Don’t Trust the Claims: Read the Ingredients!

Do you know what you’re eating and applying to your body? And if you think you do, maybe you should double-check.

Staying healthy is not something you achieve one time and then do nothing more about. As we know, it’s about maintenance and striving to be on top of things constantly. One of the biggest problems when transforming to a healthy diet is having to read ingredients while shopping. Some of us have gone years without reading ingredients and fallen for the marketing scheme by buying products that simply say “natural,” “organic,” “healthy,” and so on.

As consumers, most of us don’t have the time or patience to keep up with the zillion ingredients and the billion marketing lies presented to us. We simply want to believe what is shown to us and trust it’s true. Sadly, this is not possible. Food is a billion dollar business, and it’s because they know how to market their products and what the current trend is. Staying healthy nowadays means “natural,” “gluten free,” “dairy free,” “organic,” and more. Companies simply put three of these tags or all of them on their packaging to attract consumers and to make believe. But what we fail to do is read ingredients and remember there is a way they can mask chemicals.

Now, how to crack this ingredient code?

• It’s going to take some time to cultivate the habit of reading every package. And soon, you’ll know it all. Research products you buy—go to the company website, read their ingredients. If you don’t know the ingredient, figure out what it is as well. Make this a habit with your toothpaste, food products, shampoo, and anything that has ingredients.
• Soon you’ll have a list of products you trust and you’ll start buying the same products time and again. This can be a problem. Sometimes small healthy companies are bought by bigger companies, and their ingredients are changed as well. I had a similar experience and was definitely upset I stopped reading the ingredients of the product.
• It’s important that you and your family understand the importance of healthy ingredients. Having your kids swallow toothpaste made up of sulfate and soak in bath soaps made of carrageenan is no good. Use this as a topic to educate your family, and to keep them on the same page as you.
• Start creating your own homemade solutions. Use baking soda for cleaning, shampoo, etc. Make your own nut milks and juices with no added sugar and chemicals. Appreciate farmers’ markets by buying local organic produce and by supporting the farmers.

Some ingredients to avoid:

High fructose corn syrup, carrageenan, sodium lauryl sulfate, any colorings, white sugar/sucrose, natural flavor, organic instead of “USDA organic,” fluoride, sulfide, and “enriched with vitamins.”

Knowledge is a gift. You will do yourself and your family a big favor by gaining valuable information about what you use inside out. A small step goes a long way.

Try your own, homemade, all-natural beauty products!