|
|
(HealthNewsDigest.com) -Food marketers know that names can seduce you into making selections. Health halo is the term used to describe a name that makes you perceive a food as good for you. Many of these health halo terms — healthy, natural, dieter’s delight – are anything but good for you. If you are interested in your health or watching your weight, food product names could be your downfall when trying to achieve your goal.
Apples are perceived as healthy, no ambiguity here. A cupcake, though delicious, would never be considered a diet or healthy choice. But the term salad is very different. Salad inherently carries a health halo – a good for you choice. But, in many cases that may not be the case.
A research study (http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs054/1102814513565/archive/1107480620216.html) explored how easy it was to trip up a well-meaning eater by simply manipulating the name of a food. People in a study were told they would be eating a dish made of vegetables, pasta, salami and cheese served on a bed of romaine lettuce with an herb vinaigrette dressing. For one group the dish was called the daily pasta special for a second group the dish was called the daily salad special. This dish, when served in the typical 4 to 6 cup restaurant portion is no dieter’s delight and easily could pack 800-plus calories, more if a creamy dressing were chosen. Yet, call it a salad and people are fooled into thinking it is a good choice as did the people in the research study.
Two cups of tossed salad, minus the dressing has 22 calories. Add an avocado and the calories jump to 90. Two cups of a Greek salad (with dressing) has 323 calories, a chef salad (without dressing) has 357 calories, and the same amount of a Caesar salad has 367 calories. So much for the word salad indicating a diet food. And, keep in mind that most main dish salads have at least a 4 cup portion which pushes the calories up even more.
Chips are now marketed as veggie chips, bean chips, and whole grain chips. A chip is a chip, regardless of its base — fried or baked in oil and seasoned with salt. They can’t compete with a fresh vegetable, a serving of beans or a slice of whole grain bread when it comes to good-for-you choices.
Smoothies can be another downfall. But isn’t that a good for me choice you are thinking? Nutritionally, it is a good choice because most smoothies are loaded with fruit and often blended with yogurt. In this case it isn’t the ingredients but the size of the portion which may be your downfall. If you drank an 8-ounce (1 cup) serving you would have 100 to 150 calories — a reasonable size and a nutritious snack choice. But few smoothies come in that size. Most are at least 16 ounces and some larger. If you add soy protein, whey or peanut butter for a protein boost, the calories can easily top 400.
As kids most of us ate candies that we called gummies. Today those same gummy candies are called fruit chews. Candy chews are considered by most as an unhealthy choice. Fruit chews are not and are a fast growing food category, even though both are made from sugar, fruit juice or fruit juice concentrate, and corn syrup. Some even have a small amount of vitamin C thrown in to once again lead you to believe this is a virtuous choice.
Another option used to entice you to buy one product over another is to manipulate the food processing. Chips become baked, not fried. Typical potato chips have about 150 calories in a 1-ounce portion. Baked chips have about 120 calories. Not much of a saving. If you believe the baked choice is better, you may buy the chips more often and eat a larger portion. Lightly breaded is another marketing gimmick. A few less bread crumbs on a piece of fried fish or vegetable slices aren’t going to make you healthier because the selection can’t compete with an unbreaded choice. My favorite name in this category is a brand with a product called Crisp & Healthy Breaded Fish Sticks. This name appeals to both your sense of taste and as well as your desire for health. You may not get either.
Bottom line: Names count. Before you are tempted to fall for a catchy product name, flip over the package and look at the nutrition label and read the ingredient list. At a restaurant, ask the waitperson what is in the salad and be sure you can order dressing on the side.
© NRH Nutrition Consultants, Inc.
Jo-Ann Heslin, MA, RD, CDN is a registered dietitian and the author of the nutrition counter series for Pocket Books with sales of more than 8.5 million books.
Look for:
The Diabetes Counter, 5th Ed., 2014
The Fat and Cholesterol Counter, 2014
The Most Complete Food Counter, 3rd ed., 2013
The Calorie Counter, 6th Ed., 2013
The Complete Food Counter, 4th ed., 2012
The Protein Counter, 3rd Ed., 2011
The Ultimate Carbohydrate Counter, 3rd Ed., 2010
The Healthy Wholefoods Counter, 2008
Your Complete Food Counter App: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/your-complete-food-counter/id444558777?mt=8
For more information on Jo-Ann and her books, go to: www.TheNutritionExperts.com.
###
For ad/promo rates, call Mike McCurdy at 877-634-9180 or email at [email protected] We have over 7,000 journalists who are subscribers.