There are a lot of unhealthy foods out there claiming to be a healthy food. That’s because it’s much more profitable to sell foods with cheap filler ingredients rather than foods that truly nourish. And these corporate food conglomerates get away with it because despite our best efforts, the public is very confused about what we should be eating. Trust us, we don’t blame you for being confused! One day eggs are to be avoided and the next they’re healthy again, there is a new trendy diet out every week, and the most accessible foods are processed beyond recognition. We’re not dieticians, but we have done the research and regularly chat with doctors who push real food instead of pills.
Look at the Ingredient Label
The best way to familiarize yourself with ingredients is to read ingredient labels. If you don’t know what something is, Google it. If the label is full of difficult-to-pronounce ingredients, leave it on the shelf and move on to the next food.
Ingredient label 101 is that the ingredients are listed in descending order by weight. If a food contains cheap filler ingredients, those typically show up early in the list and whatever “good” stuff typically shows up much later in the list. Cheap filler ingredients include seed oils, refined sugar, and refined starches.
If an ingredient sounds like it came from a science lab, it probably did. Even if it comes from a “real” food source (we’re looking at you, pea protein isolate), it’s likely heavily processed beyond recognition.
Ingredient Label Red Flags
Once you start reading ingredient labels, you’ll notice some common themes in ultra-processed foods. They often add bulk, mask bad flavors, or prevent spoilage at the expense of nutrition. These are the things to look out for and avoid whenever possible:
- Added refined sugar: Sometimes these are disguised as “brown rice syrup” or something that sounds healthier, but when it comes down to it these add a lot of calories to your food.
- Artificial sweeteners: Many of these are known carcinogens. Even the ones that come from natural sources (e.g. stevia) are ultra-processed.
- Seed oils: We avoid seed oils because they’re often chemically extracted, cause inflammation, and go rancid quickly.
- Refined starches: These are typically sourced from grains or potatoes, with the healthy parts removed
- Preservatives and other chemicals: Any artificial chemical designed to kill spoilage organisms can also harm your body.
- Food dyes: These are among the most toxic food additives
- Concentrates: These are used as a shortcut to achieve stronger flavor, but much of the nutrition and nuance in flavor is lost.
- Vitamins and minerals: Foods should contain vitamins and nutrients naturally, not be fortified. Fortified nutrients are more difficult to absorb (say no thank you to iron filings in cereal!)
- Iodized salt: At Brodo, we use sea salt because it’s an provides trace nutrients and is much less processed than iodized salt.
- Soy: This legume was traditionally eaten fermented in the form of tempeh, soy sauce, miso, etc. Unfermented soy can prevent absorption of calcium, iron, phosphorus, and zinc.
Ingredient Label Green Flags
The criteria we use for “green flags” are simple. They add to the nutritional value of the food, not detract from it. When you see these ingredients without any red flags, you’re good to go! It’s no coincidence that you’ll only find ingredients from this list in Brodo.
- Whole meats and bones: These are among the most nutrient-dense foods available.
- Whole fruits & vegetables: These are a great source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
- Whole mushrooms: A great source of B12, protein, and medicinal compounds
- Eggs: Don’t sleep on this nutritional powerhouse!
- Dairy: Raw milk as well as traditionally processed dairy products such as cheese, yogurt, and butter are a good source of protein and other nutritents.
- Whole grains: Unlike their processed counterparts, whole grains provide protein, fiber, and other nutrients.
- Herbs: Just like vegetables, herbs provide fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
- Spices: These provide wholesome flavor and often contain medicinal compounds.
- Sea Salt: In addition to sodium, sea salt contains trace nutrients.
- Olive oil, butter, & other healthy fats: Fats are nutrients in themselves, but it’s important to choose the right ones.
- Vinegar: This traditional condiment helps with nutrient absorption and contains antioxidants.
Packaging Yellow Flags
The following terms are not necessarily unhealthy. However, they’re often used in marketing to make a food sound healthy when it actually means ultra-processed. For example cucumbers are inherently vegan and also healthy. But vegan “meat” is usually best avoided because the ingredients are full of red flags.
- Vegan/plant-based
- Gluten-free
- Fat-free
- Natural (everything on earth is natural!)
Brodo happens to be gluten-free and most of our flavors are fat-free, but that’s because bone broth is traditionally made that way. If your bone broth contains gluten, we’d be worried!
Would Your Great-Grandmother Eat It?
Back in the old days, people didn’t have to read through ingredient labels because food was simple. It was either grown or raised by someone in town and cooked by someone in your family. People didn’t even have the option to eat a vegan burger if they wanted to! At Brodo, Chef Marco Canora brings us back to traditional foods with delicious, nourishing, made-from-scratch bone broth.
If you’re having trouble figuring out whether a food is healthy or not. Try imagining your great-grandparents eating it. If they would cook and eat it, you’re in the clear!
Brodo: Traditional, Delicious, and Nutritious
When you open a pouch of Brodo, you don’t have to worry about preservatives, cheap filler ingredients, food dyes, or concentrates. We make bone broth that we’re proud to serve to our friends, family, and ourselves.
Brodo is great to sip on its own and also combines beautifully with other wholesome ingredients like meats, eggs, vegetables, and more. Check out our recipe blog for ways to incorporate our nutrient-dense bone broth into healthy meals for the whole family.
