Healthy Living
Friday, November 20, 2009
Diet-food claims: What they really mean
user
“Diet foods” have become
somewhat rampant in the market. With everyone desperate to
lose weight, marketers have thrived on using labels and terms to
trick the consumer into thinking that their products are
“oh-so-healthy”…
even when they aren’t.
Diet foods are lower caloric versions of their high-calorie
cousins, often made by reducing the sugar and/or fat content.
Reduced sugar foods and beverages are often loaded with
highly-processed, chemically-derived sugar substitutes; reduced fat
foods usually have a lot of added sugars. Both options
require additives and processing that are best
avoided. If you find something that is BOTH
fat-free and sugar-free, you are then dealing with artificial
sweeteners and other chemicals to make up for the lack in fat or
sugar.
Understanding nutrition labels and the
nutrient claims on packaged diet foods will help you to get a
better sense for what the label is REALLY telling
you.
| Term |
Example |
What it Really Means |
| Free |
|
No amount of or only a minimal amount of the
nutrient makes up the food. |
| Less |
|
Nutritionally altered to contain at least 25
percent less of the nutrient or calories than the referenced
food. |
| Light |
|
Contains one-third fewer calories or half the fat
of the referenced food. If the food derives 50 percent or
more calories from fat, the reduction must be at least 50 percent
or more. |
| Low |
|
May be used on foods that can be eaten frequently
without exceeding dietary guidelines; amount varies based on
nutrient. |
| Reduced |
- Reduced-Fat
- Reduced-Sugar
- Interchangeable with “less”
|
Nutritionally altered to contain at least 25
percent less of the nutrient or calories than the referenced food.
If sugar is reduced, it does not mean that it is sugar-free.
|
Adapted from “GET REAL” and STOP Dieting! Copyright
© 2009 by Brett Blumenthal. All rights reserved.
Tired of dieting? Shed excess-pounds naturally and eat
healthy for life with the MOST simple
plan:
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Related Topics:
Related: wellness, nutrition labels, nutrition, healthy eating, diet food, diet
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Posted by Katie B Mon Nov 9, 2009 11:22am PST
Honestly, I try to stay away from diet foods for the most part... for one, I just don't likehow they taste, they are too sweet (and I like sweet.) in an unnatural way... I would much rather put smaller portions of the real stuff into my body (or exercise a bit more if I go overboard :D)
Thanks Brett for this info!
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Posted by Brett Blumenthal - Sheer Balance Mon Nov 9, 2009 11:32am PST
Katie, I couldn't agree more...however, a lot of people eat foods that are labeled these ways, thinking they are healthy...when they aren't! It is great to avoid them all together!
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Posted by HawkeyeGirl Mon Nov 9, 2009 1:16pm PST
I admit that I used to get suckered into buying "diet" foods, then I started reading the labels. Most of the time they taste terrible, and they are only slightly less fatty/sugary/lower in calories than the normal version. And the low-fat stuff usually was loaded with sugar and/or salt.
Now I get the non-altered versions of products and just eat less of it. I'd rather have one respectable serving of something I enjoy than a larger serving of something that tastes bad.
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Posted by Lizbeth Mon Nov 9, 2009 5:18pm PST
Diet foods tend to have the longest list of weird sounding chemical ingredients and so I avoid them. If I want a packaged food (like bread or crackers or even cookies) I look for products with the fewest ingredients; like Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches and I make sure I can pronounce what's in it :)
I think packaging and labeling on food has become very misleading which is dangerous because it's giving people a false sense that they're eating something good. Just because something is fat free doesn't mean it isn't loaded with fake sugar or sodium or 'toxins' that will end up making people eat more or get all gunked up.
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Posted by DanielleS Tue Nov 10, 2009 11:28am PST
I have found that the best "diet" foods are natural foods like oatmeal, eggs, fruits, vegetables, fish, chicken, etc. I hate feeling like I'm eating too many chemicals and we really don't know what's in most artificial sweeteners. I gave up soda too, but don't think for a moment I don't have a Big-Mac attack every once in the while lol.
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Posted by amana Tue Nov 10, 2009 1:35pm PST
The only "diet" foods I tend to get are low sodium or no salt added to canned foods, no added sugar to juices, and the reduced fat cream cheese. I had read a long time ago that they have to add so many artificial things to give it the proper consistency when they take out all of the fat and such. And I've also heard it said that you'll be more satisfied if you get the real thing. Where as if you eat the modified version you're left feeling cheated and typically eat more. Also they can sometimes be less nutritious. The more natural the better if you ask me.
One interesting thing Ive read in the past couple months is about milk. The purpose of milk is for babies (of whatever species) to quickly gain weight. That calves like quadruple in size within weeks of being born just by drinking milk. Its intended for babies so why are we so regularly drinking it?
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Posted by Angela Tue Nov 10, 2009 9:32pm PST
Like Katie, I try to avoid "diet" foods. However, if there's something I really like, say cottage cheese for example, then I try to eat the "light" version of it. Some things, (light cottage cheese, light sour cream, some light shredded cheeses) taste okay to me. I tend not to like things that are fat free as much. They usually taste bland, or sour, or the texture is really runny (I'm thinking yogurt specifically--I guess I'm on a dairy theme.) My husband bought me some fat free caramel yogurt parfait. I tried it tonight. It tasted gross and chemically.
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Posted by Brett Blumenthal - Sheer Balance Wed Nov 11, 2009 5:46am PST
Amana...the milk question gets me. I love dairy. I love cheese, I love milk, I love ice cream, I love yogurt. I can't imagine giving it up. That said, I do think that low-fat dairy options are better. Now...some people are predisposed to process milk better than others (I think I might be one of those people), so if that is the case, I'm not really sure that it is so bad for us. I think those of us who have a difficult time processing milk should stay clear...for obvious reasons.
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Posted by another hockey fan Wed Nov 11, 2009 8:58am PST
Diet foods are a joke. I especially love the ones for sodas and anything sweet. It's all just a bunch of BS to get people to think they are eating better while they are trying to lose weight.
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Posted by Simone Thu Nov 12, 2009 2:03am PST
I'M ON A DIET NOW, AND WHAT ADVICE CAN Y'ALL GIVE ME IN ORDER TO LOSE WEIGHT A LOT FASTER, CAUSE I'VE WORKOUT FOR THE PAST FOUR YEARS AND STILL EATING LIKE I'M NOT SUPPOSE TOO, BUT I'VE WANNA EAT WELL AND STILL BE LOOKIN YOUNG AT HEART, AND HAVE THE BODY I'VE WANTED!
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