If you have been to the grocery store lately - which I am going guess most of us have - you will have noticed all kinds of health claims printed on packaged food items that are trying to convince you why the product is great for you, and what kind of value it adds to your healthy diet.
In some cases the information is very useful and valid. But sometimes the claims food packaging makes can feel like a magician is trying to get us to look the other direction while they perform the trick with the other hand. When it comes to maintaining a healthy diet, there are definitely some claims that we should all be wary of. The big four offenders are:
Sugar Free or No Added Sugar
Low Fat or Fat Free
Low Sodium
Source of Essential Vitamins and/or Minerals
Now in some cases the product's bold statements of health benefits are true, but most major food companies don't fall into this category. Here's how they manage to print these healthy diet claims without getting caught.
Sugar Free or No Added Sugar
When you are told that something is Sugar Free or that there is No Added Sugar to the product, what they really mean is that they've added an artificial sugar to it instead. Artificial sugars require their own discussion according to the food police, and since these aren't considered real sugars, producers are allowed to tell you that their product doesn't have any extra sugar in it.
In some cases the information is very useful and valid. But sometimes the claims food packaging makes can feel like a magician is trying to get us to look the other direction while they perform the trick with the other hand. When it comes to maintaining a healthy diet, there are definitely some claims that we should all be wary of. The big four offenders are:
Sugar Free or No Added Sugar
Low Fat or Fat Free
Low Sodium
Source of Essential Vitamins and/or Minerals
Now in some cases the product's bold statements of health benefits are true, but most major food companies don't fall into this category. Here's how they manage to print these healthy diet claims without getting caught.
Sugar Free or No Added Sugar
When you are told that something is Sugar Free or that there is No Added Sugar to the product, what they really mean is that they've added an artificial sugar to it instead. Artificial sugars require their own discussion according to the food police, and since these aren't considered real sugars, producers are allowed to tell you that their product doesn't have any extra sugar in it.