vegetables and whole grains.

Today it’s difficult to get all the healthy essential fatty acids you need through diet alone. Personally, I supplement for EFAs alternating between flax seed oil and cod liver oil. 

Mono saturated fat, from sources such as olive oil, nuts, avocados, and more, is extremely good for you.

Numerous studies have shown that a diet rich in mono saturated fat lowers cholesterol, lowers triglycerides and has a favorable effect on blood pressure.

Polyunsaturated fat: Before chemical processing, polyunsaturated fat is generally a healthy fat, consisting primarily of the essential fatty acid Omega 6.

Polyunsaturated fat comes from certain plants, seeds and vegetables.

Safflower oil, sunflower oil and corn oil are common sources of polyunsaturated fat.

Unfortunately today, practically ALL the polyunsaturated fat you encounter in food has been hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated in order to give the oil "shelf life".

Hydrogenated oils is harmful to your health and should be avoided.  In my opinion, it should be classified as a poison by the FDA and eliminated from all food processing with no exceptions.

What about inflammation and fat?

Besides being chemically distorted there’s another problem with polyunsaturated fats.

Polyunsaturated fat consists entirely of Omega 6 essential fatty acids. And most people get way too much Omega 6 in their diet.

Omega 6 essential fatty acids regulate inflammation in your body.  Too much Omega 6 in your diet makes you more prone to experiencing inflammation and pain.

Omega 3 essential fatty acids regulate the anti-inflammatory response in your body. Most people get way too little Omega 3 in their diet.

Too much Omega 6 and not enough Omega 3 is a perfect prescription for inflammation and pain that you would never experience if proper balance were maintained.

Saturated Fat: Saturated fat is an essential component of cell structure and is contained in every cell in your body.  

Most saturated fats are easily burned for energy, in fact, only one type of saturated fat, (long carbon chain fat), is stored in the body. 

There’s no benefit in over consuming saturated fat, but saturated fat is essential to good health and getting some, as it occurs naturally in eggs, meat, and dairy is quite good for you. 

The biggest health concern with most saturated fat is that poultry, beef, and dairy cows are routinely injected with hormones, steroids and antibiotics and these substances tend to accumulate in the fat.

For this reason it is important to select the leaner cuts of beef, trim away visible fat, and never eat chicken skin.  Select beef and poultry raised with no hormones, steroids or antibiotics.

There are 3 types of saturated fat; 1) short-chain; 2) medium-chain, and; 3) long-chain saturated fats.

Short and medium chain saturated fats are burned for energy, your body does not store them.

Long chain saturated fat does not dissolve at body temperature.  If you get too much, this sticky fat can build up in your blood and increase your risk of high blood pressure and heart disease. 

As far as label reading goes, if the polyunsaturated fat content is high, the food probably contains hydrogenated oil and should be avoid. 

• If the fat is mono-saturated then it is healthy.
• If the source of fat is naturally saturated fat it is probably just fine, but even so, be careful not to over consume.  Remember, a little is good for you, but too much is too much. 

COMPLETELY AVOID THE DANGEROUS FAT WHEN POSSIBLE

The fats that are primarily responsible for CAUSING HEART DISEASE and other serious illness do not come from animals. 

The fats that threaten your health the most are man made, i.e. hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils, which do not occur in nature.

Hydrogenated oils contain transfatty acids and transfatty acids cause arterial damage, heart disease, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, elevated triglycerides, certain forms of cancer and more. 

In a study recently published in The Journal of The American Medical Association, Dr. Walter Willet, head of the Harvard School of Public Health estimated that at least 100,000 people in the U.S. die each year as a direct result of heart disease CAUSED BY consuming foods containing hydrogenated oils and transfatty acids over a period of many years.

Unless you READ THE INGREDIENTS you won’t know if the product contains health destroying hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils.

If hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil is listed in the ingredients, just say no.  These unhealthy fats are so bad that nothing could possibly justify eating the food.

If you sprinkle vitamins into a glass of poison, you still have a glass of poison AND if you load up otherwise healthy food with hydrogenated oils and food preservatives, the food is no longer healthy.

Hydrogenated oil is a common ingredient in margarine, commercial salad dressings, practically all-commercial baked goods, candy, fast foods, processed foods and much more.

Start reading labels and you’ll be very surprised at how many foods contain these health-destroying oils that should be abolished from our food supply.

What about cholesterol?

The role of cholesterol in human health is extremely misunderstood.

Any basic microbiology textbook clearly explains that cholesterol synthesis in the body is controlled by the action of the hormone insulin and that the consumption of dietary cholesterol has little effect on blood serum cholesterol levels.

Eating food that contains cholesterol has only a tiny effect on total blood cholesterol levels. Eating foods that are high in insulin-stimulating sugar and carbohydrates will drive your cholesterol and triglycerides higher and higher and keep them elevated.

