Misleading Food Labels that are Sabotaging Your Diet. Are You Falling for Them?

By daniela
Monday September 19, 2011

Total comments: 0

Here’s a tip you may not be aware of as you begin your journey to female fitness. Food manufacturing companies are not your friend. Yep, that’s right. Most food manufacturing companies simply want to sell you their products, and if you blindly believe the front label, you may be choosing things that are sabotaging your dieting efforts.

Here’s some tips to turn you into a ‘label reading pro.’

Creative Marketing

Have you ever noticed that the front of food labels follow along with current trends? Next time you are in the grocery store, take a look. When everyone started talking about MSG, suddenly half the condiment labels said “NO MSG” right on the front. When organic gained in popularity the “NO MSG” came down and “ORGANIC” took its place. As consumers, we may think to ourselves, “Great! That makes it easier for me to spot the items that are good for me!” Not so fast.

Remember, I said food manufacturing companies are not necessarily your friend. Often, they will use clever wording to lead you to believe something that just isn’t true. Yes, the terminology is regulated by the FDA, but creative phrases still find their way around even the strictest rules.

Here is a list of advertisement wording, along with the true meaning:

Low Calorie – Less than 40 calories in each serving. The key here is to check the label for the number of servings it claims. The front label could say, “Less than 40 calories per serving” on the front, but what if the container holds 6 servings?
Reduced Calorie – You’d think that reduced calorie and low calorie would be about the same, right? That’s what the food manufacturers would like you to think. Reduced calorie actually means nothing as far as healthy eating and nutrition. All it means is that the food manufacturer took a product they were selling, let’s say packaged cookies, and recreated that product to contain at least 1/4 less calories. Okay, so instead of consuming 1,000 calories of highly processed junk food that contains zero nutritional value, you will be consuming 750. How’s that for a female fitness fail? This is why we always talk about replacing pre-packaged food with fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, nuts, and other natural, whole foods instead of counting calories.
Reduced Sugar / Reduced Fat – Much like the reduced calorie marketing technique, reduced sugar or reduced fat simply means the company decreased the sugar or fat content by at least 1/4. That doesn’t mean it’s a healthy food choice. Start looking at the word “reduced” for exactly what it is, a marketing gimmick to make a poor choice sound better.
Reduced Saturated Fat – Probably the most dangerous and misleading of all the food labels. Saturated fat is extremely unhealthy. A label that reads “reduced saturated fat” simply means the product now contains at least 1/4 less saturated fat than it did previously.
Fat Free – Each serving contains less than 1/2 gram of fat.
Low Saturated Fat – Each serving contains less than 1/2 gram of saturated or trans fat. Saturated and trans fat are unhealthy choices. Steer clear of these products. If you are looking for oils, especially cooking oil, choose grapeseed or coconut oil.
Lean - The term “lean” means the item contains less than 4.5 grams of saturated fat per serving. Again, if you are looking at pre-packaged, processed lunch meat, canned meals, or things of that nature, the term may cause you to think the food is a healthy choice, but it’s actually not. Remember, choose fresh over processed whenever possible.

How’s that for a lesson on food labels? Have you been duped by any of them? Next time you are grocery shopping, you’ll look at your food choices a bit differently.

Take the time to read the ingredient labels before you buy and whenever possible, choose foods closest to their natural state.

Get familiar with the produce aisle and the local farm market. You won’t have to worry about food labels there!