Five common foods with the ‘health halo’ effect

Foods labelled sugar free, fat free or whole wheat might not be as healthy as they seem, according to a registered dietician at The Methodist Hospital in Houston. According to Kari Kooi, recent studies show people tend to let their guard down and eat twice as much - or even more - of these foods because they are marketed as healthy food products.

“Consumer food marketing can be extremely persuasive and the right buzzword on a package can lure a shopper into making an unwise purchase,” said Kooi. “We need to educate consumers on how to read nutrition labels so they can avoid falling prey to the ‘health halo’ effect.”

Kooi has outlined the top five ‘health’ foods to avoid:

• Vegetable chips: often marketed as a healthy substitute for potato chips, vegetable chips have a similar nutritional profile to regular potato chips. You’re better off eating vegetables, Kooi says. Vegetable chips contain vegetable powders and, once a vegetable is processed into a chip, many of the nutrients are lost. Calories also increase because fat is added.
• Nutrient-enhanced waters: these are little more than coloured sugar water loaded with empty calories, Kooi says. A better option is to simply take a daily multivitamin with a glass of water.
• Muffins: while a sprinkling of oats and a few blueberries might make muffins appear healthier than doughnuts, muffins are nothing more than cupcakes without icing, Kooi says. Made with refined white flour, plenty of oil and refined sugar, mega-sized coffee shop muffins can easily top 600 calories.
• Pre-made smoothies: Kooi says these are syrupy concoctions loaded with calories and sugar. Homemade smoothies with yoghurt, milk and fresh or frozen fruits are a much healthier option, Kooi said.
• Frozen yoghurt: while this treat can be made with low-fat or fat-free dairy ingredients, it’s far from being calorie free. Many of the live and active cultures added to frozen yoghurt are not able to survive freezing, so don’t count on any probiotic benefits, Kooi warns. They also often contain a hefty amount of added sugar.