A quick follow up to my previous example of how food companies lie to you. Here are a couple of other good examples, courtesy of the Center for Science in the Public Interest:
Kellogg’s Special K Fruit & Yogurt
The ads for this cereal tell us how it “combines the crunch of whole grain goodness, the smooth creaminess of yogurt and the sweet taste of berries…” Notice how the objects in the sentence are ‘crunch’, ‘creaminess’, and ‘taste’. That’s because the cereal really contains more highly processed refined rice than whole grain wheat, no actual berries at all (they’re really just dyed apple pieces), and no yogurt (just heat-treated yogurt powder).
Smucker’s Simply Fruit
Well, it might be, sort of. It actually contains more fruit syrup than real fruit, and the syrup isn’t made from the fruit in the product’s name. It is made from apple, pear, or pineapple juice concentrate, which is cheaper than the fruit they tell you is in the jar.
DanActive Immunity Dairy Drink
This is one of my favorites. Dannon tells you that this drinkable yogurt will help to “strengthen your body’s defenses.” Unfortunately, the reality is that Dannon only did one study to see if drinking this stuff actually kept people from getting sick, and they found out it didn’t. But, let’s not let that get in the way of clever marketing.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest has a great newsletter, Nutrition Action. You should check it out at www.nutritionaction.com.
~Dave
About the Author
Dave Soucy is a coach, trainer, motivator, husband, dad, and former fat guy. His goal is to teach as many people as possible how to achieve a life of health, fitness, and wellness through simply eating right and exercising. Click here to learn more about Dave.
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