With the rising cost of health care and more emphasis placed on proper diet and exercise, shoppers are paying more attention to what types of foods they consume.
Companies are somewhat capitalizing on consumers’ food choices, but how products are marketed and packaged may not add up to what’s on the food label.
When grocery shopping, before trying a new product consumer Joi Dunham immediately looks on the back of the packaging to make the best choice possible.
“I’m really looking to see if companies are actually living up to what they say they are. They’ll say ‘we’re healthy,’ but sometimes they’re not,” said Dunham.
Annessa Chumbley, a registered dietician, says Dunham has the right idea when bypassing fancy packaging and going straight to the back of the box. Companies can use pictures and words that could be misleading but the label is where they can’t lie.
Products may contain words such as “all natural,” “low fat,” or “fat free” when in actuality those specific words may be deceiving. Chumbley gives the example of “cholesterol free,” canola oil. The product may sound good for those who are watching their cholesterol, but in actuality, oil is filled with fat. Oil is made from vegetables, which doesn’t have cholesterol in them anyway.
“It may be low in fat, but high in calories because they’re putting in sugar which doesn’t have fat,” added Duhnam, who’s also a food scientist. “They know people aren’t going to want to eat something that tastes like a piece of straw. They’re going to do things to it to make it taste better.”
Labels can be tricky for the average shopper, but Chumbley suggests the best way to shop for healthier items is to first do your homework and most importantly look at the ingredients.
“The less ingredients the better. That typically means less preservatives. The more whole foods are going to have less underneath the ingredients,” said Chumbley. “One thing people want to look out for is high fructose corn syrup within the first three ingredients because ingredients work from the most to the least.”
People are also misled by the increase in organic foods. Consumers should remember organic does not equal healthy. Organic simply means the food item was produced according to certain production standards such as prohibiting the use of sewer-sludge fertilizers, most synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, genetic engineering, growth hormones, irradiation and antibiotics.
Some consumers may be interested in foods that are healthier, but are intimidated or overwhelmed by the item or whole food markets such as Wild Oats. Instead of doing a complete pantry makeover, Chumbley suggests finding one healthy item or recipe and trying it out. Consumers can also check out a cooking class that shows them how to use unusual items or take a whole foods grocery store tour.
Because shoppers live in such a fast paced society, they are going to consume packaged food at some point in time, but eating as many fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and seafood is always better than any packaged food on the market.
Dunham knows when consuming fresh fruits and vegetables she can eat as much as possible, but knows despite the work involved in making better food choices, better packaged food selections means a better life.
“It’s not a weight issue. If you’re 115 pounds and you eat junk, you’re going to feel like junk,” added Chumbley. “You don’t know how good you’ll feel until you start eating the things you were intended to eat.”
For more information, call the Clarian Bariatric Center at (317) 275-7010 or visit www.clarian.org.
