These phrases often have nothing to do with reality, says the nutritionist.
What does “no sugar, no cholesterol, no GMO” on product labels really mean, and why is it really a simple hoax?
Manufacturers understand that consumers are now focused on buying products that can do good. That’s why, in order to increase sales, labels carry the labels that many of us want to see.
The problem is that very often they are created to attract attention, and the product itself may have nothing to do with healthy eating at all.
The most common tricks that brands use
These include labels such as:
Does not contain sugar. Nowadays, it’s hard to find someone who doesn’t know about the dangers of excessive sugar intake. Understanding this and the desire of many to reduce weight by reducing sugar intake, manufacturers write the coveted words “sugar-free” on packages.
In fact, they do not lie: we are accustomed to white sugar in the product is not. But there are substitutes: glucose, fructose, sucrose, crystal dextrose, maltose, molasses, various kinds of syrups, honey and others. This does not reduce the caloric value of the product, nor does it reduce the consumption of sugar. But its cost is always higher due to the fact that the product belongs to the “healthy” line.
Low Calorie. The problem here is that there are no clear boundaries or designations that could govern this term. For example, there is a cake labeled “low calorie” and there is a regular cake. The difference in calories can be anything, even 50 kcal. It turns out that the first cake is indeed more dietary, which means that the label is correct.
Only this biggest difference in calories does not affect the overall nutritional picture much. Moreover, when a person sees such inscriptions, he has the impression that the product is harmless and it is possible to eat more than the norm. Therefore, an ordinary cake, but in reasonable quantities, is more profitable.
Low-fat. This designation is often used by manufacturers of dairy products. They have two objectives: to make the product useful and marketable. Here, a contradiction usually arises. If fat is removed from the composition, the consumer will buy the product only once and is unlikely to return for a second purchase because he or she will not like the taste of the low-fat product. So there is a problem with the sale.
