are you eating ingredients you can't pronounce?

TL;DR: you're an organic chemistry class away from being able to pronounce most food ingredients. A better gauge of healthfulness? Knowing which foods serve your body and your needs. 

When I was in my 'clean eating' era, so much of what I loved about holidays became something I feared: were those classic recipes made with clean ingredients? would I be inflamed for days after a Easter brunch? what on earth is giving that Cadbury egg its realistic looking yolk? 

Jesus rose again... and so did my blood pressure. 

In my post, is reading a nutrition facts label a diet behavior?, I shared how to approach a nutrition label without stressing. In this post, we're talking about ingredients on the nutrition facts label. Is there a max number of ingredients in a food we should aim for? Are there ingredients that we should avoid? Scroll on for some quick tips.

1. only eat "ingredients you can pronounce"

   
   

   I used to firmly believe that if I couldn't recognize an ingredient, my body couldn't either. After I took organic chemistry, I realized how silly that food rule is. 

   
   

   There's no denying that a diet of mostly processed foods can be higher in sodium and added sugars and lower in fiber and micronutrients. Can be. And also, some processed foods make nutrition extremely accessible and convenient. 

   
   

   The number of ingredients a food has or the number of syllables in a food chemical doesn't make an entire food good or bad for you. A single ingredient, unless you're allergic to it, isn't going to make or break your health. 

   
   

   I consider a lot of the clean eating rules nuanceless noise. When it comes to making sense of ingredients, here are a few things to consider: 

   
   

2. Ingredients are listed by their chemical name. 

   
   

   The purpose of this is not to deceive you; it's simply for creating uniformity across food, skincare, and other household products! I remember someone asking me how I felt about the dipotassium phosphate in creamer I shared on social media.

   
   

   This chemical might sound scary, but the result of a creamer without it might yield a curdled product once it hits hot coffee! This ingredient regulates acidity and helps to stabilize the product. 

   
   

   Sodium hydrogen carbonate might send a clean eater running, but we all know and likely appreciate it by another name: baking soda!

   
   

3. Ingredients are listed by weight.  

   
   

   Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight. This is a federal mandate. No company can list more appealing ingredients at the top and sneak less appealing ingredients in the middle. 

   
   

   This information can be helpful when selecting a whole grain bread option. The first word you should see in the ingredients list for a truly whole grain bread is whole, as in whole grain or whole wheat.

   
   

4. Many ingredients exist to keep food safe and tasty to eat. 

   
   

   Our food industry has areas of improvement, and also there are robust food safety protocols in place. Often, the ingredients we see on a label aren't making it a "Frankenfood." Additives in food help maintain texture, taste, and appearance. 

   
   

   Pre-cut apple slices are a fantastic snack option on-the-go; calcium ascorbate or citric acid help maintain their freshness and prevent browning. 

   
   

   Many of the foods we include in our daily routine would not be enjoyable or potentially safe to eat without ingredients that maintain their composition. 

   
   

   Instead of fearing additives, we can learn more about them and make informed choices for our bodies.

   
   

5. Know the ingredients your body doesn't love. 

   
   

   Know your needs! Avoiding ingredients that cause your body discomfort is a true act of self-advocacy and self-care. Additionally, it's okay to avoid ingredients because you don't like the taste or the impact they have on a food. 

   
   

   For example, my stomach is a mess with sugar alcohols [e.g. mannitol, sorbitol, erythritol]. While I have no stomach issues from sugar alternatives, I don't always love the fuzzy tongue feeling I get from products with stevia as the main sweetener.

   
   

   Preferences aren't hard rules [allergies are!]. It's a great idea to support your preferences and choose foods that feel good for you.

   
   

6. Ingredients are part of a bigger picture.

   
   

   I see an interesting take on social media: "don't count calories, just read the labels. If you eat the right ingredients, you will lose weight and be healthy."

   
   

   This is not a hot take; it's just downright silly. Of course, losing weight and being healthy are not always synonymous. 

   
   

   If the only driver behind our food choices is the ingredients list, we're missing out on many other essential factors, such as availability, cost, preference, energy and nutrient balance, sustainability, and access. These factors collectively impact both our short- and long-term health!

   
   

   My favorite thing about being a dietitian is taking away the stress around food by building your confidence with nutrition knowledge. 

   
   

   I used to be really hung up on ingredients and clean eating. I spent 2 hours in the grocery store each weekend and constantly wondered what food was causing me inflammation. 

   
   

   I look back and can see how my thinking and my restrictive habits were driving so much of the stress in my body. I'm sure one of you needs to hear this, so I'll leave you with this: it doesn't have to be that way 💗.

Looking for more support? Join Inside Out. 

Inside Out is all about learning to support your long-term health without restriction and dieting. Without the Mediterranean Diet. Without fixating on BMI. 

We can support our health with nutrition, with confidence, with preference.

Support Your Body with Nutrition – Inside + Out