Are you confused about whether the food you’re eating is healthy or not. These days we are inundated with labels saying it’s: ‘natural’ or ‘low fat’ or ‘lite’ or ‘reduced’…….and the list goes on and on. We get so much conflicting information by so many different people as information is so easily accessible today. We think we are doing the right thing by reaching for something that says it’s healthy or natural, but that isn’t always the case.

Many apparently healthy foods like muesli bars, low fat yoghurts, fruit juices and cereals are in fact laden with lots of hidden sugars. Most of the time when an item says ‘low fat’ it has a lot of sugar added to compensate for the lack of flavour once the fat is removed. So it might be low fat, but that doesn’t mean it’s nutritious for your body.

Most carbs are eventually digested and converted into glucose = sugar. It’s the excess sugar in your system that get stored as fat, particularly around the midsection.

The key is to read the ingredients list. The ingredients are listed in order from highest to lowest. That means the first item on the ingredient list is the main ingredient in the product, the next biggest and so on. Therefore if it says sugar or oil is listed as one of the first ingredients, it’s likely it’s not going to be a good product choice for you and will not help in weight loss or health maintenance.

Sometimes I think you have to use your own judgement as you know ‘you’ best and what feels right for your body. I recommend basing the majority of your diet on whole ‘real foods’ as you know what you’re eating. If you can’t understand what the ingredients are then it may not be the best choice for you.

Always ask yourself the question, ‘is what I’m about to eat a step towards my long term health or away from it?’ Let your answer make your decision as to whether it’s a good choice for you or not.

Lisa x