by Pat Merewether

Created on: September 23, 2008   Last Updated: November 14, 2008

I never read labels until a friend was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. This means that she should never eat wheat products or gluten. I started checking labels with her and was shocked and dismayed at the high amounts of wheat and other 'stuff' is in canned and processed soups, gravies, pudding and condiments.

It was quite an eye opener!

Ingredients are listed in the order of content. For example, read the ingredients in catsup. How far up or down the list does sugar appear? If it's one of the top two or three ingredients, you're buying a little amount of tomato and a lot of sugar. Well, it may not really be sugar, but high fructose corn syrup' which is a controversial sweetener made from corn.

Be aware of what's been removed from your food as well. Refined rice and wheat have the bran removed, which is where the nutrients are. It's okay though; you can always buy rice or wheat bran and put it back in, or better yet, buy brown rice and whole wheat to begin with. Did you ever wonder where molasses comes from? It's the brown stuff' they process out of sugar, and that's where the nutrients like iron are located.

Nearly every processed or even so-called natural' foods these days have high fructose corn syrup' in them it's mind boggling. In fact, it's very hard to find a loaf of bread without it. It is a highly processed sugar derived from corn that is not even close to natural sugar. This is just one additive that we should be aware of when we purchase food. There are many more additives to watch out for, such as artificial colors, preservatives, flavor enhancers, other forms of sugar, unhealthy levels of salt and so on.

Reading the ingredients and contents of the foods you buy is extremely important if you have food allergies or health problems that require you to limit sugars and salt. It's important to know that ingredients. Many people have negative reactions to MSG, and must avoid it, but it can be listed as natural flavorings' and MSG is not mentioned.

Read the ingredients on most jars of peanut butter and you'll see that there are high levels of sugar. This is important to know if you're diabetic! The same is true of salad dressings, BBQ sauce, canned baked beans and many foods you might not think of as having sweeteners in them. Colas contain sodium and a two-liter bottle can have as much as seventeen spoons of sugar. Often when an item is said to be low fat' or fat free' it contains higher amounts of sugar to enhance the flavor. Sodas may contain high amounts

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