If you’re concerned about cholesterol, triglycerides and heart health, read this article on cholesterol, choose foods that are high in protein and don’t worry about naturally occurring fat and the little bit of dietary cholesterol they may contain.

As far as labels are concerned, in my opinion, the amount of cholesterol a food contains is of practically no importance compared to other information revealed on the label.

What About Carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates are SUGAR molecules chained together.  Carbohydrates ARE sugar.

Eating foods high in carbohydrates produces the same result as eating sugar straight out of the sugar bowl. The result is the same because carbohydrates and sugar are the same.

A carbohydrate molecule consists entirely of a group of sugar molecules linked together like links on a car chain. A carbohydrate molecule is a "sugar-chain".

When you digest a carbohydrate, the links in the "sugar chain" are broken and each individual sugar molecule is turned into glucose, which enters your blood stream and causes your "blood sugar" to rise rapidly.

Rapidly rising blood sugar gives you a quick burst of energy; some people call it a "sugar high".

Have you ever seen kids eat candy and start bouncing off the wall like nuclear powered steel balls in a pinball machine?

Give a kid a breakfast high in carbohydrates, (like cereal and milk or waffles or pancakes), and by the time they get to school, they’ll have so much "sugar energy", they couldn’t sit still if their life depended on it. Poor teacher!

Minutes after you consume a high carbohydrate meal, your insulin level goes up 15 to 25 times higher than normal and stays elevated for 3 to 5 hours.

Eating in a way that keeps insulin levels elevated throughout the day eventually leads to a condition known as insulin resistance.

Research has proven beyond doubt that insulin resistance dramatically increases your risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, kidney and gall bladder disease.

If you believe a diet high in sugar is bad for you then you automatically believe that a diet high in carbohydrates is bad for you because sugar and carbohydrates are exactly the same thing.

Every 5 grams of carbohydrates equals just over 1 teaspoon of sugar. If a soft drink contains 35 grams of carbohydrates, you divide 35 by 5 to determine that the soft drink has the equivalent of 7 teaspoons of sugar. That’s WAY too much!

When you read food labels CARBOHYDRATE CONTENT is one of the most important things to look for, because carbohydrates have a quick and profound effect on your body chemistry.

Carbohydrates cause your blood sugar to rise, which causes your pancreas to make insulin to lower the blood sugar. Insulin lowers the blood sugar by turning the sugar, (glucose), into fat and then storing that fat in your fat cells.

There is not a single disease state in all of medical literature associated with carbohydrate deficiency, however there are dozens of disease states directly associated with insulin abnormalities that are caused by carbohydrate excess.

IF THIS IS IN THE PRODUCT JUST SAY NO AND WALK AWAY BECAUSE THERE IS NO SAFE AMOUNT

Certain substances routinely added to processed foods are so bad for you that, if you see them listed in the ingredients, there’s no need to read further. Just say no!

HYDROGENATED AND PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED OIL: These are the oils that contain the transfatty acids that cause heart disease and any products contain them. (No wonder heart disease is such a bad problem!)  Avoid them.

READ THE INGREDIENTS BEFORE YOU READ THE NUTRITION FACTS PANEL.  If hydrogenated oil is listed done even consider the product.

CORN SYRUP:  Corn syrup causes a blood sugar reaction that is faster, more extreme and harder to lower naturally than eating pure table sugar. Products containing corn syrup are usually high in carbohydrates, often contain hydrogenated oil and practically always LOW in nutrition.

If corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup or corn syrup in ANY form is listed in the ingredients, the product is unhealthy and NOTHING ELSE ON THE LABEL MATTERS.  A diet rich in corn syrup puts you on the fast track to diabetes.  Just say no!

Vitamin And Mineral Content Is Less Important Than The Macro Nutrient Content And Less Important Than The Additives.   Think about it.  If you put a handful of vitamins in a glass of poison, would it be good for you just because it had vitamins? Of course not!

If you start with healthy food and add hydrogenated oil, corn syrup, and a handful of chemicals, is the otherwise healthy food still good for you?  Of course not!

AFTER YOU READ THE INGREDIENTS, HERE ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TO LOOK FOR ON LABELS

1) serving size;    2) calories per serving;   3) carbohydrates per serving;    4) total fat; 5) sodium;     6) fiber;     7) protein.

SERVING SIZE: It’s important to check the serving size because the nutritional content is based on a single serving, and FREQUENTLY the serving size on the label is so small that anyone would normally eat 2 or 3 servings. For instance chips: a big bag of corn chips has 20 servings, which amounts to a little more than a handful of chips per serving.

CALORIES PER SERVING: A single serving of corn chips contains 150 calories, but a single serving is little more than a nibble.  Eat 3 servings, which is still not a lot of chips, and you have consumed 450 calories.

For some prospective, keep in mind that a 150 pound man running 6 miles an hour will consume about 300 calories in 1 full hour of running. In other words, you get more calories in the chips than you burn running 6 miles an hour for a full hour! Is it worth it?

