How healthy is “Natural Packaged Food”

At a time when people are realizing more and more that processed and synthetic foods are the reason behind their poor health, the desire to return to the roots — the natural foods — is understandable. But this well-meaning realization has been once again hijacked by commercial interests out to hoodwink people. They just want to use the label “natural” to attract buyers but have no interest in actually improving the health of the people. That is why everything from aspartame to trans fats has been literally pushed down the gullet of the public.

It is time we understood that the extracted or modified form of any item is a far cry from it natural, actual avatar. Not knowing that will be as ridiculous as believing that alcohol is a “natural” product because it is made from barley, sugarcane juice or grapes.

It is unfortunate that we have abandoned butter, dairy and eggs in our zeal to avoid fats but have replaced these with processed liquid vegetable oils as in a cracker or a cookie or other sundry packaged foods. Instead of being healthier, the latter have become our ticket to illness.

We in India have eaten Guar Fali ki subzi (cluster beans) since time immemorial because these help achieve blood sugar targets, control weight, are full of protein, calcium and phosphorus, reduce cholesterol, aid digestion and are loaded with folate, thus preventing various cardiovascular complications. But that does not mean that the same benefits can also be derived from guar gum when it is added as an emulsifier to many organic and “natural” food products like icecream and peanut butter to keep them from separating. The devil lies in the concentration. Instead of being healthy, the highly concentrated guar gum damages the lining of our intestines, kills the friendly gut bacteria and causes numerous gastrointestinal issues.

Please don’t be taken in by the natural origin of any item. What you have to be aware about is the extent of its modification and concentration. The end product may be natural only in name but as bad as a synthetic product in practice.