Recently, the FDA chose not to issue any regulations regarding the use of the word “natural” in food packaging. Translation: without any clear definition of what “natural” means, you might not be eating what you were expecting.
Almost all foods have a “natural” origin – even some sodas are technically "natural" – but so many of them have been so processed that they bear little resemblance to their original state. For example, donuts are natural. But the bleached flour and complementary refined white sugar, along with loads of fat, mean that while a donut is "natural", it’s hardly healthy. Natural implies simplicity and purity, and food manufacturers take advantage of this to push sodas, candies, chips, refined pastries and all sorts of unhealthy snacks and meals.
The best way to find truly natural foods and products is to buy whole foods – foods that resemble their original state.
– Incorporate more fresh fruits, vegetables and grains into your diet.
– When you look at the ingredients on a label, stay away from products with unrecognizable chemical ingredients, or anything that has too many ingredients period!
– Instead of natural, favor whatever is simple: just as nature intended it.
Image: Chodta