Disgusting "Natural" Ingredients that You're Eating

This has to be one of my favorite conversations that I have as a trainer and nutritional consultant.  I love when people say "it's all natural" and I say so is a beavers anal glad but I don't want it in my food!  Now that I've got your attention lol, you may think that I'm kidding but unfortunately it is a disgusting fact.

Beware of "natural flavor" and products labeled "natural".  Once upon a time those words meant something but as quantity and shelf life replaced the quality of food the word "natural" actually means nothing and is a pure marketing technique used to make you think you're buying a quality product.  This shift took place due to companies focusing on money, making things cheaper and extending their shelf life vs. giving you a healthy quality product. 

Also something you may not be aware of is that "natural" labeled products are NOT regulated by anyone.  They can contain antibiotics, toxic pesticides, growth hormones and many other things that do not have to be disclosed to call a product "natural".   It's the same with vitamins and supplements these are NOT regulated either so buyer beware.  Anyone can sell a product labeled "natural" and it could be anything but which is an absolute shame that our government allows such blatant practices.
 
Here's a few other "natural" ingredients you may want to check for...

1. Coal Tar (also known as yellow #5) which can be found in Kraft macaroni and cheese, candy, fruit snacks, Doritos and Cheetos to name a few.

2. Beetles (also known as Carmine) which is used as a "natural" food coloring in products such as ice cream, yogurt and many candies.

3. Beaver Anal Glands (also known as Castoreum) which is an FDA approved "natural flavoring" that can be found in raspberry, strawberry and vanilla flavored foods like ice cream, yogurts, candy and jellies. 

So now that I've probably freaked you out a little and you'll be rummaging through your pantry shortly, remember we can't control what they put into our food but we can control what we put into our mouth.

Even the healthy foods like lean proteins, fruits and vegetables are all grown in soil that is depleted of the nutrients it once had back in the day before we started using all these pesticides and hormones used to "enhance" our food.  Our fish and seafood are swimming in polluted waters loaded with chemicals.  So bottom line, you're not going to avoid it completely but the less you ingest of these toxic ingredients the better your health will be. 

On that note...what's for dinner?  lol