Five Surprising Things You Need to Know About Your Food

Everyone is eating or has eaten a certain amount of processed food at some point in their lives, and that’s because processed food is everywhere, even if it’s something as a biscuit or a cookie. You can even find that the “healthy” food isn’t as healthy as it seems. Even if you think your fridge is loaded with all-natural food options, you can bet that there are a lot of things food manufacturers don’t tell you about their products.  

Here are a few things you seriously need to know about your food to get you started:

1.  Processed foods contain more sugar than you think

While you already know that many foods you see on the grocery shelf contain a lot of sugar, you probably don’t know exactly how much – and that’s because food manufacturers can get around the label by disguising the sugar.

These are just some of the names manufacturers use to hide the sugar:

• Dextrose
• Cane crystals
• High-fructose corn syrup
• Fruit juice concentrate

2.  Manufacturers also pack foods with lots of salt

Two things food manufacturers love are sugar and salt for the same reason: they’re a cheap way to make cheap, tasteless food instantly palatable. But unlike sugar, salt is a miracle ingredient that not only serves as a seasoning, but also acts as a preservative that makes food items last longer and substitute for otherwise expensive herbs and spices.

3.  Food has an ideal sound

It doesn’t seem as important now, but some foods have an “ideal” sound you need to look for ensure maximum freshness. For instance, in the case of potato chips, people tend to buy them more if they have a louder crunch. The average potato chips snaps at about two kilos of pressure for every 2.25 square inch, or which is about 12 to 14 psi.

4.  “Healthy” cereal isn’t as healthy as you think

Cereal contains more sugar and carbs than you would think, and it doesn’t help that it says “multigrain” on the label. Even if the cereal is made from whole grain, much of the extra vitamins and minerals are destroyed in the process of making the cereal.

However, the good news is that you can still enjoy your bowl of healthy cereal in the morning – as long as your cereal contains less than eight grams of sugar per serving.

5.  There’s no need to worry about synthetic flavoring

Ever since artificial sweeteners started to become really popular, the use of synthetic flavoring has stuck around, and it’s likely to stay in your pantry for a long time. But that synthetic vanilla extract isn’t necessarily bad for you – in fact, it’s just as good as the original.