A BIG OFFENDER is what I call the "adult candy bars".  I’m referring to the "power bars" and "protein bars" that are so popular. These products are light on any real nutrition and heavy on calories. In my opinion most of them are nothing more than dressed up junk food.

CARBOHYDRATES PER SERVING:  5 grams of carbohydrates equals just over 1 teaspoon of sugar. Being high in carbohydrates MEANS being high in sugar. For example; most soft drinks have 35 grams of carbohydrates per serving, which is equal to, (35 divided by 5), or 7 teaspoons of sugar. No wonder a lot of people want the soft drink machines removed from the schools!

Corn chips are another example. Each serving, which is just a handful of chips, contains 20 grams of carbohydrate or the equivalent of 4 teaspoons of sugar, and practically no one eats just a single serving.

Another example is the popular Macaroni & Cheese dinners. One cup contains 31 grams of carbohydrate, which equals 6 teaspoons of sugar PLUS 470 mg of sodium, which is 50% of the sodium a child should have and 25% of the sodium an adult should have. Also, one cup is not a lot to eat for dinner - most people will consume at least 2 cups or more, doubling the carbohydrate and the sodium content.

SALT CONTENT:  It is recommended that children get no more than 1000 mg of sodium per day, which is LESS than the amount contained a single Happy Meal from McDonalds and about the same as you get from some chips, 1 piece of processed lunch meat and a little Macaroni and Cheese dinner.

It is recommended that adults get no less than 800mg of sodium per day and no more than 2400mg of sodium per day. However, most doctors believe 2400 mg is way too high and the upper limit should be far less.

A single serving of tomato sauce, like you get in spaghetti, is 4 ounces and contains 380 mg of sodium. Compare that with the "no salt added" tomato sauce, which contains only 15 mg of sodium per 4 ounce serving. A considerable difference!

Some processed lunchmeats have as much as 600 mg of sodium PER SLICE. If lunch happens to be a sandwich with 2 slices of lunchmeat, a slice of cheese, (which also contains sodium), and a bag of chips, you are consuming a days worth of sodium at a single meal.

TOTAL FAT CONTENT: The most important thing to look for when reading fat content is transfatty acids. Trans-fatty acids are EXTREMELY bad for you.

The Nutrition Council determined that there is "No Safe Amount" of transfatty acid. Transfatty acids, which are found in high amounts in fried foods and all foods containing hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil can actually CAUSE heart disease. Read the label; if the food has transfatty acids, do the right thing, put it back on the shelf and walk away.

FIBER CONTENT: This is easy, the more the better! Foods high in fiber, low in carbohydrate and containing some protein are usually very good for you.

High fiber foods help keep you regular, they help keep the sticky LDL cholesterol under control, and they make you "feel full" so you don’t over eat.

PROTEIN CONTENT: Another easy one, the more the better!  It’s highly unlikely you will over consume protein.

To Sum It All Up

1. READ INGREDIENTS FIRST. If the food contains unsafe ingredients nothing else matters. Nutritional content is important ONLY AFTER you determine the food has no undesirable ingredients or additives.

2. CHECK THE CARBOHYDRATES. 5 grams of carbohydrate is equal to 1 teaspoon of sugar. If a single serving contains more than 15 or 20 grams of carbohydrate, in my opinion, that is just too much sugar. Remember that eating fat does not make you fat.  Eating carbohydrates is what makes you fat!

3. PAY ATTENTION TO SERVING SIZE. Often calories, carbohydrate, fat and salt content looks pretty good, but the serving size is so small it’s just ridiculous. (Bet you can’t eat just one!)

4. PAY ATTENTION TO THE SODIUM CONTENT. Some foods, especially fast foods and processed foods contain enormous amounts of sodium. And too much sodium leads to high blood pressure. Be sure and consider the serving size when looking at the sodium content.

5. TOTAL FAT - Remember that polyunsaturated fat content in processed foods comes primarily from hydrogenated oils. If you are certain the food contains no hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, the fat content is not that big of a concern.

6. PROTEINS & FIBER ARE GOOD FOR YOU. I would never reject a food because the protein or fiber content was too high.

With this information your label reading prowess will be unequaled in the civilized world and nutritional excellence will be yours!  Congratulations.

Health is a choice only you can make and to have excellent health you have to make that choice over and over, day after day.  My goal is to give you information and inspiration to make you achieving excellent health, easy and fun.  Please subscribe to the blog and share this informaiton.

Until Next Post… All The Best To You And Yours!
Russell J. Martino, Ph.D
Bringing You Health… At The Speed Of Life!

This is a small sample of the practical, usable information in 5 Steps To Optimal Health, a program I wrote in 1999 and have updated continuously every year since.  Learn more here:  www.5StepsToOptimalHealth.com 

Written by Dr. Russell J. Martino, Ph.D
The Voice Of Health
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