Top 10 Reasons to Read Food Labels

When you go shopping for groceries, do you read the nutritional facts on the side of the box, can or bottle? If it never even occurred to you, you’re not alone. Millions of people have no real interest in the nutritional information on their food. Unfortunately, this is what’s slowly killing us in droves.

1.     Prevent Cancer

Processed foods contain an unbelievable amount of carcinogens. Take diet soda for example. Diet soda not only has absolutely no nutritional value, it contains aspartame. Aspartame is a potent neurotoxin that has been scientifically-proven to cause cancer. The more you understand how to read nutritional facts, the less your likelihood of developing cancer.

2.     Be Happier

Studied have shown that BHT and BHA found in cereal contribute to the development of depression, anxiety, irritability, and mood swings. The next time you’re in the cereal aisle, read the nutritional information on the side. If you see these two additives, put it back and opt for an organic alternative.

3.     Lose Weight

If you’ve been trying to lose weight for months or even years and haven’t been successful, it could be the “diet” food you’re eating. Diet food is one of the worse health scams in the history of health scams (and there are a lot of them). These foods are loaded with high fructose corn syrup, which has been clinically-proven to contribute to obesity! If you want to lose weight, stop buying diet food and start eating whole food instead.

4.     Be Smarter

If you’re having difficulty with your memory or learning, it could be the food you’re eating. Namely, food dyes. Candy, colored cereals, soda, and certain medications contain food dyes that can actually cause neurological damage and impair your cognitive function. The next time you’re reading the nutritional information on any food you buy, look for these ingredients marked: “Yellow 5, BlueLake, and Red #40”.

5.     Have More Energy

If you feel rundown like you have no energy most of the time, it could be because you’re not paying close attention the nutritional information on the food you’re eating. Turn over that box of cheese nips or cookies and really take a look at what you’re chowing on. Chances are, each serving contains a potent cocktail of ingredients you can’t even pronounce. If you want lasting energy, your body needs real nutrition. Ditch the box and trade it in for some salad!

6.     Be Healthier

Forget saturated fats, they’re actually healthy for you. Trans fats are the worst fats you can put into your body if you want to be healthy. Hydrogenated oils found in processed foods, donuts, cakes, cookies, potato chips, instant soup mixes, and cake mixes greatly increase your chance of developing heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

7.     Have Better Sex

Has your love life been so-so lately and you can’t figure out why? Studies have shown that soy products can wreck havoc with a man’s libido. This is caused by the estrogen-like effects soy has on male hormones. If you want to have better sex, avoid soy products unless they are fermented and guaranteed non-GMO.

8.     Be Better Looking

Are you aging faster than you expected? Seeing fine lines and crow’s feet and you haven’t even hit 40? It could be because you’ve spent your entire life never looking at food labels. A diet filled with empty calories and food additives will age you fast. If you want to stave off the effects of premature aging, start reading food labels. If you see ingredients you can’t even pronounce, put the item back and load up on organic foods instead.

9.     Sleep Better

Magnesium deficiency is a common cause of anxiety and insomnia. If you drink a lot of soda, you’re drinking a lot of distilled water. What’s the big deal? Distilled water has been proven to leech nutrients directly out of your bones ! Also, remember the food dyes. Yellow #5 has been shown to cause anxiety, which can make it difficult to get to sleep. Ditto aspartame, MSG, and high fructose corn syrup. The more processed foods you eat, the more compromised your sleep will be.

10.    Live Longer

As you can see, understanding how to read the nutritional information on the food you eat can greatly improve not only your quality of life but may actually help you live longer.

If you want to live longer, be happier, and live a more fulfilling life, do yourself a favor and start reading food labels. It’s an amazing, eye-opening experience. It can also be a bit panic-inducing but hang in there. There is plenty of good, healthy, amazing food you can still eat without all of these dangerous additives and chemicals.