The truth behind the so called “healthy labels”

October 01, 2018

We know you know, how much we love talking about healthy foods and while our favorite topic is usually organic baby food and formula, today we want switch our attention to YOU! Yes, YOU! Why? Because being a healthy parent is just as important as taking care of your baby.

Either if you are a breastfeeding mom or not, or a working dad, making sure you are getting all those nutrients is important to have the health and energy to be a great parent, for a very long time ahead.

There is a lot of hype going around right now and a lot of products shine the words: Fat-Free! Gluten Free! Sugar-Free! All Natural! Organic!

Unfortunately, these same words can be found on products that are everything but healthy. A recent Nielsen survey found that 59% of consumers within the US find it hard to understand nutritional labels.

Uh oh! At Organic Baby Food Shop in this article, we wanted to debunk the most misleading phrases and hopefully help you make smarter choices when buying groceries at the supermarket.

All Natural!

When we think All Natural, usually fresh picked apples or green hearty vegetables come to our minds, right?

Yes, all Natural is great; unfortunately products labeled “All Natural” are usually not, because as long as they don’t contain added colors, artificial flavors or “synthetic substances” they are allowed to use the “All Natural” phrase on their packaging. Usually anything that has a label “All natural” on it is in fact not All natural at all.

No added Sugar!

Especially for those of us who are trying to get in shape, or staying in shape, it is important to keep an eye out for sugars and carbs, so “No added Sugar” products are great, right? Unfortunately not so, foods like bread, milk, fruit, and cereals already contain quite a high percentage of sugar (or carbs). So not adding sugar to the product does not mean the manufacturer didn’t add any maltodextrin or carbohydrates to it.

Zero Trans Fat

If you want a healthy heart, stay away from trans fats. But going for zero trans fat product does not mean they are 100% trans fat-free, as they are still allowed to contain as much as 0.5 grams per serving.

Free range

This one of our favorites! At our organic baby store, we love everything about our planet and its inhabitants, including of course, animals. So when we think of free range, we imagine free animals running around happily on a sunny farm. Though the US Department of Agriculture does demand livestock to have access to the outside, it has no requirements of the duration, amount and quality of it. So what free range really means, unfortunately, is that the animals have some exposure to the outside rather than living and running freely. There are still many products that actually do care about the well being of their animals, maybe not as great as Holle and Lebenswert does, but pretty close. We suggest doing some research before buying a product.

chickens

Fat-free!

Another famous one! Fat-Free can be a very misleading label indeed. When we choose a Fat-Free product we usually do so to avoid extra calories. The reality though is that the so-called Fat-Free products have just as many calories as the Full-Fat one's and some have even more sugars or carbs added to them. Make sure to read the label carefully.

Light

Did you know that most manufacturers use “Light” to describe the flavors rather than the ingredients? So when we look at a Light product it is essential to look at the calorie count and fat before making a decision.

Gluten Free

To buy only Gluten Free products is important for those of you that suffer from Celiac Disease or Gluten intolerance, for the rest of us though, buying Gluten Free products has absolutely no impact or benefit to our health.

Organic

Very similar to the above mentioned “All Natural”, Organic is not always what it promises to be in the US. Make sure you buy products that not only claim to include “organic ingredients” but is at least 95% made out of organic ingredients. This is actually the reason why we chose to buy our organic baby formula in Europe, as compared to the US produced baby formulas were anything but organic.

As a bottom line, it is safe to say that if you want to eat healthily, everything that is processed or already comes with a label, might not be as healthy as advertised and should be avoided. To eat healthy simply eat clean, real organic and unpacked products such as vegetables, fruits and lean meats.