Food labels are supposed to lead us to make healthier choices when it comes to buying food. Food labeling started in the 1970s when information was given about the amounts of sodium content or the number of calories for people who had medical conditions.
Back then most of the food was prepared back home from basic ingredients, without artificial additives, at that time there was no need for food labeling. Today, 40% of Americans eat fast food on any given day.
Sometimes, I ask myself; Why do foods with the highest amount of artificial ingredients have the highest score?
Do they help?
In 2012 a survey was conducted, and it involved 30,000 people out of which 88% said they were conscious of their food choices, and that they would pay more for “healthier” products, including functional foods, GMO — free, and “all-natural” products.
The food industry had manipulated science and nutritional information to make heavily processed foods appear superficially healthier.
It is clear that food labeling isn’t improving our health, it is just making more money for the food industry. Obesity and diabetes levels continue to rise.
Goji berries can be sold for 10 times more than a strawberry despite having similar properties.
Why are we easily manipulated by the food industry?
The problem
In 1984 Kellogg’s and National Cancer Institute in the US joined forces, and they advertised cornflakes as a high-fiber breakfast cereal associating them with reduced risk of certain cancers. To this day we are misled.
The food industry is trying to convince us that milkshake is a good source of calcium. But on the other hand, it is loaded with sugar.
Labels also list the amount of cholesterol in the product, even though it is now widely accepted that dietary cholesterol has little if any health effects.
Additives
Many consumers scan a label for the letter E. Manufacturers have given these additives more natural names, such as:
- carrot concentrate
- Rosemary Extract
- paprika E 160c
- turmeric E 100
But they are equally heavily processed. Many labels pretend the food comes from homely-sounding local farms that are purely fictional.
Traffic light labeling system
It is supposed to tell us that food that has high (red), medium (amber), or low (green) amounts of fat, saturated fat, sugars, and salt.
If you follow this then you will see that Greek yogurt, cheese, olive oil, and nuts should be avoided, and limited as they are mainly ambers and reds. Despite knowing that they are healthy and an important staple of a Mediterranean-style diet, they are one of the healthiest eating patterns in the world!
The government supports the use of food labeling as a way to educate the public about healthy eating without jeopardizing the money-making chances for the food industry.
The food industry did some studies that showed significant reductions in calories because of the labeling. But the truth is different. Now, studies show that labels can have a negative effect, giving the consumer unconditional permission to eat more.
A study of over 23,000 US adults found that overweight and obese people not only drank more “low-calorie” diet drinks than people of a healthy weight, but they also ate more food. Probably because they thought they were being healthy by reducing their liquid calories.
Restaurants
Restaurants systematically underestimate the calorie content of dishes, and manipulate the calorie labeling to make products seem healthier.
One large study of 104 US chain restaurants and 250,000 meals saw a modest 4% reduction in calories chosen, which disappeared over time.
The calorie content is a useless way to determine food quality.
Almost all junk food relies on sugar, salt, and cheap fats, with added chemicals and complex processing to make it tastier and last longer. To distract us from these ingredients, food companies market their products as “low-calorie”.
A standard portion of nuts provides 147 calories and plenty of fat, a KitKat contains 106 calories, but being lower in calories doesn’t make it a healthier choice.
Chocolates are highly processed without any normal structures of an original product, loaded with refined fat, sugar, and little to no fiber. Nuts are in their original form, with beneficial polyunsaturated fats, with an impressive amount of fiber they are a plant-based protein source. Nuts will contain fat that is not absorbed and nourish our gut microbes with polyphenols, as well as providing micronutrients such as vitamin E and magnesium.
To conclude
Yes, food labels display the energy, fat, sugar, and salt content but per portion, not per whole package. The majority of us eat double the recommended portion size.
Most cereal boxes list a recommended portion size as 30 grams, and we still eat twice the recommended portion.
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Disclaimer: This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and does not substitute for diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prescription, and/or dietary advice from a licensed health professional.
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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From The Good Men Project on Medium
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