A friend of mine just posted this picture on her Facebook page. Is it just me, or do the words Great Value and Real Mayonnaise seem very ironic here?!
Though, the more I think about it, the more I think this actually serves as an excellent reminder of the importance of eating REAL food.
Let’s take a look at the ingredients in this Walmart brand mayonnaise:
Soybean Oil, Water, Whole Eggs, Egg Yolks, Distilled Vinegar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Contains Less Than 2% Of Salt, Spices, Calcium Disodium EDTA (To Protect Flavor), Lemon Juice Concentrate, Oleoresin Paprika, Natural Flavor, Allergy Warning: Contains Eggs. May Contain Traces Of Milk, Anchovies, Peanuts, Wheat And Soy.
Okay, right off the bat we should be freaked out by this product.
The very first ingredient is soybean oil. Soy is one of the scary genetically modified crops (GMO) that we should avoid at all costs.
We don’t need to hash out the evils of HFCS, do we?
Calcium Disodium EDTA is an additive that is used to prevent spoilage and to help maintain color and flavor. It is linked to all kinds of health problems like, kidney damage, muscle cramping, reproductive damage, developmental issue in fetuses, etc. Also, it is used in medical chelation (flushing the body of toxic heavy metals, such as mercury).
Natural Flavor is just another sneaky way to list potential MSG.
In addition to all that, allergy warnings that say “May contain” immediately send up red flags in my mind. This tells me that the manufacturer is not using good practices to separate potential allergens.
So, I guess there is Great Value here after all. Great value in reading labels closely and researching the ingredients you don’t recognize. (Hint: if you don’t know what it is, you probably don’t want it in your body!)
Need a good option for a yummy real food mayonnaise recipe? Here’s mine- Homemade Mayonnaise.
Saw ur link from our friends FB pic. I’m not a health nut by any stretch of the imagination but I like to pretend by being aware of what I feed my family…and now this house will be making even a few more changes after reading this. Thanks! But no I won’t cut out HFCS but then again it isn’t like I smear it on our food so moderation is key
Just found your blog through Pinterest (for the lip plumping entry). I always like to explore a little and found this post about store bought mayo. Wanted to give you a head’s up about making mayo using an immersion (stick) blender. Easier (and faster) with less cleanup than a food processor.