By Lois Hewitt

I can’t believe I got duped! It’s all my fault but it happened. I only needed a few groceries. I usually shop on line at Whole Foods but this week I wanted to go a little cheaper. So I run into the discount grocery (mistake 1) and go to the oil section, which isn’t brightly lit. Grab a bottle that says largely on the label Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I look at the price and it comparable to the 365 Brand I usually buy, so I assume it’s ok (mistake 2). Also, the label looks similar to a big name brand (mistake 3). I throw it in my basket and grab a few more things. I get home and start dinner and I see the label. It says only 20% olive oil. Turns out it’s sunflower oil which is highly inflammatory and something I always avoid.

Manufacturers do these tricks so that busy consumers do not notice the shortcuts they have taken. We need to remember that Big Farm is only concerned with big profits and shareholder dividends. Why else would the new food chart show Lucky Charms as a healthy whole grain.

We all have to look out for the foods we eat. No one else cares what you and your family eat as long as the money keeps coming in.

I know it’s a lot of work. I do. I spend a whole lot of time thinking about food ingredients and studying additives and such. Not everyone has the time or inclination.

If you want to eat healthier, you have to read labels. There is no way around it. I’m fairly good at that and I got tricked because I did not look close enough at the label.

I’m not preaching, I just get so angry that for years, decades really, we trusted people and companies we should not have with our health. They just don’t care.

I was using a cane to walk a few years ago, I was so weak and anemic. My diet was pure poison. I changed it completely and it’s like night and day now. No cane. No anemia.

My point…this is important. Please be careful with what you buy. Be your own advocate.

I know food is expensive. My experience has been once I cut out the processed food, I had more room for better foods. Plus I batch cook…but that is for another day.

Food can either heal us or kill us.