| Health food doesn't need a definition, does it? We | | | | yogurts their body, and annatto (for color) add |
| all know what health food is it's yogurt and | | | | little nutritionally to yogurt. They're in the mix to |
| granola, whole-grain cereal and organically grown | | | | serve one main purpose: to help yogurt survive |
| vegetables and fruit. It's 100% natural, no | | | | its trip from the factory to your table. |
| preservatives or dyes, unadulterated, pure. When | | | | You'll find the same situation with other foods that |
| you put all that together, you should have healthy | | | | originally made their debut as health foods in the |
| food, yet all too often, what's marketed as health | | | | seventies. Granola has become granola bars with |
| food these days barely classifies as food, let alone | | | | chocolate chips and gooey caramel. Whole wheat |
| health food. | | | | flour is bleached and denuded of its flavorful |
| Take a look at one of our favorite health food | | | | kernels. Sunflower seeds are roasted in oil and |
| choices - yogurt. It hit supermarket shelves in the | | | | salted. Even brown rice comes in the instant |
| early seventies, though it had been available | | | | variety. |
| before that in health food stores and restaurants. | | | | Healthy food not health food |
| Real yogurt has two ingredients: milk (whole, skim | | | | The secret to feeding your family (and yourself) |
| or low fat) and live yogurt cultures. That's health | | | | a healthful diet of healthy food is to read the |
| food - calcium, vitamin D, vitamin A, protein. Next | | | | labels. The United States Food & Drug |
| time you're at the supermarket, take a look at | | | | Administration has laid out strict guidelines for |
| the dairy case. You'll find row after row of | | | | nutritional labeling of all food products. The nutrition |
| hyper-sweetened brightly colored rainbow swirled | | | | label will tell you all you need to know to choose |
| and candy-sprinkled yogurt packaged in ways that | | | | real health foods. Some things to keep in mind |
| appeal to our littlest consumers - children. Millions | | | | when reading nutrition labels for health foods: |
| of parents buy the enticing packages, secure that | | | | * In the ingredient's portion of the nutrition label, |
| because it's yogurt, they're buying food that's | | | | ingredients are listed in order by amount. The |
| healthy for their children. | | | | ingredient that's listed first is the main ingredient, |
| One look at the label, though, and it's clear that | | | | followed by the next largest amount, etc. |
| these kiddy yogurts (as well as most of the | | | | * The nutrition facts label must list each of the |
| yogurt that's marketed to adults) are a far cry | | | | required nutrients even if the food provides 0% |
| from heath food. Some of the most popular | | | | of the recommended daily value. |
| yogurts for children contain anywhere from 3 to | | | | * The nutrition facts label must list what portion |
| 10 added teaspoons of sugar. Considering how | | | | of the food's calories is derived from fat, from |
| many teaspoons of yogurt are in a single serving, | | | | sugar, from protein and from carbohydrates. It |
| you might as well hand your child the sugar bowl. | | | | will also break down the fat into saturated and |
| In addition, most yogurts include "natural" | | | | unsaturated fat. |
| ingredients that have little to do with health food. | | | | Reading labels on everything you feed your family |
| Ingredients like pectin (to thicken yogurt), | | | | is the best way to tell whether a food is really a |
| carrageenan (a seafood extract that gives some | | | | health food - or just masquerading as one. |