In today’s world the simple way of life where eating food doesn’t need to be “enriched” or “fortified” is long way gone. We rely too much for this two words to assure us that what we’re eating is good and healthy. Many foods that are out in the market these days are either “enriched” or “fortified”. How will you know which one to choose? Enriched versus fortified which of the two will make you healthier?

The first thing you have to know before you make a choice between the two is to know the meaning of the words.

Let us start with the meaning of “enriched”. Vitamins and minerals tend to get lost throughout the refining process of a certain food. When it says “enriched” it means that those lost vitamins and minerals are added to the certain processed food once again. To simplify this meaning let’s make an example; when wheat is refined to make flour, during the process vitamin B which is a natural possession and one of the characteristics found in wheat is lost. Therefore to make this food “enriched”, this lost vitamin B will be added back into the processed wheat which is now a sack of enriched with vitamin B flour.

Consumers are under the assumption that “enriched” food products are food with extra added vitamins and minerals apart from those that they already possess; now you know that this assumption is entirely incorrect. There is a silent feud going on and that feud is all about enriched versus fortified. Most consumers are confused, are they going to choose enriched versus fortified or the other way around.    

Now let’s go to the meaning of the word “fortified”. When it comes to fortified foods it means that these foods have added minerals and vitamins in them after they were refined. The simplification of this is extra vitamins and mineral are added to the food product aside from those that they already have. Milk formulas are already loaded with different kinds of vitamins and minerals so for example, when we say milk fortified with vitamin D, it means that the vitamin D which aids in the absorption of milk in the body is added apart from other healthy substances that are already in the milk.

Even with the issues about enriched versus fortified there are a lot of good things that became beneficial to the health of a lot of people especially with food fortification. Without enriching the food back of its lost vitamin or mineral we will end up eating food products without the good stuff in them and without the discovery of fortifying our food products as well we will end up not absorbing all the calcium found in milk, in our body without the help of vitamin D. did you know that when it was discovered that vitamin D is needed in the absorption of calcium in our body, milk has been fortified with it ever since. Enriched versus fortified, it’s up to you to make a choice. Anyway you look at it you’ll still end up getting the vitamins and minerals that both “enriched” and “fortified”food products has to offer.