First of all, ignore the front of the package hype! It’s just marketing. Manufacturers can’t lie on labelling, but they can stretch the truth when trying to get your attention to buy their product by using different catch-phrases to make their foods sound more appealing and nutritious than it necessarily is.

Turn the package around and examine the nutritional label on that back that is required by the FDA. A food label is like a recipe—it lists the ingredients that make up the meal, always ordered according from the mot used ingredient to the lowest.

Below is the list of some words to look out for so you can make an informed choice regarding your health.

Serving Size: A common mistake is thinking the calories listed on the label count for the ENTIRE product. Serving size can be expressed in kitchen terms—cups, spoons, slices, ounces, grams, or even specific pieces of food (chips, etc.). Serving size tells how much food makes up a single serving. The truth is it’s rare that one package is equal to a single serving size. Even a single packaged cookie might include 2-3 servings. Since all data on the label is based on the stated serving size, it’s important to read the serving size and how many servings are included per package or container.

Natural: Sounds good, right? Unfortunately, the term “natural” is not very well defined by the FDA; in fact, it’s not regulated at all. The definition is so loose that a ginger ale company was caught using the term on their label even though it contains high fructose corn syrup and other artificially made ingredients. “Natural” foods, particularly when they are pre-packaged, use more of a gimmick than a legitimate food descriptor, so it’s best to ignore it.

Cholesterol-Free: All foods that come from a plant like fruits, veggies, grains, nuts and seeds are free of cholesterol. Sugar is cholesterol-free too, but it’s almost universally understood as a terrible food. So when a food label on a package of nuts or raisins touts their product as “cholesterol-free,” don’t fall for it as necessarily healthy.

Trans-Fat Free: This is defined as a food that contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. Thus, trace or even not-so-trace amounts of trans fat can be present in these foods. The giveaway: look for words like “partially-hydrogenated” on the ingredient list, a dead give away for these artery-cloggers. Don’t forget to review the rest of the nutritional information — even if gummy bears are touted as “trans-fat free,” it doesn’t mean they’re a healthy choice.

Organic
: There are varying certifications of organic foods, but at very least, a food labelled organic means they were grown without conventional pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides, hormones or antibiotics, generally for five years before they can gain USDA certification. Keep in mind that although a food might be organic and pesticide-free, it could easily have accumulated another, more deadly layer of carbon emissions if it’s been transported from New Zealand or Chile. Organic ingredients are a good idea, but not always better for you if they come from half way around the world.

Added vs. Natural Sugars: Some folks read the amount of sugars on a label and assume the sugar was added. This isn’t always the case. Take yogurt for example: It contains a natural sugar called lactose found in all dairy products. Look at the ingredient list to decipher if the sugar is natural or added to the product. Common euphemisms for sugars might be “high fructose corn syrup,” sucrose, glucose, cane juice, and many others. This site provides a list of 50 names for sugar you should memorize ASAP.

Omega-3 Fats: Not all omega-3s are created equal. Those from flax (called ALA) don’t have all the benefits (like helping with heart health) when compared with the omega-3’s derived from fatty fish like salmon and tuna (called DHA and EPA). Before you dive blindly into buying omega-3 rich foods, be sure about the kind you need and which kinds of foods provide it.

Fiber: Just like omega-3 fats, not all fibers are created equal. Some fiber is added to food products and may not be as healthy as fiber that’s naturally occurring. Foods like yogurt, crackers, bread, beverages and even sugar substitutes are now sporting these man-made fibers, which go by names like inulin, pectin, cellulose, polydextrose and oligosaccharides.

Reduced-Fat: 
In some cases, reduced-fat may mean more sugar was added to replace some of the flavour. Check the sugar content to make sure you’re not eating too much in exchange.

Added Vitamins and Minerals: Just because a product has 100% of the daily value for vitamins and minerals doesn’t mean it should be in your shopping cart. Many sugary cereals add loads of vitamins and minerals to their product and then use it as a selling point. There are tons of other ways to get in your vitamins and minerals without choosing a product loaded with sugar and/or fats.

