Walk
into any grocery store and you’ll find products boasting a wide range of health
claims. Some foods are labeled “enriched” while others are labeled “fortified”
or “all-natural” in an effort to be appealing to health-conscious consumers.
But what do these terms really mean? While some food-label claims are regulated
by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the US Department of Agriculture
(USDA), others are just gimmicks to get you to buy the products.
Decoding Food
Claims at the Grocery Store
Before purchasing a product, be sure to read all the ingredients, regardless of
what the label says. All healthy food products should use whole ingredients and
not list any processed flours, saturated and trans fats, or added sugars, such
as high fructose corn syrup. Take whole-wheat crackers, for example. The first
ingredient listed on the box should be 100% whole-wheat flour — not
to be confused with wheat flour, which is a form of white flour. The South
Beach Diet recommends preparing meals using fresh whole foods as often as
possible. But when it comes to prepackaged products, like breads, pasta, and
broths, for example, you need to read labels carefully. To help you make the
best food choices, here are the facts on some of the most common food claims:
Enriched
The facts: “Enriched” means the nutrients that
were originally in the food were lost during the refining process and have been
replaced to make it more nutritious. Enriched foods don’t compensate for the
natural nutrients and fiber that were lost during processing.
Fortified
The facts: Foods that are “fortified” have
nutrients added (such as vitamins and minerals) that were never present in the
original product. For example, milk is fortified with vitamin D, which was
never present when it came out of the cow.
All-Natural
The Facts: Beware of foods labeled
“all-natural” or “100%” natural.” The FDA and USDA don’t regulate products with
these claims. The labels “all-natural” and “100% natural” actually have no
nutritional meaning. A manufacturer can take anything that grows in nature,
process and strip it of its nutrients, and still claim that it’s “all-natural.”
You can verify whether a product is truly made with “all-natural” ingredients
by reading the ingredients list. Avoid products in particular with artificial
and processed ingredients, added sugars, and hydrogenated or partially
hydrogenated oils.
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