After
getting my new phone and downloading this app called “Fooducate”, I
decided I should share what I learned from this app with others.
So
let me explain this first. The app is really cool! You take your iphone
and scan barcodes on food products, and it grades the product by how
healthy it is for you. When you scan the product, it beeps, so beware! You
might want to turn your volume down, so you and whoever you may be
shopping with is not embarrassed, or perhaps just ditches you (this is
coming from someone who knows). It scans the barcode by using the
camera.
It
allows you to compare between two products, so you can pick between two
snacks you want, to see which one is healthier, has less fat, less
calories, etc. It also gives to healthier alternatives.
My
favorite feature is that it tells you if it contains Trans fats,
artificial flavors, citric acid, high-fructose corn syrup, etc. You can
read about the additives in the foods and it tells you what the purpose
is of that particular un-natural substance found in that product.
Are
you aware of the fact that companies add things such as
natural/artificial flavors to foods to make them taste better? Many
times it’s because it masks the lack of flavor from lack of natural
ingredients. Artificial flavoring is found in products such as fruit
snacks, frozen foods, and prepared meals. Home cooked meals, fruits, and
vegetables don’t need artificial flavoring added to them, because they
are natural ingredients.
Any
artificial coloring found in foods is bad for you. Companies that used
coloring to help make their product look more appealing to buy used to
use natural coloring; like beet juice for red and other natural foods
for other colors. Now companies are mainly concerned about cutting
costs, so they add cheap, un-natural colors. Some of them have been
discovered to cause hyper activity (ADHD) in children, as well as cancer
and allergies.
Citric
acid is a common one. This is not to be mistaken for vitamin C. Citric
acid is responsible for tart and sour tastes to mimic the lemon or lime
flavor. Companies use this because it is so cheap to manufacture…because
it’s artificial!
Beware
of ( BHT) Butylated hydroxytoluene. It is an additive used to retard
rancidity in oils and food that contain oils and fats. Surprisingly, BHT
as well as some other very terrible things, are found in none other
than products such as Kellogg’s fiber bars. Just goes to show you, when
you think you are getting something healthy and on the box it says “with
anti-oxidants”, you need to read the label and see what kind of
ingredients it has in it. Studies have shown this is one additive that
is best to avoid.
Choose this over....
This!
When
there are more than 35 ingredients in any product, you should probably
not get it, especially if you can’t pronounce most of them.
Hope you learned something new about what is in your food!
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