1. Food labels & advertising

2. The Burning Question: Do I have to buy organic?
Organic means the product cannot contain hormones or antibiotics, and the animals must have been fed a vegetarian, pesticide- and herbicide- free dies without genetically modified sources or animal byproducts. Organic produce must be grown without using synthetic pesticides or chemical fertilizers.

3. The dirty dozen & clean fifteen

4. natural
To make the claim that something is “natural”, the product must contain no artificial ingredients or added color, and is only minimally processed. However, this does not mean a product is healthy.

5. Red meat
Is a steak just a steak or is there more than what “meats” the eye???
Grass-Fed: Nearly all cattle are fed grass at some point in their life, so this term is virtually meaningless. If you want beef from cows that grazed exclusively on grass for their entire lives, look for the “American Grassfed” or “100% Grassfed” label.

6. Red meat
Naturally Raised is a voluntary marketing claim that means livestock have been raised without growth promoters and antibiotics (except for parasite control).
Lean: The mean has less than 10g of fat, 4.5g saturated fat, and 95mg of cholesterol per serving (3.5 ounces), which is about the size of a deck of cards.
Bottom Line: Eating organic is a personal choice that depends on your budget, conscience, and taste. Nutritionally speaking, organic meat is the same as conventional. But current research on the long-term consequences of eating animals raised with hormones is incomplete, which is why some people choose not to. From a nutritional standpoint, it is always best to buy lean cuts of meat products.

7. Chicken
Chickens confined to shared cages inside warehouses don’t engage in their natural behaviors, such as foraging or flapping their wings. “Free Range” means there is the opportunity for movement ad sunlight.
No Hormones: Hormones are not allowed in raising hogs or poultry. Therefore, every poultry product should be hormone-free without labeling it as such.
Bottom Line: If you’re worried about pesticides or have ethical objections to how chickens are raised, select organic, cage-free (or better yet, pasture-raised) poultry. Based on nutrition alone, organic chicken isn’t worth the money.

8. Eggs
Free Range: Typically means the birds are un-caged inside warehouses and have the opportunity for outdoor acess, but there are no requirements for the amount, duration, or quality of outdoor access. Unlike eggs that are “certified organic”, there are no restrictions on what the birds can be fed.
Cage-Free: The birds are un-caged inside warehouses, but they generally do not have access to the outdoors.
Brown eggs are not healthier than white eggs. The chickens breed determines the color of their eggs.

9. bread
Multigrain: The product contains more than one type of grain. It does not indicate that the grains are whole (and thus healthier).
Whole Wheat: The product was made with whole-wheat flour. It is only made with 100% whole wheat flour if you select 100% whole wheat products; this means the bran and the germ of the wheat will remain in your meals, which is a good source of dietary fiber, manganese, and magnesium.
100% whole grain includes the entire, intact grain. This is where you get the optimal amount of nutrients and fiber.
Stone-Ground is just a method of grinding grain. It is no healthier for you.
Bottom Line: Choose bread products with less than 5 ingredients and make sure the first ingredient is whole grain. If the label does not say 100% whole wheat, it’s glorified white bread.

10. Breakfast cereal
Natural: In this case, the term has no actual FDA definition behind it. “Natural as defined by the USDA and FDA has different applications for different types of food products.
Whole Grain: If “whole grain” is listed before other grains, more than 50% of the total grain is whole. If not, there may not be much. Whole grains are important as they provide dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
“No Artificial Ingredients”: There is no official definition of “artificial”, so this claim is unregulated, and therefore, means nothing at all.
Organic: This food is processed using methods that don’t involve things like chemical pesticides and fertilizers and does not have processed added chemicals. However, this does not mean its healthy. There are plenty of organic foods full of sugar, fat, and sodium.

11. Breakfast cereal
The Bottom Line: Choose a cereal low in sugar with dietary fiber. The natural label won’t tell you much if you’re interested in minimally processed or unprocessed foods.

12. Snack foods
Light/lite: This ambiguous term can mean the product has fewer calories or less fat than the non-light version. But, it’s relative, so the product can still have a lot of fat and calories.
Sugar-Free or No Added Sugar: This tells you nothing about sugar derivatives (like corn syrup) or sugar substitutes (like Stevia), which yield just as many calories as table sugar and may be more harmful to your health (some studies have linked certain sugar substitutes to weight gain).

13. Snack foods
Low –Fat: This product has no more than 3g of fat per serving. Ultimately, this is good, but you have to look at the overall picture. When making low-fat foods, manufacturers replace the fat with another ingredient like sugar or salt to make the food taste good.
Reduced-Fat: This product has at least 25% less fat that the full-fat version. But again, it’s important to read the entire label because it can be full of fat, sugar, calories, and sodium.