I was in the grocery store (supermarket) yesterday and had to shake my head at all the clever misleading food labels that are everywhere. In every aisle, I saw tons of products saying all sorts of things that are supposed to be “healthy” but really aren’t. This is food marketing deception at its worst.
One of the things I noticed that really bothered me was that I saw multiple examples of healthy foods in their natural state, while also noticing counterfeit and overly processed versions of these original foods that claimed they were healthier than the natural version.
However, in reality, all of these fake versions were MUCH worse for you than the originals… and they still have the balls to claim that their overly processed “junk” versions are better.
The sad thing is that millions of people fall for this deceptive food marketing every day. Here are a couple of examples I noticed:
Example #1: Product Claiming to be “Better Than Peanut Butter”
This product is ridiculous! I can’t believe anyone believes that this processed junk is better for them than minimally processed natural peanut butter.
First of all, if you buy a good natural organic peanut butter, it’s usually very simple just two ingredients…peanuts and salt. And they do not add much salt so it is not a high sodium product.
However, this counterfeit peanut butter that claimed it was “better than peanut butter” (trying to appear healthier than natural peanut butter based on label claims) had a list of processed junk you wouldn’t believe. First, they remove all of the natural healthy fats from the peanut to make it a “low fat” product. Alright, so you’ve just eliminated one of the healthiest parts of peanut butter…the appetite-satisfying healthy fats you need to curb cravings and manage more stable blood sugar levels in your body.
To make matters worse, the healthy fats have been replaced with 2 different types of sugar-based syrups, as well as additional dried cane juice (aka SUGAR), plus added refined starches (in case you haven’t gotten enough levels blood sugar). still refined carbohydrates).
This product has taken something as simple and natural as peanut butter and turned it into what really should be called a sort of processed candy. However, they claim that it is healthier than peanut butter. And they somehow get away with fooling the masses like that on their label. Don’t be her fool!
Example #2: Product that claims to be “better than eggs.”
I won’t go into too much detail about this because I recently went into detail about this whole subject in another issue of an ezine.
Basically, this product is just egg whites with a bunch of chemical coloring, flavoring, and other nonsense, including artificially added vitamins.
Once again, this product has essentially ruined a good thing by removing the healthiest part… the yolks! And yes, the yolks ARE the healthiest part of the egg. Anyone who tells you otherwise doesn’t understand much about real nutrition. The important thing to look for in quality whole eggs is that they are cage-free and organic.
Most people don’t realize that almost all of an egg’s quality nutrition is found in the yolks. Most of the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and trace elements are found in the yolks, not the whites. Even the protein in the whites is not as high quality in terms of bioavailability without the amino acid profile of the yolk that complements the amino acid profile of the whites.
And no, the cholesterol in eggs isn’t bad for you…it actually raises your good cholesterol more than your bad cholesterol, improving your overall profile. And the fats in whole eggs are balanced and healthy for you, too.
Bottom line…whole eggs are healthier than egg whites. It’s not even a close comparison. Label claims are just another example of deception in food marketing.
Example #3: A product that claims to be “better than butter.”
This was essentially a poor quality margarine that is loaded with deadly, highly processed trans fat, but he had the nerve to claim it was “better than butter.”
Do not be fooled!
Even low-quality butter is better for you than any margarine on the market. One problem with butter is the pesticides and hormones often found in poorly bred cows.
For this reason, it’s always a good option to go with organic butter, and if you can find grass-fed butter, I’d even say it may be healthy for you. Grass-fed butter is richer in the natural form of beneficial conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). In fact, adding a little butter to your steamed vegetables helps your body absorb more of the vitamins and minerals in the vegetables.
Also, due to the stable saturated fat content in butter, this makes butter one of the best oils for cooking. Oils that are high in polyunsaturated fats like soybean, corn, safflower (and even flax) are the worst for cooking due to the highly unstable nature of their chemistry. I have a whole article on which oils are healthier to cook with and which are not based on their chemistry.
Another point… the saturated fat in butter is NOT bad for you. We’ve already beaten a dead horse on that topic in previous articles, but again, more detailed articles on that topic can be found on my site.
You can find dozens more articles on all of these controversial health and fitness topics on my website below. For your good health!