When shopping for food there are quite a few confusing buzz words out there that can easily be misleading. Just because a product says it’s multi-grain, 7-grain, gluten-free, or organic does not mean it isn’t highly processed. First and foremost, always read the ingredient label (as opposed to relying on the health claims on the front of the package). That is the only way to know what’s really in your food, and what you find may be surprising.
- Multi-Grain / 7-Grain: This claim simply means the product contains more than one type of grain (or in some cases as many as 7 grains). Some examples of different grains are wheat, barley, rye, spelt, rice, oats, and corn. Just because a food product is made with more than one of these grains does not automatically mean any of them are whole grain…and nutritionally speaking there is a big difference between refined and whole grains. For more on this topic check out: Understanding Grains and Nutrients in Refined vs. Whole Grains.
Product Example: Snyder’s Multi-Grain Pretzel Sticks
These pretzels contain more refined white flour (labeled as enriched wheat flour) and sweetener (labeled as molasses) than whole-grain flours.
- Gluten-Free: Obviously the gluten-free label is important for those with an allergy, sensitivity or intolerance to gluten, but just because a food is labeled as gluten-free does not mean it isn’t highly processed. Gluten-free simply means that grains with gluten (like wheat, barley and rye) were not used when making the product. But just like the multi-grain example above the alternate grains may or may not be whole grain products…you must read the ingredient label to find out!
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Product Example: DeBoles Gluten-Free Rice Pasta
This pasta is made from refined “rice” and contains no whole grains (like brown rice).
- Organic: Even if a food product is labeled as certified organic it could still be made with sugar, white flour, and other refined ingredients. Just because the cookies are organic does not mean they aren’t junk food!
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Product Example: Late July Organic Vanilla Bean Cookies
These cookies may be organic, but they still contain refined white flour (labeled as organic wheat flour), refined sweeteners (labeled as organic evaporated cane juice, organic brown rice syrup, and organic evaporated cane juice syrup), and additives (including soy lecithin and natural flavors).
The moral of the story is…always read the ingredient label to know what’s really in your food!
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How can it say organic wheat flour and be refined white flour? How can that be legal? We are just trying to get into better eating and it’s so overwhelming. Who can you trust??
I think because white flour is still made from wheat so therefore still wheat flour which is why you need to look for whole-wheat not just wheat.
They can say it because it is true. White flour is still wheat. Just not whole wheat. Common sense goes a long way when it comes to eating “real”/whole foods.
White flour is made from the wheat plant. If it were made with whole grains, it would say “organic whole wheat flour”. It’s confusing, but if it says “whole wheat”, then it was made with the entire grain and it wasn’t refined. This chart is a good resource: http://www.wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/identifying-whole-grain-products/
Organic means it was grown without chemicals, pesticides, is non gmo, ect. They can still refine these into white flour or sugar and many other things. The refining process takes away nutrients it doesn’t make it non-organic just a lot less healthy. If you are going to eat junk food from a box though I would suggest buying organic, but it would be even better to make your own. you can check out my blog at hungry-hippy.com
I always look at the ingredients when purchasing snacks for the kids. I try to make my own as much as possible, but I’m human and I don’t always have time. But half of the time I end up putting stuff back on the shelf just because of the amount of sugar in it!
One almost has to expect anything packaged is “junk food”. People make a living marketing products so we buy them thinking the foods are good for us. We all need to read labels! It really goes back to basics-eat what is grown out of the ground.
Love your posts on eating healthy! I have started looking at the items I buy from the store. WOW, what an eye opener! I have STOPPED purchasing a lot of the items just because they are NOT HEALTHY!!
Thanks for opening my eyes and helping us/me along the way.
It doesn’t seem fair that things can be allowed to be so misleading. It is the world in which be live, so we have to assume responsibility. We must read labels! Thanks for breaking this down. I plan to refer some friends so they can get a better grasp on what it is I have been saying for so long!
Ok, for us “lazy” ladies
I would love a list of substitutions for these items that are “junk”. There is no way I can make all of our snacks from scratch at home, and I know that even at the “health food store” there are tons of misleading products. I would love a “cheat sheet” of what IS true to to its claims..if there even is such a thing 
I’m pretty sure Lisa has a post somewhere on this site with substitutions and healthy snack items. Triscuits have become a regular grocery list item in our house.
