I  get fooled into buying something based on good marketing ALL THE TIME, whether it’s at the grocery store or at a boutique I’m at. I’ll buy something just because it’s PINK. I’ll buy the newest Victoria’s Secret bra that’s out just because I saw the commercial on TV a million times and feel I gotta try it out. I even buy wine sometimes, solely based on the design of the label. I bought 3 bottles of wine one time because it had a freak’n mermaid on it…and I don’t even drink white wine!

We all fall victims to GREAT marketing.

When it comes to food, because there are so many choices out there nowadays, we quickly make a decision based on what the packaging looks like. We look for key words like:  “NATURAL” , “NON-TRANS FAT”, “ORGANIC”, “HEALTHY”.

But not all foods listed as ORGANIC or actually organic; I know, it’s sad. You have to really pay attention to what you’re buying and where it’s coming from unfortunately. Manufacturers are using the ORGANIC or NATURAL term very loosely.

**HINT FOR LOOKING FOR PRODUCTS THAT CONTAIN:    TRANS-FATS**

If it contains CANOLA OIL, then it has trans-fats!

There are soooo many products out there, that say on the front, “NO Trans-Fats!!” and I turn to look at the ingredients on the back I see canola oil or some other kind of vegetable oil listed. The USDA  and FDA are very lax in allowing manufacturers to include canola oil in their products and then labeling their products as…”Non Trans-Fat”.

(Canola Oil is made from a man-made seed called Rape Seed. Rapeseed oil is poisonous to living things and is an excellent insect repellent.)

“Canola oil from the rape seed, referred to as the Canadian oil because Canada is mainly responsible for it being marketed in the USA. The Canadian government and industry paid our Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) $50 million dollars to have canola oil placed on the (GRAS) List “Generally Recognized As Safe” . Thus a new industry was created. Laws were enacted affecting international trade, commerce, and traditional diets. Studies with lab animals were disastrous. Rats developed fatty degeneration of heart, kidney, adrenals, and thyroid gland. When canola oil was withdrawn from their diets, the deposits dissolved but scar tissue remained on all vital organs. No studies on humans were made before money was spent to promote Canola oil in the USA.”

Here’s a Couple of Example’s of “Food Foolery”

EXAMPLE 1:

Ok, Smart Balance is telling you, “You are sooo freak’n smart if you buy this product!!”.  But they are undermining your intelligence because take a look at the ingredients, they try to fool you in the first description with the word…”Natural” :

• Natural Oil Blend (Palm Fruit, Soybean, Canola Seed, and Olive Oils)Water, contains Less than 2% of Salt, Whey, Vegetable Monoglycerides and Sorbitan Ester of Fatty Acids (Emulsifiers)Soybean Lecithin, Potassium Sorbate, Lactic Acid (to Protect Freshness)Natural and Artificial Flavor, Calcium Disodium EDTA, Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, Vitamin E (DL-a-Tocopheryl Acetate)Beta-Carotene Color.

Sorry, not going to list the endless reasons those ingredients are bad for you…it’s a Friday and everyone has places to go!! I will say this: They only way oils are healthy in any way is if NO chemicals or solvents were used in the extraction and production processes. But since this is such a mass produced product, they were. Oils exposed to high heats during the extraction create FREE RADICALS. Free radicals cause cancer.

Why not just use REAL BUTTER??      

Ingredients:    Churned Cream

EXAMPLE 2:

Kelly, this HAS to be healthy. You’re crazy. Well, yes, I am off my rocker at times. But cereals in general are just a waste of your money and nutrients. You’re not getting anything out of your $4.99 box of cereal except for interesting reading material on the back.

“breakfast cereals, should have no place on our cupboard shelves. Boxed breakfast cereals are made by the extrusion process, in which little flakes and shapes are formed at high temperatures and pressures. Extrusion processing destroys many valuable nutrients in whole grains, causes fragile oils to become rancid (free radicals) and renders certainn proteins toxic. For a new generation of hardy children, we must return to the breakfast cereals of our ancestors- soaked gruels and porridges.)-Scientific findings from Dr. Weston A. Price and Sally Fallon

See, manufacturers just want to make their product as appealing as possible and target the visual vanity in us all. So they hone in to what they know is important to us….Organic, Natural, ect…I even read an article today that Olive Garden is changing their whole look to make the place look more like a  “Tuscan Farmhouse” to appeal to the new Organic food boom! But their food’s not going to change a bit. And if you think their food is healthy…well maybe we should break up.

But keep in mind, the lesser quality they make a product, the more money a company makes. So if they can put crappy ingredients in a product and slap a really good packaging label on it to get you to buy it, then they are laughing all the way to the bank! Lots of…Hahaha’s and LOL’s.

Of course there are lots of good products out there that are healthy. But you don’t hear about them that much in the media because the companies that do get the biggest platform and microphone when trying to sell their products are the biggest, wealthiest manufacturers and organizations. You think John Boy the farmer and his excellent hand-picked tomatoes and grass-fed chickens gets a commercial slot aired on the TV ever? No, obviously because they can’t afford it. But big manufacturers like Kraft sure as hell runs their commercial about their NEW Kraft  Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing with Canola Oil for your “Omega’s” every hour. Canola Oil? Seriously!( *See my description above about what canola oil is.*)

Great marketing should be appreciated for products that don’t affect our health. Fool me into buying Jessica Simpson’s hair extensions that will transform my look or high quality Boxed Wine….fine. But mess with my health, and that’s not OK! “Mess with the bull and you’ll get the horns”…as said by my high school field hockey coach:)

Kelly