In order to live a healthier life, we believe it is important to understand what makes up our diet, and understand the many different components of each item we buy.
One of the most important parts of our nutritional wellness is the essential macronutrients, proteins, lipids (fats), carbohydrates and water. Macronutrients are building blocks of the body, with each required for life; otherwise, negative health consequences occur.
According to the National Library of Medicine (NLM), “excessive or deficient macronutrient intake is associated with adverse health outcomes in the general population.”
However, oftentimes we see people claim that carbs are “the devil” or that fats will make you fat. The narrative shifts to the idea that protein is the most important for being healthy, and cutting fat and carbs means a healthy life.
This is generally not true.
We believe this misconception is largely driven by social trends and social media rather than scientific evidence, and often those who push this narrative come with a paid class and product in their hands to offer a “healthier alternative.”
“However, a low intake of lipids or carbohydrates can have important implications for health and disease,” NLM said.
It is important to know what types of fats and sugars to consume and what ones to avoid. Fats themselves can be divided into three categories: saturated, unsaturated and trans fats, not all of which are considered healthy.
According to the Mayo Clinic, “Trans fats are a type of fat that raises bad cholesterol and lowers good cholesterol.”
“Most trans fats are in plant oils that have been chemically changed to be solid fat. These are called partially hydrogenated oils and at one time, trans fat oils were thought to be a healthy choice to replace saturated fats,” Mayo Clinic said. “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration determined that artificially created trans fats are ‘no longer recognized as safe’ in foods.”
In 2015, the FDA took the significant step of determining that the major source of artificial trans fats in the food supply is no longer “generally recognized as safe.”
We see this as proof that what was once marketed as healthy or safe to be consumed can later be proven harmful for consumption, and foods quickly discovered to be “healthy” and cheaper can often be to our long-term detriment.
The same goes for sugars. The term “no added sugar” may make it sound like we are making the right nutritious choice for our bodies, when in reality, there are hidden sugars under names we may have never heard of. High fructose corn syrup is a common sugar added to products in addition to sucrose, better known as table sugar or glucose, which is essential for body cells to make energy.
Once we better understand the four major macronutrients, we can decipher the food labels associated with them and analyze what is vital for our wellness and what is added to food.
This brings us to the often confusing and complex food label, with many different chemicals and ingredients used to make our food. This includes items like Sodium benzoate, Potassium sorbate and Butylated hydroxyanisole, all of which keep food preserved.
The implementation of AI and phones makes scanning and searching for each item as easy as taking a picture and having an AI or Google give us what each ingredient means.
The guide to what we are eating is the food label, listing each ingredient, serving size, calorie count and daily percentage. This often seems daunting; however, once we know how to read it, healthiness is easier to manage.
According to the FDA, the daily percentage, in particular, is vital as it tells us the percentage of our recommended daily consumption of each ingredient. Knowing that something makes up 60% of your daily sodium intake allows you to be more conscious about your sodium intake and avoid overconsumption.
According to Scientific American, within addiction, there are levers or methods to activate the reward system within the brain; “ultraprocessed foods seem to access the most levers.”
“Ultraprocessed foods are made to be the most palatable, the most delicious. We don’t think about broccoli as an addictive substance,” Scientific American says.
Understanding that ultra-processed foods are not only unhealthy but addictive is important, as it shows that eating fast food is by design to be addictive, and being addicted shouldn’t be a shameful thing, but shifting the narrative to being the victim of advertising and its ease of access.
Furthermore, advertising within foods is deliberately misleading, vague and predatory.
We see on products like eggs “cage free,” which leads the buyer to assume these are free-range chickens being happy outside; however, it often means they live within cramped warehouses, since cage free doesn’t mean outdoor.
Other buzzwords when it comes to labeling are things like “free-range” or “humanely raised,” which have little to no regulations required to slap on.
In addition to the regulations of animal products, there are also foods themselves with the term “natural” slapped onto products. We believe these labels and tags are designed more to influence buying decisions than to inform consumers accurately.
According to the University of Connecticut (UCONN), natural is largely unregulated for vegetables and non-animal products.
“Natural is largely unregulated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for most foods except meat, poultry, and egg products,” UCONN said.
Another commonly misunderstood label is “non-GMO,” which often implies that genetically modified foods are unhealthy or unsafe. However, according to the FDA, GMO foods currently on the market are just as safe as their non-GMO counterparts. Despite this, the label is frequently used as a marketing tool to make products appear healthier, even when there is little nutritional difference.
This reinforces the narrative that food marketing often prioritizes perception and marketability over scientific research.
In the end, food labels and trends should not dictate our health choices; knowledge should. The more we question what we see, the better we can take control and live healthier lives.