What's inside '100% NATURAL'

How many of us are keen in refferring to the nutrirition labels of the products we buy? well coming to me, I came to know about this concept of Carbs, trans fat etc when I was diagonised with Gestational diabetes during my pregnancy. I was suppossed to opt for the foods that have less carbs and more protein I started to look at the labels but now I rarely look at them.

Though we look at the labels, we may not aware of some hidden facts, May be its a business trick that says as '100% natural' to get their products into our hands or may be some other reason, but finally we will be victims. For example,

Take chicken. The average American eats about 90 pounds of it a year, more than twice as much as in the 1970s, part of the switch to lower-fat, lower-cholesterol meat proteins. But roughly one-third of the fresh chicken sold in the U.S. is "plumped" with water, salt and sometimes a seaweed extract called carrageenan that helps it retain the added water. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says chicken processed this way can still be labeled "all natural" or "100% natural" because those are all natural ingredients, even though they aren't naturally found in chicken.

Producers must mention the added ingredients on the package -- but the lettering can be small: just one-third the size of the largest letter in the product's name. If you're trying to watch your sodium to cut your risk of high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke, it pays to check the Nutrition Facts label. Untreated chicken has about 45 to 60 mgs of sodium per four-ounce serving. So-called enhanced or "plumped" chicken has between 200 and 400 mgs of sodium per serving, almost as much as a serving of fast-food french fries.

Wheat bread." This is a meaningless term, since almost all bread is made with wheat. Some manufacturers add to the illusion by using a brown wrapper or darkening bread with brown sugar or molasses. The more healthful stuff is whole wheat, which includes the outer bran and the wheat germ inside, good sources of nutrients and fiber. Check the ingredients. If the first one listed is "enriched wheat flour," you aren't getting much whole grain.

Super water. The Center for Science in the Public Interest sued Coca-Cola Co. earlier this year over claims on its VitaminWater beverages. The center argued that the drinks -- with names like "defense," "rescue," "energy" and "endurance" -- are mainly sugar water with 125 calories per bottle.

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