| Do you read the labels when you choose your | | | | amount than whatever "healthy" ingredient |
| food? Do you think you understand what they | | | | they want to appear at the top of the list. |
| really mean? You may have to change your | | | | For example, suppose you read on that juice |
| thinking. Here are some of the grocery | | | | bottle label, "cranberry juice, corn syrup, |
| shopping secrets you need to know.Grocery | | | | sugar, high fructose corn syrup and vitamin |
| Shopping Secrets - Lying LabelsRead labels | | | | C."It looks like the primary ingredient is |
| much and you'll notice that almost all | | | | just natural juice. Perhaps the real story |
| packaged products have hydrogenated or | | | | is: 27% juice, 25% corn syrup, 24% sugar, 23 |
| partially hydrogenated oil in them. This is | | | | % high fructose corn syrup, 1% Vitamin C. The |
| the stuff scientists give to mice to cause | | | | three types of sugar add up to 72% of the |
| heart disease when they want to study that | | | | entire bottle's contents! This little trick |
| disease! The good news is that, due to | | | | is becoming depressingly common.Think you are |
| consumer demand, some brands have stopped | | | | buying whole wheat products? Whole wheat |
| using it in some of their products. The bad | | | | bread is only whole wheat if it says 100% |
| news is that it is still in well over half of | | | | whole wheat. In fact, even then you should |
| all packaged grocery products.Look at those | | | | look closer. It might actually say, "Contains |
| labels when you're grocery shopping, and | | | | 100% whole wheat," which just means they at |
| you'll also see that sugar is showing up in | | | | least threw one wheat grain in there."Wheat |
| almost everything. It is even added to most | | | | bread," "wheat flour," "unbleached wheat |
| brands of kidney beans, which used to be | | | | flour," and "wheat," all just mean some |
| packed in just water and salt. Why add sugar? | | | | variety of processed white flour that |
| Two reasons. The first is simply that our | | | | originated from wheat grain. "Wheat" bread is |
| taste buds have come to crave sweetness. | | | | usually nothing more than white bread with |
| This, however, doesn't explain why it is in | | | | enough whole grain thrown in to color it. |
| things like kidney beans. That is a bigger | | | | "Wheat blend" pasta is the latest trick to |
| secret.Sugar is added to kidney beans, | | | | make you think you're buying whole wheat. It |
| peanut butter and many other products that | | | | is again just white flour (always the first |
| don't need it for taste because these are | | | | ingredient, if you look on the label) with |
| convenient places to dump it. You see, sugar | | | | enough whole wheat "blended" in to let you |
| is cheap - cheaper than the other | | | | feel you are buying a healthier food, so they |
| ingredients. Government subsidies have helped | | | | can charge more.Here is one more grocery |
| produce so much cheap sugar that growers need | | | | shopping secret or those who want healthier |
| to dump it into as many products as they can. | | | | fruits and vegetables. Most frozen fruits and |
| This works well for the makers of food | | | | vegetables, when tested against "fresh" |
| products. More sugar and less of the more | | | | fruits and vegetables, have more vitamin |
| expensive peanuts in that peanut butter means | | | | content. Why? The flash-freezing that is done |
| more profit.Here an even nastier secret: | | | | shortly after they are picked, preserves the |
| Manufacturers are lying about the amount of | | | | vitamins. "Fresh" fruits and vegetables are |
| sugar they put in their products. You may be | | | | in trucks for days, exposed to heat and air, |
| aware that they have to list the ingredients | | | | then sit at the grocery store for days,and |
| on the label in order, according to how much | | | | finally in your refrigerator for days. They |
| of each their is. What if they have a product | | | | lose much of their vitamin content as a |
| that has more sugar than anything else? They | | | | result of this treatment. Frozen fruits and |
| don't want it at the top of the list where | | | | veggies can be healthier, and they are even |
| everyone can see that it is the primary | | | | cheaper at times, like when the particular |
| ingredient, right?This is how they hide it: | | | | fruit or vegetable isn't in season.Steve |
| They put three types of sugar into the | | | | Gillman has been hunting down obscure |
| product, so that no one of them is a larger | | | | knowledge and useful secrets for years. |