Health or Hype?
Posted on August 20, 2009
Have you noticed at the grocery store how pretty much everything you can buy has some “health benefit” printed on the package? You name it, it’s there. Check it out next time you’re at the store.
The idea is that these products such as ice cream, sugar cereals, energy drinks, etc. that are “brain healthy,” “fiber rich,” or “full of vitamin B” are thought of as healthy so consumers consume more of them.
I came across an article this morning talking about this. Here’s the link to the article and here are some quotes from it:
“Functional foods are about marketing, not health. They delude people into thinking that these things are healthy.”
– Marion Nestle, NYU Food Scientist
“It’s really a junk food dressed up to look prettier than it is. People are going to be deceived into thinking a lot of these products are especially healthy for them when there’s little evidence they are. There’s more hype to these products than there is reality.”
– David Schardt, senior nutritionist for the Center for Science in the Public Interest
Don't forget to shop for gear at LittleTriathlete
» Filed Under Nutrition
Comments
View Comments to “Health or Hype?”
Leave a Reply
If you haven’t already, I highly recommend reading “In Defense of Food” by Michael Pollan. It goes over this very thing. It is an excellent read and will completely change the way you think about food. And it will make you think about how screwed up American’s are in their food choices.
Health-conscious consumers go beyond the mere packaging. These foods contain the same nutrients, it’s just that they amplify major benefits to attract. You have to read the label to make sure.
There are some foods that almost never have the labels proclaiming them to be healthy. They’re usually the healthy ones.