2485: 5 Kinds of Junk Foods Disguised as Health Foods by Lea Genders on Misleading Food Marketing

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[00:00:58] This is Optimal Health Daily Episode 2485.

[00:01:02] Five kinds of junk foods disguised as health foods by Le Genders of leagendersfitness.com.

[00:01:09] And I'm Dr. Neal, your very own host and narrator. Welcome back to Optimal Health Daily,

[00:01:14] where I read to you from some of the most popular health and fitness blogs out there,

[00:01:18] with permission from the websites, of course, and always with a bit of my commentary at the end.

[00:01:24] sites of course, and always with a bit of my commentary at the end. So with that, let's get right to today's post as we optimize your life.

[00:01:33] Five kinds of junk foods disguised as health foods by Leah Genders of leagendersfitness.com.

[00:01:41] One of the most challenging parts of living a healthy lifestyle is sorting through all

[00:01:45] the information and misinformation out there.

[00:01:48] Some say the magic formula for successful weight loss is to exercise regularly and eat

[00:01:53] healthy foods in a calorie deficit.

[00:01:56] But what exactly does eat healthy foods mean?

[00:02:00] It can be confusing with all the mixed messages and misleading food marketing labels.

[00:02:05] The most important thing to understand is that food marketing labels are sometimes intentionally

[00:02:10] deceiving.

[00:02:11] Many foods are marketed as healthy choices when in reality, they are quite the opposite.

[00:02:16] This isn't intended to be a post about what you should or should not eat.

[00:02:21] Each person needs to make those choices for themselves, possibly under the direction

[00:02:25] of their doctor or registered dietitian. This is a post about being aware of what you are

[00:02:30] eating so that you can make the best decisions for yourself, your health, your family, based

[00:02:37] on reality, and not on misleading food packaging marketing.

[00:02:41] 5 kinds of junk foods disguised as health foods.

[00:02:45] 1.

[00:02:46] Yogurt.

[00:02:47] Yogurt is one of the worst offenders of misleading marketing, often advertised as a diet food.

[00:02:54] Most flavored yogurts are very high in sugar and often have artificial sweeteners and

[00:02:59] hyphructus corn syrup.

[00:03:01] They can have as much sugar as a cup of ice cream, but people eat them and

[00:03:05] think they are making a good choice for their body.

[00:03:08] Try buying plain Greek yogurt, which is higher in protein and lower in sugar than traditional

[00:03:13] yogurt, and then add fresh fruit or berries for flavor. If it's not as sweet as the yogurt

[00:03:19] you're used to, it's because it has a lot less sugar.

[00:03:23] 2. It's because it has a lot less sugar. 2. Protein bars.

[00:03:26] Protein bars are often advertised in health and fitness magazines by models with six-pack

[00:03:30] abs. Everyone knows protein is important for building and maintaining muscle, right?

[00:03:36] Right. But, a lot of these packaged protein bars are nothing more than glorified candy

[00:03:42] bars with added protein. Check the ingredients list, sugar content and calorie content.

[00:03:49] They are often high in calories, sugar and are highly processed.

[00:03:53] I think they're okay in moderation, but generally should not be consumed as a health

[00:03:58] food.

[00:03:59] I enjoy some protein bars, but consider them an occasional treat, not a healthy staple.

[00:04:05] Try to get most of your protein from whole food sources, like lean meats, beans, nuts,

[00:04:11] and leafy grains.

[00:04:13] 3.

[00:04:14] Frozen Diet Diners Frozen diet dinners are often too high in

[00:04:19] sodium and processed ingredients and too low in nutrients to be considered a healthy food,

[00:04:24] but with labels like healthy choice and weight watchers,

[00:04:27] we can be misled into thinking they are a good choice for our body.

[00:04:32] 4. Fat Free Foods

[00:04:35] Let me let you in on a little secret.

[00:04:38] If the food label boasts claims of fat-free or low fat,

[00:04:42] it's often a red flag that the food is not healthy at all.

[00:04:46] You see, they take out the fat, but then add more sugar and processed ingredients so it

[00:04:51] still tastes good.

[00:04:53] Read the nutrition facts label and the ingredients to be sure what you're eating.

[00:04:57] Our bodies need healthy fats.

[00:05:00] Reducing intake of healthy fats does not necessarily equate to reduced body fat.

