Organic is Cool but Don't Be Fooled!

Organic is cool…but don’t be fooled!

Labels like Simple Truth, Annie’s Homegrown and GOLean are all healthy right? I mean…come on, it IS organic! However, that is far from the truth! That is why labels are so so important to read. Since becoming a dietetic major, I have paid closer attention to the snacks and food that I buy by reading the labels. That’s what the labels are for! It’s funny, I actually used to avoid looking at labels on my favorite junk foods (hot Cheetos, Doritos, girl scout cookies) so I wouldn’t have to know how much sugar or how many calories, fat, etc. were in it.  I think I was really trying to eat the whole bag by turning a blind eye to the nutrition facts and avoiding guilt…… oops. Now, I am not saying that you should go overboard and obsess over every single label. BUT, I am saying it is important to know what you are consuming and if it is everything that it is advertised to be!

Way back when, I used to believe that if it was organic is was healthy because……well, it’s organic! And organic sounds like nothing could be wrong with it. SO, while in Kroger I went to only the organic section in search for a healthy snack. TIME after TIME I flipped over granola bars, crackers, whole wheat oat snacks and I could not believe just how much sugar it contained! Our recommended amount of sugar is 25g a day (ouch, that’s tough)! A lot of these organic bars contained 15g-20g ALONE. Specifically, I found an organic instant oatmeal with 0g of sugar. Then, I looked on the shelf next to it and saw an organic cinnamon honey oatmeal with 12g of sugar for one packet! Of course they have many other benefits but, I couldn’t bring myself to consume that much sugar in one snack. So my encouragement to you is to be careful with the organic options as they too, can be filled with sugar. It doesn’t hurt to indulge sometimes J But, that ‘organic healthy breakfast bar’ may not be so healthy. We know that high consumption in sugar increases risks of heart disease, diabetes, blood pressure. On a simpler scale, too much sugar causes those unwanted sugar crashes and feelings of fatigue, headaches, dehydration and just feeling yucky! I urge you to be careful with your sugar intake and take a quick sneak peek before buying those organic snacks.