Welcome to the happy, healthy, hustle podcast, where we explore the intersection of health,
happiness, and productivity. I'm your host, Christiane, and I'm super excited to be here
with you today. In this podcast, we discuss ways to improve your life. In today's episode,
it's all about food labels, specifically why food labels are great, but food labeling
and not so much. So let's start with the food labels. And I'm personally a big fan of food
labels. I find a food label on packaged goods. So I tend to study them when I go grocery shopping,
particularly for new foods. So food labels are a fantastic tool that can help me make an even
more informed decision about the foods that I want to buy and that I'm going to serve my family.
Food labels are really important because I can see what ingredients are in there,
the nutritional value that the food has, and of course, potential elegance. So with the information
of a food label, I feel I can make a choice. Do I want to purchase this particular product?
Does it align with what my family is looking for? And what needs do we have? So when I read a food
label, I can make a more informed decision about the foods that we eat. So I want to give you some
tips about how to read a food label. And that might also then be picked up later when we're
going to discuss about why labeling food is actually not beneficial. So let's start with the food label
tips. So usually when I look at a food label, and they are also called nutrition facts panels,
I start looking at serving sizes. So in a family of four, when I purchase something, I try to figure
out, is that something that will be a side dish? Is this something that will be a main dish? Is
this something that we will need to consume in smaller portions? So usually, the serving size is
aiming at one person. And so, like, let's say it is something I purchase for my children, do I need
to purchase one of those packages? Or do I need to purchase two? Would this be enough food for my
children? Now sometimes, serving sizes are way off. And it actually tends to be usually on the
smallest side. So sometimes when I purchase, I'd say, macaroni and cheese, I actually need to purchase
two packages because a serving size that's recommended on the package would definitely
not be sufficient for my two growing teenage children. So the serving size on there is then
also what the whole information on the nutrition facts panel applies to in terms of the nutrition
facts. So the serving size is exactly calculated out and all the nutrition facts are then based on
that particular food intake. So I personally don't really look at calories all that much. And now
in our family, we don't count calories. And I also think that something that will not make your life
very enjoyable, it will probably make your life pretty miserable. So I look at serving sizes more
in terms of, are we going to have enough food, but less in terms of this is a diet that we
are following and the serving size needs to follow that diet. So again, we are not in our
family about restriction, we are rather about enjoying life and adding that particular joy
might mean that, well, we have enough food, maybe we are even going to have leftovers,
so even better for the next day. So after I looked at the serving size, then I look at the
nutrients. So the nutrients that I look at are particularly when it's a packaged food or a
processed food, I look at sodium. Sodium or salt is something that in processed foods tends to be
really high. It of course helps when there is a high salt content to keep a food shelf stable.
But at the same time, I don't want to serve something that's really high in sodium to my
children, because it is not something that you should consume in really high amounts.
And excess intake of sodium can actually lead to heart disease or issues in general with your
hydration might make you super thirsty. So if we eat something super salty at night, my kids will
get so thirsty and I really don't want that as a mom either. So I look for serving size, then I look
for sodium. So I'm trying to gauge if is there high intake of sodium. Maybe in that one package 25%
of your daily recommended value, then I usually say no, this is too much because we already get
sodium from so many other things during the day that I feel this might be too much with this
particular one food item. So then, what I do is I look for added sugars. And the reason why I do this
is with the sugars is; of course, these sugars are typically synthetic. So high fructose corn syrup
or sucrose or glucose could be added sugars. And I personally don't really want to purchase
too many items with high fructose corn syrup, which is an artificial sweetener. So when there are
added sugars in there, I almost always find an alternative that does not have as many sugars.
So the particular products I look for with the added sugars are typically cereals that tend to
be really high in sugars. I look at juices. And, of course, I also look at condiments or any products
where there's hidden added sugars. So, for instance, ketchup tends to be really high in added sugars.
And you can almost always find an alternative that has a more natural appearance and fewer
added sugars or that are completely sugar free. With cereals, I always aim for nine grams per
serving. So I don't really want to have a cereal that is just full of added sugars.
Because to me, that that's something that we're probably going to get sugars from somewhere else
during the day, it does not need to be necessarily coming in the morning with our breakfast already.
At the same time, I also look for sugars in juices. So apple juice, for instance,
you can probably find an apple juice that does not have added sugar with it, maybe find a more
natural juice that is just the pure juice and the pure fruit, and that will be much more beneficial.
And sugars, of course, aside from the fact that we get them anyway with foods that become
prevented, such as sweets, tend to also lead to cavities. That's maybe what I'm worried about,
or it can lead to skin breakouts. But it also makes my children feel uncomfortable.
There's a high amount of sugar they consume; they sometimes tend to get pain in their stomachs.
And I want to make them feel good by eating. Food is nutrition, and it's aiming at making them
feel good and adding joy. So again, the steps are serving size. Then I look for nutrients.
