Fact: The desire to have a simple/minimal list of ingredients is understandable but the number of ingredients does not necessarily mean that a product is healthier, more nutritious or better for you. Think about how many ingredients are in your favorite recipes that you cook at home!
A couple of examples of items you might find while grocery shopping:
3 ingredients:
Potato chips: potatoes, vegetable oil, salt
3 ingredients:
Milk: milk, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D3
4 ingredients:
Cotton Candy - sugar, corn syrup, food coloring, oil
15 ingredients:
Almond Milk: (Filtered Water, Almonds), Cane Sugar, Sea Salt, Natural Flavor, Locust Bean Gum, Sunflower Lecithin, Gellan Gum. Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin E Acetate, Zinc, Gluconate, Vitamin A, Palmitate, Riboflavin (B2), Vitamin B12, Vitamin D2.
Bottom Line: Soundbite nurtition messages like, "only eat foods with a short list of ingredients" don't always hold true.
Leah McGrath, RDN, LDN
Ingles Markets Corporate Dietitian
facebook.com/LeahMcgrathDietitian
800-334-4936