Money rules the world. Now that I’ve stated the obvious… let’s look at how companies have slickly pretended that they have all our best interests in mind. After it became blatantly obvious that we were all getting too fat and wanted to do something about it (at least in theory), big business wanted to at least give us the impression they cared. That’s why we got labels that say things like “35 Percent Less Fat” or “All Natural.” They sound great, don’t they? Except for the fact that they don’t have your best interest in mind.
Of course, all sensible people know this. But, it’s easy for unsuspecting people do be duped. For instance, 35 percent less fat on a surface level sounds like a big improvement. But, 35 percent of what? If something had, oh, 500 percent more fat than what you should have in a given serving, 35 percent less doesn’t sound so attractive now, does it?
Another example… all natural. Natural is good. But it isn’t always less fattening. Something can be totally natural and also be totally fattening. Another label deception is manipulating portion size. Next time you buy a “health” drink, take a look at how many portions they intend for that bottle to be. So, who puts a bottle back in their refrigerator half full for tomorrow? If not, realize that you need to multiply that sugar and calorie total by two.
Since March is National Nutrition Month, let’s pay more attention to the products we pull off the shelves. Every little change can accumulate into big weight loss dividends over time.
Learn more from Bob Greene, Dr. Oz and Eat This, Not That about reading labels and being educated before you eat.
It’s a chore reading those labels- but worth it. I recently found that the bread I’ve eaten for years, although it had fiber and whole grains, High Fructose Corn Syrup was one of the first ingredients. That’s not doing anyone any favors. So we switched- spent 10 minutes reading every bread label until we were comfortable.