How To Find Good Food

Avoid these 7 ingredients, sometimes hidden in “healthy” foods

- Vera Tweed

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a personal chef who shops for organic, locally produced food and prepares all your meals and snacks from scratch? It would certainly be a delicious way to eat a diet that’s clean and nutritious. But most of us live in the real world, where convenience is king, and packaged and prepared foods substitute for the idyllic chef.

To help you navigate today’s complex food choices, here are 7 pitfalls to avoid:

1 GLUTEN OVERLOAD

Gluten sensitivity is skyrocketing, and it parallels the increase of gluten in our food. We eat more wheat than we did a few decades ago, and extra gluten is added to many packaged and processed foods, from sauces and soups to sausages, cold cuts, and even veggie burgers. Oddly enough, whole wheat bread may well contain more added gluten than its refined cousin, to counteract the naturally dense consistency of whole grain bread. Added gluten gives bread a spongier, more desirable texture.

Although the phenomenon isn’t fully understood, eating large amounts of gluten may lead to intolerance. In nature, gluten is found in all types of wheat, rye, and barley, but oats, other grains, and other foods may also be contaminated with gluten if they’re not labeled “gluten-free.”

2 TOXIC WEED KILLER

Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is the most widely used weed killer around the world. It isn’t allowed in organic farming, but is sprayed on most conventionally grown corn and soy, which are genetically modified to withstand the herbicide’s toxicity. In addition, glyphosate is sprayed on wheat and other grains at harvest time to speed up the ripening process. And meat and milk from animals that eat glyphosate contaminated grain can contain residues.