Tuesday 23rd October - Fat FREE normally means Nutrient POOR

I was reminded of this simple message when Deb sent me a comment to one of my Blogs.

More often than not she says that in walking through the Supermarket the majority of people who see the FAT FREE sticker or label assume that it is okay to eat this product because years of being told to watch your fat intake has led us to believe that it must be okay. After all there is no fat in it.

However there is less knowledge or marketing about the total caloric intake when most of the product is consumed. In other words - overloading your body with calories it can't or won't use. Very few people open a packet of biscuits and have one. Very few people stop at one of anything. This then DOES become a problem for total calories consumed.

So what is the problem with FAT FREE. In principle there is nothing wrong but marketers and food advertisers started to pick up on this low fat phenomenum and so to continue with their sales targets they began to see that by reducing the fat from the product and replacing it with sugar, adding a catchy FAT FREE label you again helped them reach their goal.

Pick up any low fat product and it will mostly be carbohydrate (sugar) if you know how to read the label. I would much rather see you get your carbohydrate intake from nutritionally rich and anti-oxidant loaded salad and vegetables (with a little "coloured" fruit preferably berries thrown in).

Here is a rule of thumb. If you can eat it without having to chew it very much then there is not only less fibre (very important for digestive health) but it will also be designed so that you can eat more than one. For example eat one apple which will be more filling in comparison to eating one cookie. You are not likely to reach for another piece of fruit but think about this. How many times have you been caught with your hands in the cookie jar ?