For starters, the 5-ingredient rule is great. If an item has more than 5 ingredients (or ay ingredients you can’t pronounce) than it is junk.
Hi Marcy. You should check out these posts that might be helpful…http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/07/04/for-convenience-the-best-store-bought-snacks/ and http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/04/21/for-convenience-the-best-store-bought-snacks-ii/. Jill
Great article. The rule of thumb I tell my patients is that if it comes in a wrapper, bag, or box, it’s most likely processed (with a few exceptions) and should be avoided…regardless of what it says in the ads. The misleading jargon they use should indeed be illegal.
unfortunately reading labels is not enough. There are so many loopholes in food labels that manufacturers can get away with almost anything. For example milk with added vitamins doesn’t need to list what preservatives are in the vitamins they add. Another example is strawberry yogurt doesn’t have to list Red #40 was added to the strawberries before the yogurt manufacturer received them.
I have teenagers so our house is always stocked with chips. Chips are junk food. I don’t expect it to be healthy. That said we eat chips in moderation. I like my tortilla chips too. The important thing is to not delude ourselves into thinking they are a health food just because of clever wording on the package. I just did a product review on my website on “healthier chips and party snack foods”. My focus when choosing chips/packaged snackfood is clean ingredients, gmo-free since chips are a particularly genetically modified mess, and then I like my chips to have a little fiber goodness. The way I look at it, is that my teens will have yucky chips supplied to them by their friends. Therefore, I buy them and stay in control of the chemicals.
What’s crazy is that most of my colleagues are highly educated people, but they are stunned when I tell them that ” no, that muffin is not healthy because it’s says multi-grain on the plastic wrap”….same goes with “multi-grain” bagels from the caffeteria…great topic! I will have some of my co-workers read it!
Thank you for this a lot of kiddos at my preschool come in with the organic junk food with thier parents telling us its super healthy for them to eat that. Organic doesn’t always mean better. I can make a better chocolate chip cookie at home with my own ingreedients and substitues like whole wheat flour, apple sauce and egg whites and real sugar than the organic late july packaged cookies.
For the other poster its not as hard to make things yourself if you have a well stocked kitchen and take a few extra minuets a night. I make all one or 2 things while I make dinners each night and I prep lunches for the next morning so they are grab and go. Its all about planning I try to map out our meals, and such and what snacks I am going to make. I keep 1-2 prepared snacks each week like granola bars, or cookies or things like that that I make. Then our other snacks are fruits, veggies, yogurts that I freeze or applesauce. The snack list on here is a great one. I spend about 1-3 hours a week on a Saturday or Sunday I prepare my week. I cut my fruits, I cut my veggies I can, I freeze what needs to be frozen so its fast to put together.
This is great. But I would go one step farther with it. Be sure when you do buy processed foods-even the clean ones-that they are free of GMOs. For example, triscuits-while passing the 5 ingredient rule and are whole grain, are made with GMO soybean oil. This is a highly dangerous and toxic ingredient. Foods that are non-gmo verified or organic do not use genetically engineered ingredients and are far better for your intestinal health.
Trader Joes has an alternative to the triscuit. Theor brand is non GMO;)
This post is great! I have always read some labels to make sure food is vegetarian, but your site has made me read every label in the supermarket and there have definitely been some surprises! I have always preferred the taste of homemade food, and even more so now that I know it doesn’t have all that crap in it.
Sorry to sound nasty or something but, why is it that people who can read don’t already know this? This info has been in the news for years and years.
I agrree with Sophia. If it comes in a box, can or bag it is, most likely, highly processed. Just seems best to stick with whole foods.
speaking of gluten. Wondering if you have read the book “Wheat belly”? Wondering what your thoughts are on all this gluten sensitivity in people lately?