So I look for sodium. I look for added sugar. And then the third one, and that's maybe the most
important one is allergens. So a food label will list all the ingredients that are in the food,
but it will list separately if there are common allergens in there. This could be nuts; it could
be wheat, soy, or dairy. And I look for particularly wheat. So it will say contains, for instance,
nuts, wheat, soy. So my daughter is very sensitive to wheat, gluten in particular. That's the
binding agent in wheat. So I will always look at food labels and make sure that there is no
gluten in there or no wheat in there. Because even small amounts tend to make her feel well
like queasy and uncomfortable in her stomach. So when I look for those allergens, there might
actually, appear in foods you would never think that have wheat in there. But it is always good
to check. And again, that's why we have food labels and be more informed about the product you're
buying. And lastly, of course, what you want to make sure is maybe there are some vitamins in there,
like some vitamin C or any added vitamins. And if you feel there's no nutritional value in the food
at all, it's a quick valuation. Is that even worth purchasing? Is that adding something to our life
in terms of nutritional value? So again, the steps are serving size, then I look for nutrients.
So the sodium, the sugar, and then I look for allergens. For our family, it is wheat, but for
your family, it could be dairy or it could be nuts. And if you feel that they lead to some type
of insensitivities, the food label will give you fantastic information in breaking that out
and making you more aware about what you end up purchasing and then preparing. So now let's talk
a little bit about that growing trend where we are labeling foods. And by labeling foods, it means
that we're using certain descriptors for foods in making those foods sound more appealing or maybe
less appealing. So for instance, we could label certain foods as being good or being bad. So what
you have heard maybe a lot is good fats, what bad fats, good carbs, bad carbs, or in general,
just healthy foods, unhealthy foods. Now, while I sometimes use those words as well, and you just
kind of get used to using them, I actually have forced myself recently to stop using them.
The reason why I really have to stop using them is because I have two teenagers at home,
and I don't want to create a culture of shame and guilt around eating foods that are maybe labeled
as bad. So just imagine you're eating a food that's labeled as bad. Are you going to feel good
about this? Most likely you're actually feeling bad and consuming a bad food. Maybe that's high in
sugar or high in fat. At the same time, of course, think that some foods that are high in fat,
for instance, an avocado, you might label as high fat or bad because it is high in fat,
but avocado is itself actually really healthy foods. So it's not really always even true the
descriptors that you use for those foods. So for me, it is all about adding
positivity and creating a culture where you feel ashamed or guilty around food is not really helping.
So maybe come up with some more positive words. So for instance, you're looking at ice cream
that is high in fat and in sugar. How should we label ice cream? Because we certainly don't
want to create a guilt trip whenever you open your freezer. And over time, those labels and
description can actually lead to disordered eating habits where you're feeling you need to restrict
yourself or where you're feeling you're you can't really enjoy life because everything has a label
with it and that's maybe also negative. So what you should strive for is looking at food in a more
positive life. All foods have a place in our diet whenever you consume in the moderation. And they
don't need to be labeled to find a place in your life. So labeling foods as good or bad sometimes
even needs to stereotypes or biases. So some foods that I eat in certain cultures could be unhealthy.
And it could be that they are very important to that particular culture. So we need to celebrate
diversity of foods and recognize all cultures have unique and valuable culinary traditions.
And that's something to respect and learn about and not really stereotype or have biases towards.
So instead of labeling foods as good or bad, what's really great is actually learning something
about those foods. I'm all about educating myself, looking at nutritional values and how I could
incorporate foods into a healthy nutrition. So I always emphasize balance. I love variety.
And I love things in moderation rather than setting up strict rules where we say we can't eat this at all.
So we always have some ice cream in our house. And we use ice cream, of course, as you know,
every so often we try it, every so often we experience new flavors. But it's something that we don't
want to use as a special occurrence and say, now I can have some bad food because I ate the good food
during dinner time. So setting it up that way means that you basically feel already bad eating the ice
cream after you finished your dinner, not at all this way. So labeling it that way doesn't quite
lead to the same amount of enjoyment. I'm personally because I do research foods and nutrition a lot.
I feel that it's good to make healthy food options more accessible and affordable.
So when you look at fruits and vegetables, you can eat them in abundance. So there's no need to
really set any restrictions on it. And I have those openly available in our house. I don't necessarily
call them good foods though. What I do is just we count how many fruits and vegetables have you
eaten during the day. And we aim to eat five. We don't really think that much about that.
We don't really think that much about serving sizes, but we make sure that we have an abundance and we are adding in.
And we're thinking of those being in balance with whatever snacks or dinner or lunch items the kids are consuming.
So to summarize, food labels are super valuable because they're informing us.
However, labeling food as good or bad is really leading to a harmful attitude and behavior towards food.
So maybe focus on promoting a balance, a variety, eating motivation, and what I'm personally a big fan of,
celebrating diversity of food. So I like to advocate for embracing curiosity when you go grocery shopping.
Look at foods that you have not tried and just buy it and give it a shot. It might be your next best favorite thing.
And again, just be curious and embrace adding new things into your life.
Well, with that, I am personally curious. Is there something that you have tried recently that you are not familiar with,
whether that's from a different culture, whether that's maybe just a new food item you hadn't previously seen?
I would love to find out about it. So reach out to me and let me know. It's always great to hear from you.
Because that's it for today's episode of the Happy Healthy Hustle podcast.
Hope you enjoyed our discussion about food labels and labeling food.
I hope this has been helpful in giving you some tool to use in your daily life and on your wellness journey.
Thanks for tuning in and we'll catch you next time. Talk to you soon. Bye-bye.