Image Courtesy Of Pringles.
We know it's tough going to the store and sorting through the plethora of packaging labels advertising healthy-sounding food: "grass-fed," "free-range," "artisanal," "multigrain..." Seriously, what do these terms really mean?
Fortunately, the government is now closely monitoring some of these labels. For example, "organic" applies to an animal product or produce item that hasn't been exposed to pesticides or antibiotics. The USDA ensures that this is exactly what you're getting when you purchase an item with the "USDA Organic" badge.
But, what about those more fluid terms? Let's take "multigrain." According to The Huffington Post, this term has almost zero impact on how healthy your food ultimately is. They compared both "original" and "multigrain" Pringles, and learned that "multigrain Pringles contain more corn flour than dried potatoes, a sprinkling of oat and malted barley flours, a pinch of wheat bran, and dried black beans." Doesn't sound all that different, but are they at least more nutritious? Nope. The multigrain version features slightly less sodium and calories than the original, but not really enough to make a difference. The takeaway? Multigrain is a pretty meaningless designation, at least where health is concerned.
What about "artisan" or "made with real fruit"? Click through to see what these "healthy" food designations all really mean. (The Huffington Post)