Many people love to put Heinz ketchup on everything from pizza, fries, and burgers to chicken, pasta, and scrambled eggs. Its most serious fans even have other foods to add it on, making this an irreplaceable condiment.

But have you ever stopped to check the nutrition facts before squeezing a dollop onto your fries? If not, you might want to reconsider. Prepare yourself to toss your bottle of Heinz ketchup in the trash after reading the following.

Heinz Ketchup Ingredients Trick

You probably don’t want to, turn the bottle over and look at the ingredients of your Heinz ketchup—so we did it for you:

• Tomato concentrate produced from ripe, red tomatoes
• Distilled vinegar
• High fructose corn syrup
• Corn syrup
• Distilled vinegar
• Salt
• Spices
• Onion powder
• Natural flavors

Yikes! This doesn’t sound good at all.

In general, nutrition labels list the ingredient that is used the most first. This means—or at least it should—that the ‘tomato concentrate’ is used the most and ‘natural flavoring’ is used the least.

Heinz appears to be trying extremely hard to make their ketchup sound healthy. ‘Tomato concentrate’ is a fancy term for ‘tomatoes that have been processed and stripped of all their nutritional value’. They are basically trying to trick their consumers. Although the manufacturer wants the customer to think that corn syrup is a better option than high fructose corn syrup, they are both the same thing.

They use this trick since the population is showing more interest in nutrition labels. Splitting the ingredients makes it appear as if tomatoes are the highest on the ingredient list when, in fact, the true list should appear like this:

• High fructose corn syrup
• Tomato concentrate
• Distilled vinegar
• Salt
• Spices
• Onion Powder
• Natural flavoring

No one would actually purchase a condiment that is almost completely corn syrup! At least, not anyone that realizes how unhealthy corn syrup is.

In terms of salt, Heinz chooses to use the cheapest type that can cause toxicity in the blood, blood pressure issues, and mineral imbalance if it is eaten too much.

‘Natural flavoring’ – who actually knows what that could mean!

By eating just one tablespoon of this condiment, you are consuming 7% of your sugar intake and a portion of your daily intake of sodium. That is from just a single tablespoon! Who actually uses just one tablespoon of ketchup on their fries or burger? These numbers will add up fast.

3 Reasons to Stop Using Heinz Ketchup

1.) The High Fructose Corn Syrup

High fructose corn syrup, the main ingredient in Heinz ketchup—is extremely unhealthy and toxic. It is produced from corn that has been genetically modified. Corn syrup causes spikes in blood sugar levels and can also damage the liver with time. It has also been linked to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, immune system issues, and more.

Although this might not totally surprise you, this fact will: A researcher from the FDA refused a sample of corn syrup from the manufacturer and requested a new company for the barrel. Following the testing, she learned that high fructose corn syrup has high levels of mercury, the toxic metal that is known to affect the nervous system and the brain in negative ways. It is especially harmful to children and can possibly even lead to autism.

So if your child is picky and refuses to eat certain foods without ketchup, you may want to think twice.

2.) Distilled Vinegar & Sugar

Don’t be fooled—distilled vinegar is not the healthy type you use on your salads. It is actually made from GMO corn that is treated with chemicals and pesticides. Instead of helping your health, it can actually hurt it. It’s hard to believe that the high fructose corn syrup was not bad enough already before Heinz added distilled vinegar into it.

3.) Zero Nutritional Value

Heinze ketchup contains no protein, no fiber, no minerals, and no vitamins (unless you count 2% Vitamin A and C). This lousy percentage does not undo the damage caused by all the sugar and sodium in this condiment.

Healthier Alternatives to Heinz Ketchup

This does not mean you have to completely give up ketchup. There are many healthy options on the market that are organic and non-GMO. I love Annie’s organic ketchup the best but Trader Joe’s organic ketchup is a good option too!

The best option is making your own version! It only takes a few minutes.

Recipe for Homemade Ketchup

Time to Prep: 2 minutes Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup organic tomato sauce
• 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of vinegar
• 3 Tablespoons of sugar (either coconut or brown)
• A pinch of cinnamon, cayenne pepper, ground cloves, all-spice, and ground mustard

Instructions:

Boil the tomato sauce and reduce it (allow evaporation to thicken it so it is more like a paste than a sauce). Stir in the spices, sugar, and vinegar. Simmer for another 3 to 4 minutes. Let it cool. Store it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.

Please SHARE this Heinz ketchup warning with all your friends!