What exactly does ‘healthy’ mean when it comes to food?

Anyone who's ever walked into a grocery store has seen the various health claims on food items calling certain products "healthy." But what exactly does “healthy” mean — and can you rely on it?The Food and Drug Administration is trying to find out. The federal agencyrecently began a public process to redefine how the word "healthy" can be used on food products. It's an issue that would change how companies can label foods and how consumers perceive them.  To help unravel the meaning of the term "healthy," UCLA Health writer Ryan Hatoum spoke with Dana Hunnes, senior dietitian at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and adjunct assistant professor at UCLA's Fielding School of Public Health, to get an expert's take.What would you consider a healthy food?I would consider healthy foods ones that are as close to nature as possible. That would mean foods that aren't highly processed or adulterated.UCLADana HunnesGenerally speaking, foods with fewer  ingredients as well as ingredients that are recognizable are healthy. A list of ingredients that are easily recognizable as a food, such as walnuts and artichokes, can indicate a healthy food. Manufactured ingredients — with unrecognizable names like methyl paraben, maltodextrin, artificial col or yellow 5 and the like — can indicate a food isn’t so healthy. Single-ingredient foods, like green beans, edamame  and avocado, are clearly healthy, but a frozen dinner made up of quinoa, bell peppers and tofu can be healthy to...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news