Beware of Preservatives: Watch out for statements like these on packages: “NATURAL FRUIT FLAVORS, with Real Fruit Juice”, “ALL NATURAL INGREDIENTS, NO ARTIFICIAL PRESERVATIVES”, “100% NATURAL, REAL FRUIT, NO PRESERVATIVES”, and NO ARTIFICIAL INGREDIENTS. There are many ways to disguise the ingredients. Some of the ingredients that can be harmful in long are Ammonium sulfate may cause mouth ulcers, nausea, kidney and liver problems. Sodium stearoyl lactylate may be corn; milk, peanut or soy based, and may cause blood pressure and kidney disturbances, and water retention. Mono and diglycerides may be soy, corn, peanut or fat based, and can cause genetic changes, cancer, birth defects, and allergic reactions, etc.

Front label hype: This is one of the most common areas where we get carried away by what we read on the front of the package and ignore the actual nutrition facts. For instance, lets put the Kirkland weight loss drinks which I swear by to test and see how true or fictitious the label is. This label says 99% fat free. The calories of this drink are 230 with 2 grams of fat equals 3% of the daily allowance. The calculations is 2 x 9(calories per gram of fat) = 18 fat calories; then 18/230 x 100% = 7.8%. So in fact, when the label shows 99% fat free it actually is only 92.2% fat free. This is not a big difference but it still proves the front label wrong.

http://fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/kirkland-signature/weight-loss-shake—milk-chocolate

For More http://img.webmd.com/dtmcms/live/webmd/consumer_assets/site_images/media/pdf/fit/teen_food_label.pdf

First off…all fruit contain seeds naturally. The purpose of the fruit is it to hold seeds and hopefully be consumed, digested and excreted to a new location. This germination symbiotic relationship happens in all areas of nature. Most commonly with bees and flowers. Seedless fruit is genetically modified fruit and has no place in nature. 
 
The modifications are secret and patented by big named corporations. At first people assumed the fruit was for convenience. Who wants to be seen spitting out the seeds of an orange or watermelon in public right? That tiny vanity made a niche market for companies to make a mutant fruit that has no seeds. It also took away the ability of the consumer to grow their own fruit. Say you brought a delicious bag of apples and decided you would grow some for yourself. With seedless fruit its not possible. 
 
Seedless fruit takes away the ability to be self-sustaining. It makes you the consumer more dependent on the grocery stores for survival. When I was a kid almost all my aunts and neighbors had gardens where they would grow fruits and herbs. Everyone knew how to grow their own food and went to the grocery store only for necessities. Now most people use the grocery store for their only means of sustenance.

I’m not saying to stop eating seedless fruit, although if you eat natural its definitely more healthy. The only way to get naturally grown fruits these days is from local markets. If you buy it from a grocery store, it costs almost triple the price of the gen-mod foods… so it can be expensive. What I am saying, is for a fruit to be seedless it has to be genetically engineered. Its sterile, infertile and the lasting effects from its consumption are still being debated by scientists. So if you are what you eat, and you’re eating sterile and infertile food…what will happen to you?

However, since plastic bags take longer to biodegrade, many states have banned the use of plastic bags to save our earth. Take a look at these photos below, and change your mind about using them.

These photos are from: Plastic Pollution Destroys Marine Wildlife, and you can read more on this article. We don’t have to wait for our State to ban the use of plastic bag. We can take the change within ourselves.

Plastic Bags Banned in San Francisco

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San Francisco is the first city in the U.S. to ban common plastic shopping bags. Since the banned of hard-to-recycle plastic, the city is estimated around five million fewer plastic bags every month! Some experts believe that bags are the bigger sources of pollution in the city also.

Banned Plastic Bags in Los Angeles

A bill is coming up for a vote to ban plastic bags by the year 2010 in Los Angeles, with a string that the State is not going to impose a quarter fee on customers requesting plastic bags. However, the City Council had ban Styrofoam at all city owned facilities. Plastic bags and Styrofoam are a big environmental hazard in Los Angeles.

Banned Plastic Shopping Bags in Connecticut Town

Following San Francisco and Los Angeles, Connecticut had joined in the effort of banning the use of free plastic shopping bags. Westport’s new rule is setting a fine at $150 for any store that offers plastic bags within its borders, and will go into effect early next year.

Banned on Plastic and Styrofoam in Seattle

Beginning in January of 2009, all Styrofoam products will be banned in Seattle. Then by 2010, all plastic would be banned, allow only biodegradable products. A fee of 20-cent per bag will be imposed at all supermarkets, drugstores, and convenience stores.

