3409: What is the Health Halo (And Has it Fooled You) by Riley Pearce with Free Form Fitness on Food Marketing Myths

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[00:01:00] This is Optimal Health Daily. What is the health halo? And has it fooled you? By Riley Pierce of FreeformFitness.ca And I'm Dr. Neal Malik. Hey there, happy Tuesday and welcome back to Optimal Health Daily. This is where I read articles on fitness, nutrition, stress management, weight management, and more. Just like an audiobook, but from a bunch of different authors. And always with permission from the sites. And always with a bit of my commentary at the end.

[00:01:29] Alright and with that, let's hear today's post and continue optimizing your life. What is the health halo? And has it fooled you? By Riley Pierce of FreeformFitness.ca. Have you ever found yourself in a grocery aisle when all of a sudden something catches your eye? It reads something along the lines of, Now with more protein. No added sugar. Feel full longer.

[00:02:00] Or, A healthy choice. It may seem like everything in the grocery store has some type of health benefit to it. But this would be a great time to not judge a box by its label. Food producers are carefully choosing names and claims that will attract the health conscious consumer. Because health is on trend. The psychological phenomena that compels us to buy these products, sometimes without even checking the actual nutrition label, is called the health halo.

[00:02:28] We subconsciously believe that foods that are labeled as organic, local, natural, high protein, low fat, no added sugar, healthy, etc. are the healthy choice for us. The issue with the health halo is that, once we have purchased it, we don't show the same moderation with these products, as we would with the normal version of them. We assume that, because it's the healthier option, we can have more of it, and still be healthy.

[00:02:57] Ever heard of Halo Top Ice Cream? This low calorie frozen dessert, which prints its total calories on the front of the container, is a hit amongst fitness and health gurus. It's touted as the answer to our ice cream prayers, and gives us a chance to truly indulge in salted caramel, or birthday cake flavored ice cream. Even on the label inside the container, they tell you to enjoy the whole container guilt free.

[00:03:25] Before the times of Halo Top, eating an entire container of Haagen-Dazs or Ben & Jerry's, was something we may have only experienced, because of heartbreak or extreme stress. With products like Halo Top, we know exactly how many calories we're getting ourselves into, and with the promise of high protein, we feel no guilt eating it right down to the bottom. This is where the health halo becomes dangerous. The regulation on these types of health claims can be very weak,

[00:03:53] meaning that companies can make a claim without anyone fact checking them. It's the fake news of the food industry. Here's why it gets dangerous for our health. We've spoken before about what happened when we took the fat out of food in the late 20th century. Take the fat out, you take away the natural flavor. How do we replace that natural flavor? With processed and refined sugars. Keep this in mind when you go to buy your next high protein product item.

[00:04:21] Protein can be flavorless, or sometimes add a chalky element to food. Companies have to add sweeteners or binders to the product to make it more palatable. If you look at a product like a Clif Bar, yes, they may have up to 20 grams of protein in them, but how do they taste so good? Turn the Clif Bar around and you find out it has 22 grams of sugar per bar. For reference, the daily intake suggestion of sugar for those that identify as female

[00:04:48] is 25 grams or 6 teaspoons. And for those that identify as male, it's 37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons. Clever packaging and health buzzwords are all there to serve the purpose of convincing us that whatever is inside that bag or box is good for us. Although it is shocking how many of these products exist on grocery store shelves, it does not mean that it is impossible to make good choices at the grocery store.

[00:05:15] If you think something looks too good to be true, chances are it is. Organic gummy bears are still gummy bears. To be a smart consumer, you should take the next step and turn the box, bag, package or whatever around. Look at the nutrition facts and the ingredients list. If it claims to be high protein, but there's more sugar than protein, it's a candy bar. If one of the first five ingredients is some form of sugar, meaning it ends in O-S-E or T-O-L,

[00:05:46] then there's probably more sugar in there than you were bargaining for. You'll also want to keep an eye out for sneaky trans fats. Health claims and labels can certainly point us in the direction of healthier items, but just be diligent about ensuring which claims truly fit your parameters for healthy. You just listened to the post titled, What is the health halo? And has it fooled you?

[00:06:13] By Riley Pierce of FreeformFitness.ca Then I'll be right back with my commentary. If you're a small business, the right hire can be make or break. Hoping the right people see your job posting isn't the best growth strategy. When the pressure's on and you need the right hire, this is a job for sponsored jobs. Join the 3.3 million employers worldwide that use Indeed to connect with quality talent that fits their needs.

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[00:07:04] Just go to indeed.com slash podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com slash podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire? This is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. If we knew more about our sleep, what would we do differently? Would we go to bed at a consistent time or take steps to reduce interruptions to our sleep?

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[00:07:55] When Riley was talking about organic gummy bears still being gummy bears, that reminded me about gummy vitamins. That's not really something I've talked about on this show before. But gummy vitamins may actually be more similar to candy than an actual vitamin or mineral supplement. Gummy vitamins taste so darn good because they've had to add extra sugar, a little bit of gelatin in there to make it taste that darn good.

[00:08:22] And so yes, while you'll be getting a concentrated source of certain vitamins or minerals depending on which one you're taking, their nutrition profile starts to look more similar to candy though. Plus, most multivitamin supplements that aren't gummies don't contain any calories. Some of these gummy vitamins will have calories in them. So for those that are looking to manage their weight, using gummy vitamins may not be the best option.

[00:08:49] For those that are trying to manage their diabetes, gummy vitamins may not be the best option. So just as Riley mentioned, health claims and so-called healthy foods may not be as healthy as we think. Definitely take a look at the ingredients list. Look at the first five ingredients. That's really all you need to pay attention to. And if one of the first five ingredients is sugar, well, it may be time to choose something else. All right, that'll do it from me for today. Thank you so much for being here.

[00:09:18] Thank you for listening every day. I hope you're having a wonderful week so far and I'll see you back here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.