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The Health Myth of Functional Foods

May 16th, 2011 Leave a comment Go to comments
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Great writeup in yesterday’ New York Times – Food with Benefits, or So They Say – about all those processed products in the supermarket posing as healthy:

In aisle after aisle, wonders beckon. Foods and drinks to help your heart, lower your cholesterol, trim your tummy, coddle your colon. Toss them into your cart and you might feel better. Heck, you might even live longer.

Or not. Because this, shoppers, is the question: Are all these products really healthy, or are some of them just hyped?

The answer to that question matters to millions of Americans who are wagering their money and their waistlines on hot new products in the grocery aisles called “functional foods.” Read more…

What you need to know:

Nobody says it more succinctly than NYU Nutrition Professor Marion Nestle – Functional foods are more about marketing than they are about health.

We couldn’t agree more.

Take the average American supermarket – 50,000 products give or take a few. Notice how ALL OF THEM are somehow labeled good for you.

If it’s high in fat – it will boast low sugar

If it’s super sugary – it’s low fat

Full of artificial colors and sweeteners? No worries, it’s a perfect low calorie treat

Overly processed? No problem, pump it up with added vitamins and minerals.

etc…

If all these foods are so healthy, how come we are all getting so fat and sick?

Did you know that taxpayers spent $150,000,000,000 paying for health problems related to obesity / food related diseases? Totally preventable.

It’s just that somewhere along the road to the 21st century we forgot to eat real food.

What to do at the supermarket:

IGNORE anything written on the front of a product package. Except for the name. The only information you should relate to when it comes to nutrition is the ingredient list and nutrition facts panel.

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  • http://www.facebook.com/kenleebow Ken Leebow

    Re: It’s just that somewhere along the road to the 21st century we forgot to eat real food. 

    And unfortunately, it’s getting worse … that road you refer to is The Main Street Diet … http://www.TheMainStreetDiet.com

    • Lisa

       Birthday Cake milkshake? I’d like to live to see my next birthday…

      • http://www.facebook.com/kenleebow Ken Leebow

         They’ve been advertising the Birthday Cake Milkshake for about six-months. 

  • http://www.awakenedwellness.com Rachel Assuncao, Health Coach

    I’m so glad that mainstream media is finally starting to pick up on what so many of us have long been preaching.  Perhaps it will be the start of the masses waking up and realizing they are being had by clever marketing gimmicks.

    When I work with my clients and teach classes, I often tell people that if there’s a health claim on the front, it’s probably not real food inside the package and they are better off choosing something more natural.  Figuring out what that more natural option is, is often the challenge.  There are, of course, tools that are making it easier :-) .  Thanks Fooducate!

  • Jason

     All processed food is crap. If people would eat real food – the kind that is TRULY fresh and nutrient dense – there wouldn’t be a need for companies that produce these “products” and no need for vitamin and mineral fortification or fancy health claims..

  • http://www.feedmeimcranky.com Bella

    Imagine what REAL benefits we could tout on fruits and vegetables if they had labels written by marketing folk. “Will save your life” “Will reverse disease” “Natural weight loss guaranteed” ;)

  • http://www.UrbanOrganicGardener.com Mike Lieberman

     Food doesn’t come in boxes and plastic wrapping.

    I envy the ingenious marketing that’s done, but also hate that they use it for such things.

    Thanks for raising awareness about this issue.

  • Lisa

    lol, I nearly died at the Rice Krispies box with IMMUNITY!!!! on the label.

  • Dash

     Great tips… I just started practicing healthy eating and loss 17 pounds in a month while also using a free guide i found at http://www.thesafeweightloss.com/http://www.thesafeweightloss.com/

  • MaiLynn

     Food shouldn’t come in a package, most of our food should come from the produce department.  Grandma used to go to the cellar and get a jar of what ever she had canned herself.  We need to get back to gardening and putting food up ourselves just like grandma used to! :)

  • http://www.rawlawyer.com Faye

    Great article. This information needs to get out – I’m glad it’s going mainstream. 

  • http://www.angrybuffalo.com The Rose Garden Resto

    Very Great Info about foods! Food Lovers should not only based on the taste, but also on it’s nutrition it has. : )

  • http://twitter.com/andreat76 Andrea T

    Real food doesn’t need an ingredient list. It also makes “dieting” easier. Eat a wide range of real food and your nutritional needs will be met. It’s as simple as that.
     
    Eat. Real. Food.