The Ingredient Illusion: Why Simple Food Is Often the Healthiest

In a world where plant-based alternatives are rapidly filling grocery store shelves, the conversation around what’s truly healthy is more relevant than ever. One glance at a bottle of JUST Egg versus a real egg, and you’ll see the contrast: one ingredient vs. a laundry list of unfamiliar terms.

This isn’t just about eggs. It’s about the bigger picture of food simplicity, ultra-processed ingredients, and how clever marketing is shaping our perceptions of what’s “good” for us. Let’s dig in.

Real Food vs. Food Products

There’s a growing divide between real food—simple, whole, unprocessed—and food products, which are highly engineered items created in labs, not grown on farms. A real egg comes from a chicken. That’s it. It’s a complete package of protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals, wrapped in a biodegradable shell.

Compare that to JUST Egg. While it’s marketed as a healthy, sustainable alternative for vegans or those with allergies, it contains over a dozen ingredients. Most are highly refined or lab-derived, including mung bean protein isolate, natural flavors, gellan gum, tetrasodium pyrophosphate, and transglutaminase.

So here’s the question: if we’re swapping real foods for engineered alternatives, are we actually doing our health any favors?

What Is JUST Egg Made Of?

Let’s break it down. JUST Egg’s ingredient label includes:

• Water

• Mung Bean Protein Isolate

• Expeller-Pressed Canola Oil

• Dehydrated Onion

• Gellan Gum

• Natural Carrot and Turmeric Extractives (for color)

• Natural Flavors

• Potassium Citrate

• Salt

• Sugar

• Tapioca Syrup Solids

• Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate

• Transglutaminase

• Nisin (a preservative)

That’s quite the lineup. While some of these ingredients aren’t harmful in isolation, the combination of ultra-processing and additives creates a product far removed from anything found in nature. And that’s the point—this is a food product, not food.

How Processing Affects Nutritional Value

When foods are stripped down and rebuilt in factories, they often lose something essential: their natural synergy. Whole eggs, for example, contain a balance of choline, B12, omega-3s, and complete protein. The nutrients in real foods often work together in ways science is still trying to fully understand.

Once you isolate proteins, alter fats, and layer in synthetic additives for texture, shelf-life, and appearance, the result may resemble the original in form—but not in function.

Your body knows how to digest and utilize an egg. It doesn’t necessarily know what to do with transglutaminase or tetrasodium pyrophosphate.

But Isn’t JUST Egg Healthier for the Planet?

The sustainability angle is a key part of JUST Egg’s branding. And to be fair, plant-based products often do have a lower carbon footprint than their animal-based counterparts. But that doesn’t mean they’re healthier for you.

Health and sustainability are not always aligned. A product can be better for the environment yet still harmful to human health when it’s full of inflammatory oils, preservatives, and synthetic compounds.

Real sustainability should consider the entire picture: how food is grown, processed, packaged, transported, and how it impacts both the planet and the person eating it.

Canola Oil and Inflammation

One major red flag in JUST Egg is canola oil. While often marketed as “heart-healthy,” canola oil is highly refined and typically stripped of most of its nutritional value through heat and chemical processing. It also contains omega-6 fatty acids, which, when consumed in excess, can throw off the body’s omega-3 balance and contribute to chronic inflammation.

Chronic inflammation is linked to everything from joint pain and autoimmune issues to heart disease and brain fog. The more processed oils we consume, the more we tip the scales toward imbalance.

Eggs: Nature’s Multivitamin

Now let’s talk about what’s in a real egg. Each egg contains:

• 6–7g of high-quality protein

• Choline (critical for brain and liver health)

• Vitamins A, D, E, and B12

• Selenium, phosphorus, and iron

• Healthy fats (including omega-3s in pasture-raised eggs)

• Lutein and zeaxanthin (for eye health)

This nutrient density, all from a single ingredient, is why eggs are often considered a nearly perfect food. Unless you have an allergy or sensitivity, eggs can play a powerful role in a healthy diet.

The Rise of Over-Complication in Food

We’ve entered an era where food simplicity is often treated with suspicion, while complexity is praised as innovation. Ironically, we now see ingredient labels that look like chemistry experiments being sold as “clean eating” or “plant-based wellness.”

But real health doesn’t come from rebranded processed food. It comes from recognizing the difference between food made by nature and food made by corporations.

Why “Natural Flavors” Aren’t Always Natural

One ingredient worth highlighting is “natural flavors.” While the term sounds harmless, it’s often a catch-all that includes dozens of chemical compounds extracted in labs. These aren’t the same as the flavor of the real food they represent.

The FDA allows this vague labeling, even if the original source was “natural,” because the final flavoring has often undergone significant processing. The goal? To make food taste irresistible—even if it’s not good for you.

Preservatives and Additives: What’s the Trade-Off?

JUST Egg includes nisin (a preservative) and tetrasodium pyrophosphate, which is used in processed meats and cheeses to improve texture and stability. While generally recognized as safe in small amounts, these ingredients weren’t part of the human diet for thousands of years. Their long-term effects, especially when consumed regularly, are still under investigation.

When you build your meals from ingredients that don’t need a label—eggs, greens, fruit, fish—you avoid the risks that come with ultra-processed additives by default.

The Deceptive Marketing of “Plant-Based”

Many people associate “plant-based” with healthier. And it can be—if you’re eating whole plants: leafy greens, root vegetables, legumes, fruits, nuts, and seeds. But ultra-processed plant-based foods are a different story.

A food’s plant-based label doesn’t tell you how it was processed, what additives are inside, or how it affects blood sugar, digestion, or inflammation.

The lesson? Don’t let a label replace your own judgment.

Minimal Ingredients = Maximum Clarity

What makes real eggs stand out in this comparison is their simplicity. One ingredient. One source. One recognizable form. No guesswork. When your food doesn’t require a dictionary to decode, you’ve probably made a good choice.

Minimal-ingredient foods allow for better body awareness. You’ll know how your body reacts to it. You’ll feel the difference. And you’ll be more in control of your health.

Tips for Eating Smarter in a Processed Food World

It’s not always easy to avoid processed foods altogether—but you can make smarter choices by following a few simple principles:

Choose foods with five ingredients or less
Better yet, aim for single-ingredient foods. Think apples, eggs, spinach, salmon. These are the foundation of a nutrient-dense plate.

Be wary of health halos
Words like “plant-based,” “vegan,” “gluten-free,” or “natural” don’t automatically mean better. Flip the package over and read the ingredients. If it looks like a science lab, think twice.

Prioritize whole food versions over imitations
Instead of fake eggs, eat real ones (if tolerated). Instead of imitation meat, try grilled mushrooms or lentils. Instead of artificial sweeteners, use dates, fruit, or raw honey in moderation.

Shop the perimeter of the store
Most whole foods are found along the outer edges of the grocery store—produce, meat, seafood, dairy. The center aisles are where the processed items usually live.

Remember: Simpler food = less guesswork
The more you can recognize what you’re eating, the more your body will too.

Final Thoughts: When One Ingredient Says It All

In a time where food choices feel more confusing than ever, this image comparison of JUST Egg vs. a real egg speaks volumes. Sometimes, the healthiest option isn’t the one with the fancy marketing or sustainability buzzwords—it’s the one that’s been nourishing humans for generations, without modification.

Whole foods, minimal ingredients, maximum nutrition. That’s a formula that doesn’t need reinventing.

So the next time you’re in the store debating between a bottle of lab-engineered liquid and a single real egg, remember this: health doesn’t have to be complicated. It just has to be real.