Wikipedia says: "Natural foods" are often assumed to be foods that are minimally processed and do not contain any hormones, antibiotics, sweeteners, food colors, or flavorings that were not originally in the food.
I own an advertising agency (www.itsahappymedium.com). I usually say things like "advertising is everything" and when I say things like that it's because I'm trying to explain to a client the high value in advertising. In the case of natural foods though I've come to find the same "advertising is everything" mantra stands, just in a different way. Finding natural foods that are the best and healthiest option for you seems to be all about paying attention not to the advertising, but to the nutrition facts. The advertising can be extremely deceptive in natural foods. Here's why:
The USDA defines "Natural Foods" as a product containing no artificial ingredient or added color and is only minimally processed. Minimal processing means that the product was processed in a manner that does not fundamentally alter the product. The label must include a statement explaining the meaning of the term natural (such as "no artificial ingredients; minimally processed").
This all sounds good, however the snafu that is not being regulated are the companies putting "made with natural ingredients" on their packaging. If you just read that on it's own fast you could easily assume all of the components of that product were "natural". Not the case, that statement could actually just mean that even only one component of that product actually qualifies as the USDA "Natural Foods" definition, the rest of the components in the product could be absolute crap - really yucky crap.
Basically when looking for natural food options make sure you're actually checking the ingredients on the back of the package - if you can't read the words - put the package down. Also, make sure your items are 100% natural, not just "natural". I promise once you start looking you'll become all too aware of the differences- they are everywhere!
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| GOOD NATURAL |
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| BAD NATURAL |
Green Challenge: find a "natural" item and a 100% natural item the next time you go to the store!
