Bad Boys, Bad Boys, Whatcha Gonna Do...

Seriously. You seriously need to start. You have been going about it all wrong. They hide it right underneath your nose and you don't even know about it. When you're not looking, they sneak it in. They are literally walking right in front of your face while carrying a bucket load full of the stuff and dumpin' it straight down your throat and you ain't doin' squat about it!

Huh?

Seriously. You seriously don't know? Ok fine, I guess I have to tell you. What is being sneaked into your food are the bad boys - you know, the preservatives, unnecessary sugars, nitrates, nitrites, and other really nasty little buggers.

Where can you find them? In pretty much any popular food item. Are there ways to eat your favorite item without worrying about them? Of course, but you have to start.

So like my Kardashian "sisters" who like to over use the word "seeeriously," let's seriously start reading some nutrition labels.

Seriously Kim. Seriously?

Here are some of the "bad boys" we have to watch out for.

The Wanted List:

• High Fructose Corn Syrup - Sugar
• Fructose - Sugar
• Sucrose - Sugar
• Glucose - Sugar
• Hydrogenated Soybean Oil - Preservative/Trans Fat
• Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil - Preservative/Trans Fat
• Cane Sugar - Sugar
• Evaporated Cane Juice - Sugar
• Nitrates - Preservative
• Nitrites - Preservative
• MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) - Additive
• Dextrose - Sugar
• Maltodextrin - Sugar

Those are just a some of the nasty little suckers in most food. Why do companies put this stuff in your food? Well, because they make food taste better, they make it look more appealing, and they make it cheaper to manufacture.

High Fructose Corn Syrup is a sweetener made from corn. There just so happens to be an abundance of corn growing across the country that companies have found a nice way of making into a sweetener/coloring. Chances are you've seen the commercial where a woman asks a man what's wrong with eating high fructose corn syrup, to which he is unable to respond with an answer.

Well, to answer the woman's question: high fructose corn syrup is a SUGAR. And sugar stimulates insulin in your body at times when it's not needed, leading to Type II diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity.

Oh, and by the way, the company sponsoring that commerical was the Corn Refiners Assocation! Doh!

"Doh! It's in my donut!"

Hydrogenated Soybean Oil is another really bad ingredient found in a lot of foods. Its main goal is to preserve and extend the shelf life of food, not your body's shelf life. It's a trans fat which blocks and builds up plaque in your arteries. In the end, a good rule of thumb when reading labels is: if you can't even pronounce one of the ingredients on a product's label, then just avoid buying it.

So now that you know what to watch out for, start reading some nutrition labels. Seriously.

- Juice