YOU MAKE IT LOOK SO GOOD!!

~By Sheila Garcia

You’re health-conscious. You want to ingest only what’s good-for-you. So you shop in the natural and organic sections. You don’t clean your fruits and vegetables with chemicals when you wash them. You carefully choose your food products for you and your family. And you read the label.

Harmless-enough and innocuous-sounding ingredients are EVERYWHERE, and they are even marketed toward people just like you and I: the Label-Readers. I’m absolutely shocked at how many people don’t TRULY scrutinize what’s really in the products they swallow. When something is marketed as a natural product, a super-food or supplement, they think it’s automatically safe and healthy. And while the natural products industry has a remarkable safety record — especially when compared to the immense number of sickness and deaths caused by chemical-and-synthetic-ridden products — it still suffers from a lot of hidden toxins that are routinely used throughout the industry, disguised as what could only be good for you.

Here are some ingredients you may not know are in disguise:

Yeast Extract – Now how could that be bad for you? Well, it’s because it is one of the ways MSG is hidden. Yes, that’s right. Yeast extract is unbelievably prevalent in the food industry because it looks nicer on the label than MSG. Most of us are trained to avoid MSG, but yeast extract slips by, so food manufacturers put it into just about everything, and especially in vegetarian products. Remember: Just because a food says “vegetarian” doesn’t mean it’s healthy.

Hidden MSG is also labeled as “autolyzed yeast extract” or “torula yeast” or even “hydrolyzed vegetable protein.”

Maltodextrin – If you pick up a natural product and the ingredients list says “maltodextrin,” chances are very high that the maltodextrin in the product is derived from Monsanto’s genetically modified corn. Virtually all the maltodextrin used throughout the natural products industry is genetically modified. Products that are certified USDA organic, however, are not using GMO maltodextrin.

The non-GMO, non-corn replacement for maltodextrin derived from GM corn is tapioca maltodextrin, and you’ll find tapioca starch / maltodextrin in many certified organic, non-GMO products. Corn maltodextrin should be avoided unless it’s certified USDA organic. Look for tapioca maltodextrin instead (or no maltodextrin at all).

Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein – (HVP) sounds harmless enough with the words ‘vegetable’ and ‘protein’, and it is one of most common soy-based food “fillers” used to make literally thousands of processed food products. It is a common ingredient in the natural / vegetarian food industry. It can promote eating addictions, obesity, brain cancer, endocrine system disorders, infertility and many serious neurological disorders.

So what can you do to protect yourself?
Read all food ingredient labels

Avoid foods made with any of the ingredients listed in this article

Share the truth with family and friends to get the word out and to help protect them as well

Continue to educate yourself on the ingredients listed in the food you purchase

Grow your health and fitness legacy with the knowledge you acquire and put it to good use!