Shopping for products like eggs, meat, fish, milk, and produce at the grocery store can be very tricky. With signs posted everywhere labeling food as natural, organic, and a number of other things--what's the difference, really? Before you shell out extra money on a product, learning what specific names mean can help you decide if it's worth it or if it's simply a marketing ploy.

Natural is a term associated with a number of fruit and vegetable products. Typically, this is simply a marketing ploy to convince you to buy the product. After all, aren't all fruits and vegetables natural anyway? Unless it's a food that has been developed and processed, the product is natural. You're probably really looking for organic. Organic foods are grown without chemical pesticides and fertilizers. There are two main benefits to organic foods. First, you are helping with the environment because those chemicals are not being introduced into nature. Secondly, you are avoiding ingesting chemicals and are eating more healthy foods. However, organic products are usually more expensive. Skip over organic fruits and vegetables that you can peel, like oranges and bananas if you're on a budget. Instead, choose organic items like apples, where you eat the peel. Whatever you buy, make sure to rinse it off when you get home.

Another tricky label you might see is "no hormones." This is usually in regards to milk or meat products but is false, since all animals naturally produce hormones. Hormones help animals (even humans) regulate body organs, have young, and otherwise function. All meat products have hormones. What the labels actually mean is that no hormones were unnaturally given to the animal, which is sometimes done to increase milk production. Regardless of hormones, however, the milk and meat is safe for human consumption and not a violation of an animal's rights.

Lastly, the label on eggs and meat can indicate if the animal was caged or penned. This does not make a difference in the quality or nutritional value of the meat, but is simply a matter of animal rights. These products may be a little more expensive, but if you want to make a healthy choice, sometimes that is the way to go. Reading the label and making healthy choices can be difficult, but learning how to do so can help you make the best choices for your diet.

About the Author

Energizer Berry is an independent distributor of MonaVie, a nutritional beverage with the Acai berry and 18 other very healthful fruits. Her websites include berryessential.com and passion4acai.com. Most recently, for Speed Racer fans young and young at heart (the movie comes out May 9, 2008)speedracerblog.com.