All natural ingredients - yeah right!

Carla1019

How can products claim to be all natural but when you read the label it says 310mg sodium or something else crazy??

I'm new to learning how to eat "clean" meals and today I was starving and had no other choice but to pick something from the vending machine. I thought I made a good choice by selecting sun chips. Well I look at the ingredients and I see it has so much sodium. But the cover of the bag says all natural. wow!

anna.oskar

There are a bunch of interpretations on what constitutes "natural" these days.  Ususally it just means without chemical preservatives and additives.

I find that eating clean is healthiest when not eating anything pre-packaged.

Natrasha

Ditto PP. I mean, technically salt is natural. A lot of yogurt is "all natural" but still has added sugar. But it's real sugar, which is fairly natural. Reading the packaging of something does not equal reading the label and ingredients, unfortunately.

You probably made a relatively good choice based on your options, but I understand your frustration!

emyinpink

Ya, all natural is bogus. Sugar is "natural". 

This is why I avoid processed foods (or anything that comes in a package really) all together. 

emyinpink

For future, see if your vending machine has nuts (or keep some at your desk). They're one of my favorite snack foods (especially almonds and walnuts). 

amyderrah

It's so true, I've heard a lot lately how in the states the regulations are really lax.  They can claim that corn syrup is natural, even though it's super processed and goes through chemical transformations, it comes from "Corn" so it's okay!  And another thing, just because it's natural doesn't mean that it's good for you!

jerseydevil

Salt is natural.

gymbugmj2k

I agree with other posters. yes, minerals like salt are natural. i'm glad you had the sense to look at sodium!  a lot of others forget about it.

for future - eating 'clean' should mean FRESH ingredients, and less processed crap.

to be perfectly honest- a dark chocolate bar might have been better than the sunchips. or granola bars if they have those


....i know how hard it is to keep track of everything you eat, but a little planning ahead would make the vending machine trips a lot less frequent. keep a box of granola bars, or bag of almonds at your desk.  also, is there a drug store nearby or something? they might have better options too.

keep looking at labels - you'll find out a LOT you didn't know! i once spent 10 minutes trying to pick out a ranch dressing!

Fenko13

I'd like to suggest a book that has really helped me 'see' what to be looking for when it comes to the types of food to be selecting.

Eat This, Not That.

It goes in detail hitting a number of food items you'll eat on a daily basis and gives you a wide variety of say pasta, cereal, soup, etc. It goes through all the main brands and tells you which are the healthier options.

I was actually looking at butter a few weeks ago and was debating between the 'low sodium' or 'low fat' option, I flipped over and read the ingredients. The 'low fat' had a laundry list of words I couldn't pronounce, while the 'low sodium' had 3 ingredients and I knew what they were. (Salt, cream, milk... I forget what the exact ingredients were). I chose the bit of sodium vs all the fillers in flavor they had to pump the low fat butter with to make it taste the same.

firsttimersluck

Salt is all-natural.

whereismymind32

[QUOTE]Salt is all-natural.
Posted by firsttimersluck[/QUOTE]

This. Sodium is not a man-made chemical. It's a mineral mined from the ground or ocean. It is found in nature.

Sun Chips wasn't false advertising. Remember that All-Natural does not necessarily mean the best choice. It's just an unregulated buzz-word. Only the term "organic" has to meet FDA approved standards. An all-natural ingredient may be loaded with salt and sugar, which are both natural, but not necessarily good for you.