The journey of going to the supermarket — Ingredients List
It becomes increasingly difficult to go to the supermarket and try to make a good decision when buying some products. I’m going to make some posts where I talk about tips that help me when I want to choose a product.
I first chose the list of ingredients and not nutritional information because foods are not macro and micronutrients, foods are just that, foods.
What do I do almost every time I buy a new product? I read the ingredient list first and then if I find it necessary to look for the nutrition information.
Today I’m going to tell you in a simple way the 5 things that I confirm when I go through this situation.
1. Preferably buy food where I know all the ingredients
Did you know that for example sugar have dozens of different names?
For example, on this Yogurt, can you guess where are the sugars?
Ingredient list: Yogurt (Milk), Peach (7%), Passion Fruit (1%), Starches (Potato, Tapioca), Modified Maize Starch, Acidity Regulators (Sodium Citrate, Lactic Acid), Stabiliser (Carrageenan), Sweeteners (Acesulfame K, Sucralose), Flavourings, Colour (Paprika Extract), Vitamin D
Acesulfame K and Sucralose are both names of sugars.
Here is a list of names for sugar:
- Sugars: brown sugar, cane sugar, confectioner’s sugar, raw sugar
- Syrups: cane syrup, date syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, malt syrup, maple syrup, refiner’s syrup, rice syrup
- –Oses: dextrose, fructose, galactose, glucose, lactose, maltose, ribose, saccharose, sucrose
- –Ides: disaccharide, monosaccharide, polysaccharide
- Natural sugars: agave, coconut nectar, coconut sugar, date sugar, evaporated cane juice, fruit juice, honey, maple syrup, molasses, monk fruit extract, rice malt, sorghum, stevia, treacle
- Artificial sweeteners: aspartame (Equal), saccharin (Sweet’n Low), stevia (Truvia), sucralose (Splenda)
- Sugar alcohols: erythritol, glycerol, sorbitol, xylitol
In addition to sugar, I also avoid foods with colourings, preservatives and flavour enhancers (these foods may appear with the name or code starting with “E” followed by 3 digits, if it was produced in Europe).
Example
This salad sauce has a sweetener and a colouring.
Water, Spirit Vinegar, Rapeseed Oil (14%), Sugar, Pasteurised Egg Yolks (4%), Modified Cornflour, Mustard, Salt, Sweetener (Acesulfame K), Colour (Riboflavin)
2. There are foods that simply shouldn’t have sugar
For example, this vegetable stock has sugar in the ingredients list.
Concentrated vegetable stock (64%) (water, carrots † (1.5%), red pepper †, CELERIAC †, leek †), salt, maltodextrin †, sunflower oil †, sugar †, yeast extract †, potassium chloride, sea salt, gelling agents (xanthan gum, locust bean gum †), natural vegetable flavourings, herbs †, natural fenugreek flavouring, spices †, caramel syrup †. †certified organic ingredients (EU + Non-EU agriculture)
A vegetable broth, in my opinion, should have no sugar at all. And it’s something that is easily done at home, and it’s even a way to make use of the leaves and pieces of vegetables that we normally throw away.
Some processed foods have sugar to act as a sweetener, preservative, texture modifier, fermentation substrate, flavouring agent, and colouring agent.
3. I don’t buy food with hydrogenated fat (trans fat)
Trans fat or hydrogenated fat is mostly made in the laboratory, usually added to processed foods. It is considered the worst fat category. Several studies have linked this type of fat to heart disease, diabetes, inflammation, cancer and atherosclerosis. Luckily because of this, it’s starting to be highly regulated.
From 2021, manufacturers in Europe will be required to curb the amount of industrially-produced trans fats in processed food to 2 g per 100 g of fat. Yesterday (24 April 2019), the European Commission adopted a regulation that sets a 2% legal limit to the amount of trans fats in processed foods.
4. Preferably choose short ingredients list
Example
Comparing for example this chocolate, Cadbury Dairy Milk Whole Nut Chocolate Bar 120G:
Milk**, Sugar, Roasted Hazelnuts, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Vegetable Fats (Palm, Shea), Emulsifiers (E442, E476), Flavourings, **The equivalent of 426 ml of Fresh Liquid Milk in every 227 g of Milk Chocolate, Milk Chocolate: Milk Solids 20 % minimum, actual 23 %, Cocoa Solids 20 % minimum.
And this, Green & Blacks Organic Dark 70% Chocolate 90G
Cocoa Mass #, Cane Sugar #, Cocoa Butter #, Vanilla Extract #, # = Certified Organic, Organic Chocolate: minimum Cocoa Solids 70 %.
If I needed to choose between both, I will choose the one from Green and Blacks. As a rule of thumb in the ingredients list “the less, the better”.
5. Avoid that the first ingredient is sugar
Unless you are buying sugar
The ingredient lists the names in decreasing order. So, the ones in the beginning are the ones in the highest percentage.
Example
On Mars, the first and second ingredient are sugars. Only the 5th is cocoa (the 4th is the butter of cocoa).
Sugar, Glucose Syrup, Skimmed Milk Powder, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Sunflower Oil, Milk Fat, Lactose and Protein from Whey (from Milk), Whey Powder (from Milk), Palm Fat, Fat Reduced Cocoa, Barley Malt Extract, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin), Salt, Egg White Powder, Milk Protein, Natural Vanilla Extract, Milk Chocolate contains Milk Solids 14% minimum, Milk Chocolate contains Vegetable Fats in addition to Cocoa Butter
The first ingredient on the list should be the one that you are buying it. If you are buying a chocolate, the first ingredient should be chocolate/ cacao.
Final thoughts
I won’t say that I apply these tips 100% of the time I go to the supermarket because I would be lying and because for me, I think it’s unnecessary. But I try to apply these rules to most of my trips to the supermarket.
If so much information and the time we would need for all of this can seem overwhelming? Yes, I understand yes but, you don’t need to apply the rules all at once. You can start by choosing 1 or 2 and using for 2 weeks and then when it’s become a habit to move on to another one and apply gradually, so it’s not too overwhelming.
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