Even though it was a holiday I had to make a trip to the grocery store today. I could probably have survived another day or two, but I was out of some extra things I give my dogs, and their meals trump mine.
Although I eat a vegetarian diet, I don't expect the same of my dogs. Today I bought chicken as well as chicken broth for them. The only reason I picked up the organic chicken broth was because I was pretty sure I wouldn't get around to cooking the chicken till tomorrow and I wanted them to have some broth with their dinner as well as tomorrow's breakfast.
You would think that if you picked up a container that said organic chicken broth on the label, there would simply be chicken broth inside. As I was putting away my groceries I looked at the label on the chicken broth. Much to my dismay, there is organic cane sugar in this product! Can you believe it? Although it is a very small amount, it is still sugar and not what I had planned to feed to my canine companions!
By the way, I italicized the words, you would think in the last paragraph because my best friend in Abu Dhabi, Amy, and I, always stopped each other when we said those words during our time in the Middle East. We could never just assume anything in that part of the world, and any time we thought we could say, "you would think... " we were always caught short and often dismayed at the lack of sensibility.
And so it is with our food supply. You would think that what you see is what you get. You would think that there would be absolutely no reason to put sugar into chicken broth. You would think a package labeled "organic" would be a healthful choice for man or beast.
Reading labels is an important skill for people who want to make healthful eating choices. It is very enlightening to examine food labels and see just what is in the food you consume. It is also important to educate ourselves about some of the hidden meanings of ingredients. More on this in a future article.
Most of us know that less is more when it comes to food labels. It's also important that you can read, pronounce and have a clear idea of what each ingredient actually is.
That said, it's even better if most foods you buy have no label at all.
Next time you go shopping, see how much of your weekly food supply can be no-label choices. In the produce section, nothing has a label. The same is sometimes true in the bulk section. In the case of whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds, you're pretty safe. However, be careful when it comes to dried fruits and mixtures of any kind.
The first step to eating well is shopping well. Even when you think you are making a good choice, you can sometimes get tripped up. I know I will be extra careful now, even when I'm choosing broth for my dogs.
To find out how a health coach can help you navigate the world of no-label and bulk foods, contact kay@healthfulreturns.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kay_E_Williams
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