Hi Liz. I have not read the book but it’s on my list. You may want to check out this post on gluten too. http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/06/28/food-allergies/ Jill
I was wondering the same thing
I started reading this same book just after I had started making many recipes with whole wheat flour. Now I’m worried moving over to consuming so much whole wheat isn’t best. Especially because I have a history of Endometriosis. My husband also has Psoriosis. Its very frustrating trying to figure out what’s best, besides the obvious fruits, veggies, and organic meat :/
Have you heard of Tami Credicott? When we found out about my son’s allergies I found a cook book by her called, “The Healthy Gluten Free Life.” It caters to people with wheat, soy, dairy, egg allergies. She talks about how when they found out about her husbands celiac disease that she also realized that you could still be very unhealthy even on a gluten free diet. She, like you Lisa, encourages all organic, free range and real products. She uses honey and syrup as sweeteners. It could really come in handy figuring out the science of baking when you can’t use wheat. I probably wouldn’t recommend it if you are avoiding wheat for reasons other than allergies or illness because a lot of it is baking just with other flours but we love it.
Lisa, I love how you described “multigrain”! I agree that these labels give consumers a false sense of healthiness of foods — it seems unjust and certainly dishonest. Here’s a post on my take on “gluten-free” and how it may relate to weight loss, and provides HEALTHY options for those who want to experiment with gluten-free
Wonder about Wheat and Weight Loss?: http://fresh-you.blogspot.com/2012/03/wonder-about-wheat-and-weight-loss.html
Also, your posts on whole wheat/grain are awesome! The visuals on the refined v. whole grains really tell the message!! http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/10/17/nutrients-in-refined-vs-whole-grains/
Have a great day!
This was a great post. I didn’t know that about the multi-grain stuff. I always just assumed it was automatically healthier. Thanks for teaching me something!
Lisa, I went to Earth Fare in my first attempt at buying some real food…I was completely overwhelmed! All I wanted was some real grass-fed cheese, whole grain pasta, or something I’d been reading about, you know…(I’m just learning about all of this) but I was overwhelmed by boxes and boxes of “organic” processed food, or “gluten-free”, or “vegan”, or “soy”, or even “non-dairy cheese”…all I wanted was some REAL food…obviously, non-cheese cheese…isn’t real… I understand many people’s need for those things-I’m not knocking that- I’m just saying I was so overwhelmed-I really wanted to love that store! I have two small kids so I feel like I can’t read every label in the store-I was overwhelmed, I just got a few boxes of cereal, and some snacks (NOT what I came in there for ha ha) and left…is this normal?
Hi Michelle. Yes, I do think it is overwhelming at first. Have you thought about trying the mini-pledges to help ease you and your family in? Here is the link: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/100-days-of-mini-pledges/. Also, you may want to take a look at this page too as a good starting point: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/start-here/. Best of luck to you. Jill
Changing how you grocery shop is a long learning process, it can no longer be a grab what you always bought and go. This can be difficult with children in the cart anxious to leave. I recently gave up gluten and never felt better. Those of you reading about this are right, wheat especially whole grains are not your friend. Neither is lactose in milk. Please do yourselves and family no more harm with these. Educating yourselves on the harm they do to our digestive tract will save you the trouble I am having in my 50′s. Fortunately with Whole Foods and Trader Joes and similar shops we now have so many more grains to choose from. Start now while you are young and you will discover what the rest of the world has already known, that rice and quinoa, tapioca flours are so much better for you and full of protein. In addition these store have printed lists at the service counter of gluten free foods to help you plan your shopping trip. Pick one up, do your homework and live better!
This is even harder in Canada – we have an obscure labelling law (and only in Canada) that allows up to 70% of the germ to be removed and still call it “100% whole wheat”.
According to the Health Canada website “Whole wheat bread is made with whole wheat flour. As sold in Canada, whole wheat flour may have much of the germ removed. Therefore, 100% whole wheat bread may not be whole grain – however, it remains a nutritious choice that provides dietary fibre not found in white bread”.
But no one knows this – so they assume like all other countries world, that they’re getting 100% of the whole grain.
Canadians might want to check this out: http://www.fundamentalsofhealth.ca/2012/08/how-%e2%80%9cwhole%e2%80%9d-are-your-whole-grains/