[00:05:05] You need a healthy balance of protein, carbs, and fat in your diet.

[00:05:10] And 5.

[00:05:11] Organic Gluten-Free or Low Carb Packaged Foods

[00:05:15] Watch out for buzzwords on packaged foods like organic, gluten-free, and low carb.

[00:05:21] While natural foods that are organic, gluten-free and low carb are obviously

[00:05:25] just fine, processed foods with these labels are not any healthier than their counterparts.

[00:05:31] Organic junk foods are not any better for you than regular junk food. A gluten-free cupcake

[00:05:37] is still a processed, low nutrient food. Low carb cookies are still cookies. When it comes

[00:05:43] to packaged foods, these types of labels are generally marketing labels

[00:05:47] designed to mislead you.

[00:05:49] Obviously, if you have celiac disease

[00:05:51] or a gluten intolerance, a gluten-free label is helpful.

[00:05:55] But for the rest of the population,

[00:05:56] it doesn't mean much in terms of the health status of a food.

[00:06:00] Honorable mentions of junk foods disguised as health foods

[00:06:04] are processed meats, veggie

[00:06:06] chips, sports drinks, and cereal.

[00:06:09] Most of these have either too much added sugar or sodium to be considered healthy.

[00:06:15] Always look for the most natural alternative.

[00:06:18] I encourage you to ignore package marketing altogether.

[00:06:21] Read the nutrition label.

[00:06:23] Take note of the calories per serving

[00:06:25] and number of servings in the package. Pay attention to the sugar content per serving

[00:06:30] and most importantly, the ingredients list. It's always okay to enjoy an occasional treat.

[00:06:37] It's actually healthy for us to have a balanced approach to nutrition. No one can eat 100%

[00:06:42] perfectly all the time. The idea is to learn to decipher between health foods and so-called junk foods

[00:06:48] so that you don't eat junk food that you think is healthy.

[00:06:52] Eat health foods from nature most of the time,

[00:06:55] and when you want to enjoy an indulgent treat,

[00:06:58] do it with your eyes open.

[00:07:04] You just listened to the post titled, Five kinds of junk foods disguised as health foods

[00:07:09] by Leah Genders of leagendersfitness.com and I'll be right back with my commentary.

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[00:08:53] Dr. Neal here for my commentary.

[00:08:58] Leah recommended ignoring the marketing found on the packaging of foods, and Leah is absolutely

[00:09:03] right.

[00:09:04] I'll give you an example of how front-of-label packaging can be misleading.

[00:09:09] We've probably heard that trans fats should be avoided.

[00:09:13] This is because these specific types of fats are harmful to the body.

[00:09:17] In fact, they've been shown to increase our risk for specific diseases like cancer, dementia,

[00:09:22] and even heart disease. Now, trans fats have been banned in the US, because we don't know how much trans fat

[00:09:30] is too much to get in a day.

[00:09:33] But some products still have them.

[00:09:35] In fact, snack foods may still have some trans fat in them.

[00:09:39] So let's say you're walking down the grocery store aisle trying to find some nutritious

[00:09:44] snacks.

[00:09:45] On the front of the packaging, a particular brand of snack food you see in big, bright

[00:09:50] letters claims zero grams of trans fat.

[00:09:55] But if we were to look a little more carefully and look at the nutrition facts label, we might

[00:09:59] learn that the product still has some trans fat in it.

[00:10:03] How is that possible? In fact, the nutrition

[00:10:06] facts label may say 0 grams of trans fat per serving. But take a look at the ingredients

[00:10:14] list. Look for the words partially hydrogenated on the list. If you see those words, partially

[00:10:22] hydrogenated, guess what? The food still has some trans fat in it.

[00:10:27] How is that possible?

[00:10:29] How is it possible that a food can still have trans fat, but the nutrition facts label says

[00:10:34] 0 grams per serving and the company can market their product as such?

[00:10:39] It's because nutrition labeling laws in the US allow for companies to say their product has 0 grams

[00:10:45] of trans fat if it has half a gram of trans fat per serving or less.

[00:10:52] So yes, ignore front of the label packaging and take a look at the nutrition facts and

[00:10:58] the ingredients list.

[00:11:00] After all, today's author Leah said the ingredients list may be one of the most important pieces

[00:11:06] of information on a food package.