Sneaky Ways Food Companies Trick You Into Thinking Their Products Are Healthy

Food companies will go to all sorts of lengths to get us to buy their products.

Packaging sugary snacks as "health food products" is nothing short of trickery, but a new study shows that many of us are falling for it.

Are you expanding your waistband with things that claim to be good for you?

Desperate and Clueless

A recent study, conducted by University of Houston researchers, showed that food brands are using what's widely known in the industry as "priming psychology" to misrepresent their products and fool us into buying them.

Thanks to celebrity dieters, "strong is the new skinny" campaigns and Instagram "fitspiration", we're all super aware of the need keep lean and "eat clean."

Unfortunately though, many of us don't really know how to do this.

Cashing in on our cluelessness, food companies are slapping words which have healthy associations in our heads on unhealthy foods and, weirdly, it is legal for them to do this.

"All Natural"

Unfortunately, it doesn't get much more deceptive than calling something "natural."

😥

Government food regulators don't have a fixed definition of what "natural" is.

The term is vaguely associated with foods that are minimally processed, but this has no meaningful implications about whether or not a food is good for you, healthy or what ingredients it contains.

"Gluten-Free"

Oh hi there new fad!

Some people don't have a lot of choice about whether they put gluten or wheat into their bodies and a lot of people who have adopted a gluten-free diet have also noticed a change in the leanness of their figure.

However, hopping on the bandwagon by buying products labelled "gluten-free" doesn't make you a savvy shopper.

A pack of gluten-free brownies is still a pack of brownies and will likely still have a high sugar, carbohydrate and fat content.

Gluten-free junk food is still junk food, just probably more expensive.

"Fat-Free"

The term "fat free" is a distraction tactic.

It is basically code for "look over there while we pack this product with everything else that's bad for you and lots of extra chemicals, just for good measure."

While "fat-free" products might have a fat content of 0.5 per cent, this says nothing of the sugar, carbohydrates, stabilisers, thickeners, chemical sweeteners and so on.

A fat-free product can be just as calorific, if not more so than it's average fat counterpart.

"Fair-Trade"

The "fair-trade" label refers to ethical business conduct, during the production, manufacturing and trade of a product.

Oddly though, studies have shown that many people subconsciously assume that these products are also healthier.

Keep buying fair trade chocolate, for sure, but don't overdose on it thinking you won't pile on the pounds!

People have similar feelings towards products that are labelled as "organic."

Studies have produced varied results around whether organic food is, indeed, better for our bodies, with one finding there was more Vitamin C in organic tomatoes and more cancer-fighting flavonoids in strawberries.

But in reality, the difference is likely negligible and many companies abuse the "organic" label as a means to make their products look more attractive.

"No Added Sugar"

But at what point did they stop adding sugar?!

"No added sugar" is a very empty claim because, although they might not have added any sugar during the processing and packaging, this doesn't mean that some of the orginal components weren't sugary.

Also, while they might not be adding any sugar in its most recognisable form, they might be sneaking it in in other ways.

Honey, high fructose corn syrup, agave - sugar, by any other name, is still sugar.

Green is NOT Serene

Interestingly, the University of Houston research showed that their test subjects responded more favourably to the colours of certain packaging.

Green labels, for example, were generally perceived to belong to healthier products, despite the colour bearing no relation at all to the ingredients list.

"Raw"

This is really saddening.

Even us lot on the Lifestyle desk have been taken in by this one.

As we've all been talking about "clean eating" and the merits of a "raw" diet - à la Jennifer Anniston - companies have started pushing out products with the "raw" and "clean" labels on them.

Unfortunately, these labels really do not mean a thing in terms of a product's healthiness.

A "raw" fruit bar or cereal bar might only have uncooked or unprocessed ingredients in it, but that doesn't mean it's not packed with sugar.

Dates, for example, which form the base of many of these bars, are naturally extremely high in sugar and carbohydrates.

So obviously, while chowing down on these is certainly better for you than a plate full of chilli cheese fries, you still have to carefully watch your intake and they're never going to be a good substitute for a low-GI piece of fruit or a small handful of unsalted nuts.

So, the moral of this story, don't let food companies trick you with meaningless buzzwords!

Always have a look at the ingredients list yourself, remember that sugar is just as bad as fat, if not worse, and comes in a variety of forms and, if in doubt, take charge of your diet by making your own food using fresh, unprocessed ingredients.

*** Other buzzwords to watch out for: "Antioxidants", "Whole Grain", "heart healthy."

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