If you’ve ever snooped around a supermarket looking for nourishing foods, you must have come across products with tags like healthy, lite, low-fat and more recently, antioxidant-rich or immunity-boosting and so on.
No matter how unfamiliar, expensive or foreign these products sound, we do often fall for their tall promises and leave traditional food behind because they just don’t have the same marketing budget.
This practice is called ‘health washing.’ Celebrity nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar spoke out about the practice calling it the ‘act of villainising or romanticising’ certain food products, nutrients or ingredients that have been promoted by the food giants to keep their own profits rising.
One of the most problematic things about ‘health washing’ is that you may be sold food that is actually harmful, packaged in a healthy avatar. Here are five such foods that are the most common culprits.
TRAIL MIX
Nuts, seeds and dried fruit... sounds healthy, right? The contents of a trail mix could be healthy enough but they can also carry added sugars or have additional chocolate or candies. Look out for such extras on the ingredient list to make a wise choice.
FLAVOURED YOGHURT
Colourful yoghurts taste fruity and delicious but their benefits are often masked by the added sugar and flavouring substances. You should also be careful of ‘sugar-free’ yoghurt as it may contain aspartame which is an artificial sweetener known to cause digestive trouble in some people.
BAKED VEGGIE CHIPS
Made with vegetables and famous for their non-fried appeal, baked veggie chips don’t actually give you the benefits of vegetables. Like any other chips, they are just simple carbs and don’t keep you full for very long. If you keep munching on them, the empty calories add up quickly.
FLAVOURED OATMEAL OR GRANOLA
Instant oatmeal is a wholesome fibre and iron-rich snack with a little bit of protein. But these benefits are cut-off when you buy flavoured oatmeal or granola that comes with things like maple syrups, sugared dry fruits or oils. You’re much better off buying plain oatmeal and adding your own toppings.
ROASTED NUTS
Nuts are high in protein and full of good minerals but the story of packaged nuts isn’t as simple. While not all roasted nuts are bad, but varieties like honey-roasted or smoked cheese could be red flags. These may pack more salt, sugar and pure calories than you realise.
All in all, being a smart shopper means avoiding being fooled by buzzwords and reading the fine print!