When are diet foods, not diet foods?
February 21, 2007 by Mohamed
Filed under Weight Loss
Hi,
When my wife and I go grocery shopping, the first thing that I look for when purchasing almost anything is if the packaging says something to the effect “this is a diet safe product”. You’ve seen it — the package may say something like “Fat-Free” or “Low-Sodium”. But have you ever thought “but then, how do they make it taste so good?”.
My doctor told me recently to have more fruit or fruit juices. So off we went to the grocery store to look for fruit juices. There are so many on the shelves! But if you read the ingredients, you will quickly find that most of the fruit juices are from concentrate — they are NOT real juice.
Some of the pricier fruit juices are made from real fruit. The package will clearly say “NOT FROM CONCENTRATE” and will also include the words “NO ADDED SUGARS”. But still, you should read the ingredients to ensure that you are buying what you think you are buying.
Back to fat-free foods. How do they get them to taste so good. In my experience, foods that are fat-free seem to have a higher caloric content. Some have more salt (sodium) that their “regular” counterpart. Others have more sugar — while even more have more of both sodium AND sugar. Now you could getting low-fat, but if you’re adding more salt to your diet then you’re damaging your body. Salt will increase your blood pressure. Sugar just left to sit just adds more fat to your body — so is low-fat really low-fat? Read the label!
According to an article published by eDiets.com:
“Eating breakfast is one of the lifestyle habits that predict weight loss and maintaining that desired weight. I love my cereal in the morning, but exploring the cereal aisle can be a confusing experience, especially for dieters. Don’t read the front of the package to get the scoop on cereals. Read the back first, namely the ingredient list and the nutrition facts panel.
Cereals labeled “smart” or “whole grain” or “fruit” are not necessarily smart for your waistline or your health. Often they contain a bit of whole grain, but there is no limit on the other ingredients, including sugar. Here’s a tip: The first ingredient should be whole grain: whole wheat, whole oats, rye or other. Read the nutrition facts panel and note the serving size. The standard serving size is ¾ to 1 cup, and you make your decision from there.
If one serving contains more than 4 to 8 grams of sugar (1 to 2 teaspoons), then move on. Kashi GoLean, Shredded wheat, All Bran cereals, Fiber One, unsweetened muesli and granola (fat-free) are good choices. Watch out for “code words” that mean sugar and fat have been added. Cereals that are labeled “Crunchy,” “Frosted,” “Honey” or “Honey Nut” may have more sugar added.
Add your own sugar; don’t let the manufacturer add it for you. For example, a 1-cup serving of Cheerios with a half-cup of nonfat milk has 150 calories. A ¾-cup serving of Cinnamon Toast Crunch has 170 calories — a smaller serving for more calories. Not a bargain.”
When I decide on breakfast in the morning, I do weigh my options (no pun intended). Do I eat 1 cup of Cherrios, that will probably fill me up physically and mentally or do I have 1 bagel that probably has MORE calories and fat and though I may be full physically, mentally I may still feel hungry.
When you think about food in this way, then you quickly make the right decisions about food.
Here is another example.
On the weekend I ate some fast-food with my son. I had a hamburger, and he had half a chicken burger. As he has been growing up, we’ve always encouraged him to eat what’s on his plate BUT stop when he feels like stopping. I’d rather throw away food than “force feed” him and have him look like me when he’s 18. Back to the story. I probably had 1000 calories in that one meal, if not more. If I had opted for something else, chances are I could have eaten more for less calories and stayed fuller longer — both physically and mentally.
From the same article, here is what they said about diet breads:
“Diet breads, diet crackers or other bread products may be the same product, only portioned differently. Bread labeled “25-percent fewer calories” than the regular version may merely be sliced 25-percent thinner. Read the label and compare the weight of the serving. “Lite” bread usually refers to the color and does not indicate its fiber content. Sometimes breads are colored with caramel, molasses or brown sugar. Choose bread made from 100-percent whole-wheat flour with a minimum of 4 grams of fiber per serving.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration allows the following definitions on food labels:
FAT–FREE — The product has less than .5 grams of fat per serving.
LOW-FAT — The product has 3 grams or less of fat per serving.
REDUCED or LESS FAT — The product has at least 25% less fat per serving than the full-fat version.
LITE or LIGHT
- The product has fewer calories or half the fat of the non-light version.
- The sodium content of a low-calorie, low-fat food is 50 percent less than the non-light version.
- A food is clearer in color (like light instead of dark corn syrup).
CALORIE-FREE — The product has less than 5 calories per serving.
LOW–CALORIE — The product has 40 calories or less per serving.
REDUCED or FEWER CALORIES — The product has at least 25 percent fewer calories per serving than the non-reduced version.
Enjoy!
Here is to Your Health,
Regards,
Mohammed
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