‘Natural’ on Food Labels Means Nothing

Should you pay more for foods labeled ‘Natural’? The answer might surprise you…

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‘Natural’ on Food Labels Means Nothing

Dr. Michael Ruscio: Does the term ‘Natural’ on food labels mean anything?

Hi. This is Dr. Ruscio, and Consumer Reports recently released a nice chart that provides a summary of what it actually means for a given food label. I’ve included a link to the graph here, and I would encourage people to give this a quick look.

The main takeaway from this “USDA organic” is a very good label, and you can peruse some of these other labels, like “kosher” or what have you, but the one I really want to draw people’s attention to is the word “natural.”

‘Natural’, as you can see from the chart if you look it up, really means nothing. Now, you may or may not have heard of this before, but it’s really important for me to mention, especially if you’re new to this conversation, that the word ‘Natural’ has zero regulations associated with it. You could have GMO, full of hormones, lots of pesticides, very poor quality, and still put the word ‘Natural’ on it because there are not regulations associated with the term ‘Natural.’

So when you go shopping, if you see ‘Natural’ on a food label, don’t be duped. That doesn’t mean anything. You want to opt for the USDA organic label, and if you’re curious about some other labels, have a look at this link, and it can walk you through what the regulations behind those labels actually are.

This is Dr. Ruscio, and I hope this helps you get healthy and get back to your life. Thanks.

If you need help with determining which foods are right for you, click here.

I would like to hear what you think.
What are your thoughts or experience with this?