If there is one thing that makes me mad, it's our country's health guidelines and food industry (okay, fine, two things). They are so heavily influenced by deep pockets and many of the messages in the mainstream media of 'health food' does not have a lot of science to back it up.
It's particularly saddening to me, because children are the ones who fare the worst with this onslaught of processed food. Many of these ingredients are marketed in foods towards young children and can wreak havoc on young bodies. It's why I started this site, and why I wanted to share some of the top foods I personally avoid for my family and consider to be 'fake' health foods:
Soy - To start, nearly all of the soy in the US is GMO. And even if you happen to get organic soy, soybeans still contain high amounts of phytoestrogens - which is treated like estrogen in our bodies and clean lead to infertility, low sperm count and certain types of cancer. It also contains phytic acid, protease inhibitors and goitrogens - all contributing to why we stay as far away from it as possible.
Agave Nectar - This was actually one I considered healthy for a LONG time, until I did a little more research and found out that it doesn't quite deserve it's healthy rep. It actually contains a higher amount of fructose than high fructose corn syrup. Agave plants themselves are pretty highly sprayed, meaning there is probably a good dose of pesticides hiding in that syrup bottle. And the cherry on top - the process to extract the agave is a very industrialized process that includes several chemicals to facilitate the extraction. No thanks.
Vegetable Oil - Vegetable oil is, in my humble opinion, the WORST. Canola, soy, sunflower, safflower, peanut, etc oils are all very unstable oils that oxidize and cause free radicals in the body. They are highly inflammatory and I avoid them whenever possible.
Corn - While I love a good, organic corn on the cob every once in a while as a treat, I certainly wouldn't consider it a vegetable or health food by any chance. I’d classify it as a grain, and it has very little to offer from a nutritional perspective. Aside from being hard to digest, nearly all of the corn in the US is also genetically modified. (I should add, I do consider corn to be a real food - just certainly not the health food it is made out to be when people pass it off as a vegetable).
Natural Flavors - Truthfully, I used to glance over this on the back of my can of La Croix. I assumed that since I saw it everywhere, it was perfectly safe. Unfortunately - that is not the case at all. It is a catch all term that includes everything from flavors derived from fruit to spice to meat to poultry. The process of extracting that flavor tends to involve several chemicals and is certainly not ‘natural’ by any means. Keep an eye on this one in your sparkling water and in children’s ‘health’ foods.
Check those labels and make sure you avoid these sneaky ingredients. When in doubt, stick with real, whole, nutrient dense food for you and your children!