Free Plastic Bags Banned in China

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On January 13, 2008, All Things Considered reported that China is also taking a lead in banning free plastic shopping bags. China is hoping this would save millions of barrels of oil each year, and Chinese shoppers are expected to buy or bring their own bags.

Plastic Bags-Free in England

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Shopkeepers in Modbury of England have stopped using plastic bags, and some believe that this small population of 1,500 is the first plastic bag-free town in Europe. Bigger grocery chains offer customers money-incentives for reusing their old bags.

A Round-Up of Countries Involved in Banning Plastic Bags

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• Leaf Rapids, in Canada became the first municipality in North America to forbid the use of plastic bags by shop. The fine is set at $1,000 Canada dollars.
• Germany offers their consumers the options of plastic bag, canvas, or cotton tote for a fee. Stores carries plastic bags have to pay a recycling fee.
• Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania’s Zanzibar islands have banned flimsy plastic, and also required a minimum thickness. A fee is charge for each plastic bag in the supermarket, or consumers can get a reusable basket with a minimum purchase.
• Ireland imposed a 32-cent fee on every plastic shopping bag, and resulted in a big cut on the number of plastic bags handing out.
• Swedish government advises the plastic bag industries to develop greener bags. Two of the country’s biggest grocery chains have made biodegradable paper bags and reusable cloth bags for shoppers.
• Continuing in banning plastic bags, the following States are also involved: Austin, Texas; Bakersfield, California; New Haven, Connecticut; Portland, Oregon; Boston, Massachusetts; Phoenix, Arizona; and Annapolis, Md.

What You Can Do to Help

• Buy re-usable bags
• Do not purchase Styrofoam plates, cups, and bowls
• Pick up plastic bags and bottles when you see them
• Pick up water balloons/balloons after the children played with them
• Collect all plastic materials, and take them to the recycling center
• Pick up cigarette butts, yes they are nasty, but you’re saving our planet

Whatever you can do, do it! Every small act adds up if everyone takes part in preserving our wildlife, and our environment.

It is said by the media that the grocery prices should go down in about two years. Since when does this ever happen? In all of my life since I can remember going to the grocery store, prices either stay the same or rise. Therefore, I have no hope that prices will go down anytime in the future or ever. There are a couple of factors leading into why the food prices continue to go up.

One reason food prices have been rising is due to weather. There is a drought that has been going on in Australia that is drying out crops. This in particular has hurt the world exports for milk and wheat. Over the past couple of years the weather has damaged crop production in Europe, Ukraine, and parts of the United States which will lead to higher prices.

The economy in China, India, and Malaysia is doing well enough that there has been more purchases of food and a larger demand on the global food supply there. The tremendous population that they have in China and India in particular has increased on the need for more food. This has created another problem for the rising cost of food.

Since the dollar continues to lose its value it has a direct effect on the food surplus. The food goes overseas which inevitably rises prices here.

We cannot leave out the fact that the cost of gas a part in it. In order to send the food to various parts of the country it costs more money since the large trucks have to pay more for gas to get to their destination. This causes problems for companies to maintain an income without losing too much by having consumers pay a part of the cost.

Have you noticed how much bread has gone up from the past price of $1.29 to almost $4.00? There used to be a store down the street from my house that only sold bread. All of the bread was sold for only $1.00 each. They have gone out of business since they couldn’t maintain the low cost any longer. Milk has gone up to $4.00 a gallon when it used to be $2.50 and that was considered high.

The only way to not spend too much at the grocery store these days is to use coupons that can be found in newspapers either daily or weekly. Only buy the item if it is on sale unless it is like milk and will never go on sale and you can’t live without it. Despite buying milk that isn’t on sale, if most of everything else you buy is on sale or you have a coupon then this will help you not have to continue to pay the increasingly high prices.

For instance, if you see an item that you enjoy eating and you can freeze it for awhile without it spoiling then buy several of the same item when it goes on sale. Items you can live without do so. If you think about it, as we continue to decrease the food we eat and increase the amount of walking or biking we do in a day (since gas prices are so high that we would rather not drive) then imagine how much healthier we will become.