This week I look at the top 5 things that the health industry doesn't want you to know about. There are some companies out there making lots of money at your expense, either misleading you or potentially putting your health at risk.

5. Everything is made in China.

Ok, well maybe not everything, but close to it. It's just the reality of business nowadays. At some level, parts of that beverage you're sipping or that daily multi-vitamin you're taking can be traced to China somehow. Sure, it may say it's "manufactured" in America or something like that, but chances are really really good that the ingredients and raw components used can be traced to China. It would be just too expensive to create sources of raw ingredients in North America, given market prices, mark-up and profits. In order to survive, companies must source ingredients from Asia. Is this a bad thing? Absolutely not. But there's a perception that Chinese ingredients are bad...

4. Organic is good, but...

...it's not highly regulated. There are no real repercussions for farmers should they bend the organic rules a bit for a better bottom line. In addition, the regulations that define what is considered organic isn't so detailed, leaving a lot of room for interpretation and rule-bending by farmers, manufacturers, etc. and it doesn't help that there really isn't any punishment should this occur. What's more, just because things are grown naturally, doesn't mean that they're organic. The soils, for example, could be contaiminated with heavy metals, but since they don't test the product, and since they use "natural/organic" farming methods, they just assume that the end product is healthy. How can one be sure if they don't confirm it with testing?

3. Healthy Ingredients In Bad Foods Doesn't Make It Ok.

You've seen this with sugary cereals, fruit beverages, butter/margarine. Lately, they've all claimed to be good for your heart, cardiovascular health, eyes, or as a potent antioxidant, etc. Sure it's true. Companies have managed to put in omega-3 fatty acids into your beverages or increased the fibre content in your cereal, but those drinks and cereals are still loaded with sugars, and possibly food colourings that you should keep to a minimum. The last thing we want is for our kids (or better yet, the parents) to think that since it can do you some good, it's ok to eat lots of it.

2. All yogurts have probiotics in them.

Yep. Danon isn't the only one. Sure, they have a particular strain of probiotic, but still, the yogurt process itself, requires the use of probiotics. The concept of "bacteria" in foods was always given a bad rap until recently with the whole Activia challenge craze a few years back. The only difference between yogurt that is labelled "probiotic" versus one that doesn't is simply the mark up in price.

1. The Health Industry Doesn't Want You To Look at Clinical Evidence

A lot a product's health claims are based on animal based studies, or even test tube studies. Take the case for acai juice. Companies look at what's in the juice (for example, an antioxidant molecule called polyphenols), they know that polyphenols are antioxidants. Antioxidation is good against the inflammatory response. Therefore they draw the conclusion, acai juice can be used to fight inflammation in everything like asthma and allergies.

Great for marketing, but bad science.

Consumers should be looking for clinical trial evidence. If acai juice is good for asthma, then there should be a study where acai juice was given to those suffering from asthma, and to see if the number of cases of asthma attacks were decreased or severity decreased compared to some kind of placebo.

Bottom Line: There you have it. The top 5 things the health industry doesn't want you to know.

Keep this list on hand. It'll also help you weed out the good manufacturers/companies from the not-so-good. Reputable companies will make an effort to provide clinical trial evidence or have a lot of studies to draw from. In addition, they take quality very seriously (investing heavily into their quality program). This ensures that even though some products are sourced from China, that they meet the stringent North American testing requirements and the same goes for their organic products.