Are Fat-Free Foods Making Us Fatter?
August 30, 2008
Photo by Slushpup
Many processed fat-free or low-fat foods have just as many, or more, calories as the full-fat foods.
That is because usually sugar is added to the low-fat versions to make up for the flavor that is lost when the fat is removed. The end result … you eat more calories and gain more weight.
And in reduced-fat foods, goods fats may have been replaced with bad fats.
Take for instance peanut butter. Often times the naturally good fat is removed from low-fat versions of peanut butter and replaced with sugar and hydrogenated oil. This leaves us with minimal calorie reduction (or perhaps increased calories), double the carbs, and less heart-healthy monounsaturated fat.
Another example of good fat being lost … fat-free dressings on salads. Not only are these dressings commonly loaded with sugar to boost the taste, but necessary fat is removed. Fat in dressing helps our body absorb fat-soluble nutrients found in vegetables, such as lycopene, vitamin K, beta-carotene, and lutein. Salad dressing fats also increase brain function, energy production, and, for women, hormone development. A good choice for salad dressing would be a balsamic vinaigrette which is an oil-based dressing that has a lot of taste in a small amount.
So once again, we have a case where labels are deceiving.
Be sure to read the nutrition facts on the label and compare calories and sugars of fat-free foods to original foods. And don’t overlook the serving size. Sometimes fat-free foods use smaller serving sizes so it appears as though you’ll be eating fewer calories and less fat.
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I had gestational diabetes with two of my three children. The diabetes staff warned me about this one…that fat-free didn’t mean calorie free and I had to be very careful with foods like that.
Low-fat cereal and mayonnaise are also big culprits in declaring less fat but have hidden sugars, too.
I don’t know how much we can still trust authorities to look out after our health. The power of multinationals to lobby against those that advocate food safety and healthier manufacturing processes are overwhelming.
As consumers, I think it is our obligation to look out for our own protection by continuing to educate ourselves; and better, to help propagate ideas that lead to better consumer buying practices.
Thanks for sharing your ideas.
Cheers!
In situations like this, I rather have the regular (full fat) version of the food. Sometimes even the difference of 50 calories does not make me turn to the low fat version. Seriously, if you practice portion control, the regular product is taste much better than the extra sugar they add in to make it low fat.
Yes they are. I don’t use them because of the high fructose content. I’ll stick with regular dressings thank you; I just monitor the amount I use.
[...] have the options of low-carb meals, low-fat meals (read my previous post on this issue), and vegetarian meals. You can also order meals for special dietary needs, such as [...]