Does Healthy Fat Equal Healthy Food?
Nothing relating to food regulation surprises me anymore. The latest in a series of decisions by the FDA will most certainly provide a mixed signal to consumers about "healthy" eating. Frito-Lay (a unit of PepsiCo) will now be able to claim that their products with unsaturated fat can curb the risk of heart disease. That's certainly a true statement, and unsaturated fat (replacing trans fats and saturated fats in foods) is a big plus when it comes to choosing a healthy fat.
But I have some major concerns with this recent ruling, which covers products ranging from salad dressings, to crackers, to vegetable oils. Any food containing 80% or more unsaturated fat as part of the total product's fat content can carry the label "replacing saturated fat with similar amounts of unsaturated fats may reduce the risk of heart disease. To achieve this benefit, total daily calories should not increase".
While I appreciate the clarification at the end - calories count - I am concerned that as consumers, we will continue to focus on the idea that heart healthy fat counts as a healthy food, and that portion control is not an integral part of that equation. For so many people, it's good enough that a healtheir choice was made. A typical response I often hear is "I've made a healthy choice, isn't that good enough?". In the perfect world, that would be true. But calories count, and we cannot confuse the concept of healthy fat as always being a healthy food - our waistlines often feel the consequences.
When a healthy fat (no matter what food it's in) goes hand in hand with portion control, that's what I call a healthy food choice.
What about you? Do you eat more when you see the "heart healthy" label?
Comments
Heart Healthy labels, along with "low carb, sugar free" and numerous other catchy diet phrases used to get me to eat more. I have realized they are more market ploys to increase sales, than means of improving oneâs health. A false sense of "good for you food" leads to over eating. As you stated, calories count, and portion control is critical.
Yes, I've been a victim of the "fat free", "sugar free" marketing ploy. As long as there was a small change that I was eating healthy, then calories or portion size didn't matter. What I've learned was those products will add weight if total calories and portion size aren't part of the entire program.
Your headline is really a good reminder to me to consider postings made by others on this blog related to lob carb, sugar free, light, etc. IF we we could buy 100 calorie packets of fat, most of us would probably say Yay! only 100 calories even though the nutritional value and health benefits would be zero. I appreciate reminders to consider What is Healthy?
I would never eat more based on what a commercialized food label told me! I'd eat more if it were a salad with homemade dressing and olive oil, or fruit, or carrot sticks, or any other vegetable dish made with my own two hands. I have never understood why people just read what's on the front of food packaging and not the ingredient and nutrition labeling to keep themselves more informed. I find that I can eat whatever I want so long as it is a whole food and I control what goes into my stomach. I don't know, maybe I'm food obsessed?
Speaking of "healthy" junk food, what is going on with Pepsi and Coke adding vitamins to their diet sodas to make it "healthy" and good for you? Maybe I'm out of the loop, but isn't soda in any form BAD for you?
Your point couldn't be more valid! I would only add another concern to the manipulated idea of "healthy fats" that has been going around just recently: besides portion size, and the saturated fats issue, I do see an inconvenience with fats that comes within these "junk foods" in the sense that they most of them have been exposed to temperatures higher than 130 centigrade degrees. Any oil or fat that has been exposed to a temperature over 55 cent. degrees, has already undergone heavy peroxidation, shortening, tehrefore, their shapes, and re-arrenging them in a way or format that will induce arteries' inflammation and risk also the integrity of the capillaries. Since the damage is accumulative, it wil be hard to say if there was any real benefit from abstaining from "saturated fats" that will ultimately be converted into trans fats that will eventually damage arteries any ways.
Ths deception will only benefit the food industry, but not the consumer.
I drink diet soda only occasionally. But I read an article in Post Gazette about a study that concluded that diet soda leads to hunger as do most sweet tasting foods. Plus. diet soda MAY create more insulin resistance. Do you agree? Sounds like water - not bottled according to another study is the best bet!
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