How To Read Through Food Product Marketing Jargon

It is essential that you learn and understand how to analyze the foods that you are eating.  Educating yourself is the key to long-standing success with any subject, nutrition is no different.  Would you put together a piece of electronic equipment without at least glancing at the directions? Probably not, so why would you put something into your body without glancing at what the food is made of?  It is not a cliche to say “you are what you eat,” because chemically speaking once everything is broken down to its basic components you really are made up of the food products you consume.  

If you can read food labels you are setting yourself up for success because you can decipher total calories, grams of each nutrient, ingredients contained within the product, serving size, how many servings, percentage of recommended daily allowance, vitamins & minerals, and much more.  The food label is the blueprint for a particular product and seeing past the marketing jargon will help you avoid the common pitfalls of nutrition.  Remember that companies research different marketing techniques to sell their products; they do not try and inform the consumer of the health benefits of their product.  The consumer must be aware and avoid the jargon that is present all around you in the supermarket.  Words like: Sugar free, fat free, sugarless, real fruit flavor, hydrogenated, light, low calorie, zero calories, just to name a few… when I see these words, red flags are immediately raised and I scrutinize these products even more.  Most of the time food products with these catch phrases have artificial sweeteners, preservatives, and tons of chemical junk that you would be better off not consuming.  

I teach 2 basic rules when shopping: 1. the rule of pronunciation, if you can’t pronounce it… its probably not good for you 2. The rule of 1 ingredient… always try to get as close to one ingredient as possible in a food product.  If you purchase peanut butter it should only contain PEANUTS! There is no reason for peanut butter to have 6 ingredients in it unless its been chemically altered in some way.  Take the time to read the ingredients and plan your meals, the first few time you go shopping it might take a few minutes longer but as you familiarize yourself to reading labels and the marketing jargon it will be second nature while shopping.   Do You Really Need To Supplement Your Diet Or Is It All Just Marketing Hype? It is good to know that a food simply labeled organic does not necessarily mean it is a good product, by law a food must only have to be at least 51% organic to be labeled organic.  Just recently laws were passed that a food could also be labeled as organic even if it was treated by inorganic pesticides.  That is why brand recognition and the place where you purchase your food will play a role in the credibility of food choices.  Meat that is bought from grass fed cows will always be a higher quality than those fed by corn or other less optimal feed, some are actually fed ground up pieces of other animals!  The best rules are to stick with antibiotic free, hormone free, free range animals.  All fish should be wild caught and not farm raised, those fish that are farm raised have been found to contain higher amounts of PCB’s within them.  The effects of PCB’s have been extensively documented.  You may end up paying a few extra bucks but in the end its worth the quality of food you receive, you will pay for it one way or another… either you pay now for higher quality food or pay later for bad blood chemistry.  ”All natural” is also a commonly used jargon word that doesn’t mean anything objectively, the best way to check to see if the food product is natural is to look at the ingredient list.  If the first few ingredients contain: Enriched white/wheat flour, white flour, modified corn starch, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, autolyzed yeast extract, MSG, and/or hydrolyzed vegetable protein; then the words “all natural” mean nothing because none of those ingredients are close to anything from nature.  These common ingredients are man made, synthetic alterations of food products.  For example, High fructose corn syrup is a man made form of very cheap sugar (Glucose), it’s made specifically for the purposes of saving money during food production but consuming large amounts has been linked to obesity and metabolic disorders.  
When you are in the supermarket always remember that the businesses are set up to sell food products and not to ensure you buy healthy foods.  It is up to you as a consumer to do your research and read food labels so you are making healthy purchases.  I recommend to always make a list before shopping and think about your meals and how to plan for them.  For example, a dozen eggs with celery and cucumbers to make eggwhite salad, a rotisserie chicken to make chicken salad with, cans of salmon for salmon salad, and my favorite salad: diced cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, and avocado’s with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  These are just a few examples of how you can plan what you are planning to buy at the supermarket by thinking about what you are planning to eat.  

Once you go over the jargon a few times, you will always know what words will raise red flags… learning to read the labels will help you estimate calories, which will help you lose weight or gain lean muscle mass depending on your goals.  Making healthy lifestyle choices starts with the ingredients you choose to put into your body… know that whole foods are the best types of foods to be eating and supplementation should only add to a solid, healthy foundation of eating habits.  Stick to the perimeter of the supermarket and buy foods that don’t have ton’s of ingredients which will automatically decrease the amount of ‘garbage’ you consume.  Contact me if you are interested in getting more specific information including food lists, menu plans, a lifestyle workbook that goes over basic physiology and nutrition (Fats, carbs, proteins, vitamins & minerals, and much more), and comprehensive evaluation of your current lifestyle and past history.  I focus on teaching you how to live healthy and why certain foods are good for you, just being ‘spoon fed’ what to eat may help you reach your goals temporarily but in the end if you don’t know what or why you made these choices you will always revert back to your old habits.  Remember…. LIFESTYLE CHANGES BROOKLYN, NY are what create permanent changes, not a “diet” or 3 months of food restrictions.  

These suggestions are made to focus on maintaining overall health, which in turn should help your immune system and body become stronger and hopefully more resistant to developing disease.  Nobody truly knows the exact type of “diet” that will keep your from developing certain diseases such as cancer.  The suggestions above in conjunction with exercise, proper sleep, and stress reduction can only help your body, so why not at least insure your body has the best chances for survival in a toxic planet?  Every little bit helps and its all cumulative! Don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions.

Dr. Gordon C.S.C.S.

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