Yuka; The App You Need

Raise your awareness of food and skin-care products

Are you familiar with the Yuka App? These days, there is an app for almost everything, but this one has proved very beneficial in my life. My twenty-three-year-old daughter introduced me to it a year ago, and I love it. Kids are savvy and wise, and we can learn much from them. Let me get to the point and tell you what Yuka is about.

Yuka was created for anyone looking to improve their diet or health. Created in 2017 by French brothers Benoit and Francios Martin and a good friend, Julie Chapon, they intended to educate consumers about the quality versus hazards of the products they purchase.

They began with food and expanded into skin care. You can now scan any food or skin care bar code, and the app will provide a score of 1–100. Take it with a grain of salt, so to speak, though. It is really up to you to discern how important you feel their ratings are based on your personal health needs and concerns.

What do The Ratings Mean?

They use a color-coated scale that is very easy to navigate. They are rated on a point scale of 0–100, with zero being hazardous and 100 being outstanding.

• Dark green is a green light for go, indicating the food or skin care product is safe and risk-free.
• Light green/yellow indicates limited risk.
• Orange indicates moderate risk and, from my experience, implies high sodium, sugar, calories, or fat content, but not necessarily a hazardous product.
• Red implies hazardous, which is the category I pay close attention to.

Why Products May Be Tagged Hazardous

There are different reasons for the ratings. Use of preservatives added hazardous colorings, carcinogenic, allergenics, irritants, or pollutants factors may contribute to hazardous ratings.

Once you scan the product and see the rating, there is an arrow to the right. When you click that, it tells you all of the negatives, the positives, and then alternative recommendations. Sometimes, the alternative recommendations are valid and helpful; other times, they don’t suit my needs.

When I see a product that is just slightly too high in sugar and calories, I don’t worry too much. Especially a product like Suja- an immunity boost shot with many other reeding health qualities. So, like I mentioned, you have to weigh the pros and cons and be your own judge.

Let Me Dive Into A Few Shocking Examples From My Pantry

Fruity Pebbles

Fruity Pebbles is a household favorite cereal for many children. I know my kids loved it. But This was a real awakening for me as a parent. It was listed as Bad. Red dot. Rated 3/100 with 12 additives to avoid!

Click On More Info on Additives and I got the details:

1: Tartrazine — which is a food coloring, shocking, I say rolling eyes, caused to believe hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder when combined with sodium benzoate.

2: Sunset Yellow FCF — believed to cause hyperactivity and attention deficit disorders in children when combined with sodium benzoate.

3: Allura Red AC — A synthetic red dye believed to cause hyperactivity and attention deficit disorders in children when combined with sodium benzoate.

4: Brilliant Blue — A synthetic blue dye believed to contribute to attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity (ADHD).

😳 Holy cow. Knowing this, no wonder teachers are frustrated, children are medicated, and no one is getting the results they deserve. We are feeding our children this stuff and sending them out the door “unknowingly,” at least until the app. Food companies are setting our children up for failure. At least with this app, we can make educated choices and help our children.

Doritos (Original Nacho Cheese)

Another very common snack among adults and children — finger lickin’ good until you read this. Loaded with nine additives to avoid, four of which are hazardous to our health.

Again, Doritos contain many of the same ingredients as Fruity Pebbles: 1: Tartrazine, which is believed to cause hyperactivity and attention deficit disorders in children when combined with sodium benzoate. It is also believed to cause hypersensitivity and intolerance reactions and neurotoxicity reactions, possibly even some cancers.

2: E110 Sunset Yellow FCF — believed to cause hyperactivity and attention deficit disorders

3:E129 Allura Red AC — synthetic dye believed to be associated with attention deficit disorder.

4: Monosodium Glutamate — causes nausea, migraines, and hot flashes. It may contribute to obesity and play a role in neurodegenerative and auto-immune disorders.

Amy’s Tomato Soup

Thankfully, this soup that I eat often in the winter was rated excellent. There are no additives, it is organic, it has points for containing fiber, being low in calories, sugar, and being low in saturated fat.

Annies Brand Mac & Cheese

I was shocked by this because all over the box, it advertises “Organic,” “Grass-fed,” and “Natural,” and yet it only received a red dot 19/100 score, which is terrible.

It only has two additives but is too high in sodium and calories. The additives are silicone dioxide, which is commonly used to prevent clumping — regularly used in shredded cheese unless you purchase Tillamook, which is the only brand I am aware of that uses potato starch as a healthier alternative to prevent clumping. The second additive is Sodium phosphate, which is an essential element to our body unless taken in access. So again, it is up to you to discern how much you are consuming in the day and if you have kidney problems to take into account.

Aveeno Lotion

I use Aveeno body lotion. I was under the impression it was healthy. I am aware that what I put on my skin absorbs into my blood screen. I was saddened to learn Aveeno has a cancer-causing agent. So, I will use the twelve bottles I currently have, possibly an exaggeration, and then I will switch to their suggestion, which was Cetaphil, who had an excellent rating.

Two things to note in this; One, I loved that Yuka made a very visible note that Aveeno is in the process of improving their formula. That is great that they are aware and care about putting out quality product and shows me that Yuka is fair. And two, that Yuka wants to show a quality alternative product.

Final Thoughts

I love that Yuka states clearly that they are unbiased: No brand pays Yuka to appear. I believe they do their best to provide consumers with knowledge, and knowledge is power so we can make wise decisions. It doesn’t always mean I won’t buy the product I love, knowing it’s high in sodium, but hopefully, I will balance my meals wisely and better based on knowing what I now know. Certain products I certainly will not likely purchase again.

It is important to consider your personal health. If you have diabetes, for example, a warning of high sugar may be far more critical to you. Likewise, if you have high blood pressure or cholesterol, then sodium may be an essential factor to be aware of. We each have different priorities, but certainly, cancer-causing uld be a red flag to us all, asingredients causing ADD and hyperactivity in children.

This app is available free. I chose to upgrade to the premium version for just $20 annually. I am passing along this information because I enjoy it. I have no affiliation. If you try it or have already used it, please comment and tell me how you like it or comment and let me know what you think of the concept. It is the way of our future.

P.S. It is addicting. I go around my home scanning everything sometimes 😂 You can scan it at the store or at home, but I scan at home because, at the store, it would take me longer to shop. But it is just so fascinating. Sometimes, the things I expected to be healthy were not at all.

Thank you for taking the time to read. I hope no matter what your dietary needs are, this app will help you. Please subscribe to my YouTube Channel, where I offer short daily videos on emotional intelligence, relationships, guided meditations, and more!

Peace and Light,

Libby Shively McAvoy

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