Why You Shouldn't Read Labels

Yeah, I know.  That’s directly contrary to what I usually preach.

Hear me out.

If your food has a label, then it probably has an ingredient list.  If it has an ingredient list, then there are probably things in it that you don’t need.

The asparagus at the farmer’s market?  It doesn’t have a label, or an ingredient list.  It’s just . . . asparagus.  Same for the strawberries.  And the pork chops, and the eggs, and the honey.  You won’t find any hidden MSG, or unwanted trans fat, or unpronounceable chemicals.

You don’t have to go to a farmer’s market to get perfectly good food, though.  Grocery stores have plenty, too; you just have to be a little more careful (ironic, no?).  I’m sure you’ve heard this advice before, but it really simplifies things:  stick to the perimeter of the store.  That’s where you find produce, meats, dairy products.  The unpronounceable chemicals?  They’re lurking in the aisles.*

Here’s the thing you have to remember:  if there’s a label on that item, it’s because someone put it on.  It sure didn’t grow that way.

*I realize there are exceptions; there are yogurts in the dairy section that bear no resemblance to actual yogurt, just as there are staples in aisles that I couldn’t live without, like flour and olive oil and walnuts.  But you get the general idea.