Do you know what your eating?

I found this great guide on Kashi.com. You can even go on and download a printable verison that will fit in your purse. I highly recommed you know what your eating!! The items in RED are the ones to AVOID!

ACACIA GUM (also known as GUM ARABIC or GUAR GUM): This is a natural ingredient, made from the hardened sap of the acacia tree that helps stick stuff together and adds important fiber.

ALPHA TOCOPHEROL (also known as ALPHA TOCOPHEROL ACETATE): This is a natural form of vitamin E which acts to keep cereals and other foods fresh longer.

ASCORBIC ACID: This is just another way of saying vitamin C. Sourced from nature, as an ingredient in foods, it simply gives you more of this important vitamin.

ASPARTAME: An artificial sweetener 180 times sweeter than sugar that’s commonly used in diet soft drinks and chewing gum.

BUTYLATED HYDROXYANISOLE (BHA): This chemical is added to foods to preserve fats and keep them from turning rancid.

BUTYLATED HYDROXYTOLUENE (BHT): This chemical is used as a preservative in cereals and snacks.

BLEACHED FLOUR: After it’s milled and bleached white with chemicals like chlorine, this baking flour loses many of its original whole grain nutrients.

BROMINATED VEGETABLE OIL (BVO): Controversial processed oil that allows flavors to stay evenly dispersed in soft drinks.

CALCIUM PEROXIDE: This agent is used to bleach flour and improve dough strength, grain and texture

CARRAGEENAN (also known as NATURAL GUM): Used as a natural food additive for hundreds of years, this thickening agent comes from seaweed.

CHICORY ROOT FIBER: This is used to hold different ingredients together and also contains a naturally occurring fiber called inulin.

CITRIC ACID: This weak acid comes from citrus fruits such as lemons and limes and is used to add flavor to many foods.

DISODIUM GUANYLATE: This flavor enhancer is 50 to 100 times more potent than monosodium glutamate (MSG) and helps enhance flavors in snacks, sauces and canned foods.

EVAPORATED CANE JUICE SYRUP: A minimally processed sugar, this ambercolored liquid retains a slight golden color and subtle taste from the original cane juice.

EXPELLER PRESSED INGREDIENTS (also known as COLD PRESSED): Process by which natural oils are extracted from seeds by mechanical pressure without the use or addition of chemicals, colorings or preservatives.

GLYCERIN: A colorless liquid that helps ingredients of different water content get along together (so dry ingredients such as grains stay dry, and moist ingredients, like fruit, stay moist). Kashi’s glycerin is from plant, not animal sources.

HIGH-FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP: This highly processed liquid sweetener and preservative consists mainly of glucose and is a common ingredient in many manufactured foods and drinks.

HYDROGENATED OILS/FATS (also known as TRANS FATS): Chemically processed oil that’s transformed from a liquid to a solid by forcing hydrogen gas into oil at high pressures to extend shelf life by preventing rancidity.

INULIN: This is an all-natural dietary fiber that occurs in many plants (including the chicory root). It’s used to improve taste, texture, and moisture in many foods, and may have positive health benefits such as promoting digestive health.

LACTIC ACID: Known as “milk acid,” this natural compound is used to increase the cheese flavor in foods like pizza. Kashi uses only vegetable sources, so it’s OK for vegan diets.

MALTODEXTRIN: This is a form of sugar, usually made from rice, corn or potato starch. Because it releases into the blood stream slower than typical sugar, it can give the body energy over a longer period of time.

MODIFIED CORN STARCH: This starch is created through a non-natural, chemical process that’s used to thicken foods like gravy and pudding.

MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE: Created from a natural chemical reaction of calcium and phosphoric acid, this acts to create light and soft bakery products.

MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE (MSG): This is a controversial flavor enhancer commonly used in Chinese food, canned vegetables, soups and processed meats .

NIACINAMIDE: This is one of the compounds that make up vitamin B-3 – it’s found naturally in whole grains and may help reduce cholesterol levels.

PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED OIL: Oil that has been partially hardened through chemical means and contributes trans fats to foods.

POLYDEXTROSE: This chemically created additive is used as a sugar replacement and/or fiber supplement in many foods.

POTASSIUM CHLORIDE: This chemical mixture is a salt made of potassium and chlorine that’s used as a salt substitute.

RED #6 and RED #40: As their names suggest, these are artificial colors that are used to add red color to food.

SACCHARIN (also known as BENZOIC SULFINIDE): This calorie-free sweetener is about 300 times sweeter than real sugar.

SILICON DIOXIDE: This naturally occurring mineral is used to keep powdered foods flowing smoothly without congealing.

SODIUM ACID PYROPHOSPHATE: This is a natural baking powder – it’s used as a leavening agent to make baked goods light and soft.

SODIUM ALUMINUM PHOSPHATE/ SULFATE: This is a food additive found in many baked goods that’s used to lighten and soften the final product.

SODIUM BICARBONATE: Also known as baking soda, this is a staple in most home kitchens. It’s a natural mineral used in combination with a leavening agent (like sodium acid pyrophosphate) to make baked goods light and soft.

SODIUM PHOSPHATE: These are normal and essential salts for the body that work as natural leavening agents, helping make baked goods light and fluffy.

SOLVENT EXTRACTION: Not an ingredient per se, this is a chemical process used to extract oils from seeds and nuts, as opposed to the more natural expellerpressed method.

SOLVENT EXTRACTED VEGETABLE OIL (soybean, corn and cotton seed, extracted with solvents): While it has origins in real and natural ingredients (e.g. soybeans), this oil is created using a chemical process. See also SOLVENT EXTRACTION.

SUCRALOSE: This artificial sweetener is 600 times sweeter than real sugar.

TOCOPHEROLS: These related compounds are derived from wheat germ oil that serve as a source of fat soluble vitamin E.

XANTHAN GUM: Created by the fermentation of glucose or sucrose, this is used to create sticky dough.

YELLOW #5 AND YELLOW #6: These are synthetic yellow dyes used to color food. Also used with other colors to produce various shades of green.