"All Natural" Does Not Always Mean That It's Good For Your Kids!


by Margaret Meade - Date: 2007-01-31 - Word Count: 775 Share This!

You may have heard in January 2007, about a lawsuit involving deceptive marketing and labeling. Specifically, a woman was suing Kraft Foods over their labeling of the juice drink Capri Sun. Capri Sun has packaging that states "all natural" amongst other equally deceptive terms. The woman filing the suit was shocked to read the label and find that High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) was the 3rd ingredient listed. This means that of all the ingredients, High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) was the 3rd highest concentration in the product.

Now some have argued that HFCS is a natural ingredient as it is derived from corn. However, it is not truly naturally occurring in that it is manufactured and not harvested from a cornfield. It is created via a process of extraction and the cellular tampering of corn. In other words, you wouldn't be able to get it from a stalk of corn. "Natural" sugar on the other hand is taken straight from sugar cane and requires no molecular tampering or cellular restructuring. If given a choice, it would be better to buy a product that contained pure sugar rather than High Fructose Corn Syrup. However, it is best to stay away from any sugar when possible!

When we go to the grocer's, we try to focus on the best possible foods to keep our families growing and healthy and happy. As you walk down the aisles in your local grocery store, are you reeled in by the packages that seem to scream "All-Natural", "Low Salt" "No Trans Fats", "Just for infants and toddlers" along with a myriad of other equally health promoting and enticing labels and slogans.

Caveat Emptor as the saying goes "let the buyer beware"! Don't be fooled by a food item because it is labeled and marketed "just for infants and toddlers" or states "All Natural". This does not mean that it always 100% healthy for you and your family. Don't get me wrong now, there are many products that actually do live up to these claims and you would do right in buying them! It will take a lot of reading through labels however, to find the truly all-natural and healthy foods.

The next time you are in the grocery store, take a look at some of the foods marketed for infants/toddlers and young children. Stop for a moment and read the labels of things such as Yogurts "just for kids", Granola Bars, Multi-Grain Cereal bars, Wagon Wheels, Meat Sticks, Biter Biscuits, Fruit Chews, and even some popular commercial Stage2 and Stage 3 baby foods. Have you ever read the label of a can of Gerber Puffs for example? Make sure you are sitting down when you do! You'll find wheat and soy and a good amount of sugar too! You will have to read the labels of Gerber products at the store, the Gerber website does not have links for their ingredient labels!

As you begin label reading at the grocery store, you will be quite surprised at the sugars, starches, preservatives et al contained in various foods that are marketed as being "Heart Healthy", "Low Fat" and "All Natural". If you are more pleasantly surprised by the small quantity or lack of these aforementioned items, then perhaps the simple ingredients contained in many products shock you. Imagine how simple it would be to easily and cheaply make the food items in your own kitchen! Making some of these items will allow you to control the ingredients and know that what you are serving is healthy.

To get you on your way to positive label reading, here are a few hints. When you look at the ingredients list, know that each ingredient is listed from largest to smallest amount (by weight). This means a food contains the largest amount of the first ingredient and the smallest amount of the last ingredient.

Here are a few examples of the Hidden Sugars in Foods:

high-fructose corn syrup fructose malt syrup malt extract corn syrup glucose maltodextrin lactose (naturally occurring in dairy products) maltose molasses raw sugar sucrose barley malt agave

Have a look at the main ingredients of a "Popular" Cereal Grain Bar, marketed as a healthy snack:

Filling: High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Apple Purée

Bar itself: Enriched Flour, High Fructose Corn Syrup

The next time you go shopping for food for the family, we hope that you will read the labels more closely. Label reading will help you make more healthy food purchases for the whole family!

Learn more about High Fructose Corn Syrup

The Manufacturing of High Fructose Corn Syrup

Drowning in High Fructose Corn Syrup

The Facts About HFCS (from the Corn Refiners Association)

Research and Medical Articles about HFCS from the NIH


Related Tags: food, child, eating, natural, kids, healthy eating, natural food, sugar, baby food, healthy food

Margaret Meade is the Editor/Owner of http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com and is the mother of 3 boys. The boys were raised on Homemade Baby Food; and since Mommy had been studying nutrition, she knew homemade was best! Visit wholesomebabyfood.com and find out how easy it is to make your own baby food. Once you begin, good healthy eating habits will automatically flow!

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