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Health buzzwords and
phrases explained!
Gluten-free
Gluten is a protein found in grains
like wheat, barley etc. that helps
foods maintain their shape. About
1% of the population suffers from
celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity
which means they are unable to
digest products with gluten.
Organic
The item’s ingredients must be 95%
(or more) certified organic i.e. free
of synthetic additives, and must
not be processed using industrial
solvents, irradiation, or genetic
engineering. Which is good – just
remember that ‘organic’ does not
guarantee superior nutrition, nor
does it mean fewer calories.
Zero trans fats
Trans fats are a type of fat, typically
found in fried foods, baked goods,
packaged snack foods, etc. These
artery-clogging fats have been
shown to increase the risk for heart
disease, and unfortunately, zero
trans fats doesn’t always mean zero.
The FDA allows products to contain
up to 0.5g per serving and still say
‘zero’ on the nutrition facts. If the
product lists ‘partially hydrogenated
oil’ as an ingredient, chances are
the product still contains trans fats.
All-Natural
Food advisory boards such as the
Food Standards Agency (UK) and
the Food and Drug Administration
(US), have stated that the term
should refer to a product that is
comprised of ingredients produced
by nature, untouched by man.
However, presently the term is not
covered by legislation or code of
practice, i.e. it can just be placed on
packages, pretty much arbitrarily.
Sugar-free
A food item which contains 0.5
grams of sugar per serving, or less,
and “contains no ingredient that
is a sugar or generally understood
to contain sugars” can be labelled
sugar-free. This does not mean it
doesn’t contain other ‘sweeteners’
like honey, agave, sugar alcohols
or artificial sweeteners (artificial
sweeteners have shown to be
quite harmful to your health!).