I have been meaning to write about this for a while now but in my mind it seemed too lengthy and mentally taxing to write. I could go on and on about this subject ad nauseam… Seriously, it makes my head hurt to even think about condensing this. This discussion could be days long. Who has time for that. Here goes my oversimplification.
Propaganda.
The media.
The diet industry.
The wellness claims.
How much do you fall prey to the claims?
We all do, including myself. I found and bought myself Dark Chocolate Multi Grain Cheerios the other day because, “hey dark chocolate is better than regular chocolate, so it must have more nutritional benefits, right?”
It’s an easy trap to fall into and usually I can do pretty okay. I am a firm believer in flipping the package. ALWAYS. Never believe the front. Although at home, upon further inspection, my Cheerios had zero dark chocolate. Yes, things could be worse. I could be buying Cocoa Pebbles or something, but you get the point.
Let’s start our mini lesson shall we?
I am pretty certain any educated adult can recognize when they are being sold to and enticed by a Kohl’s 2 day power sale, but how often do you recognize “diet” and “wellness” propaganda?
(P.S. There is a mini assignment at the end so be sure to pay attention, okay?)
Ritz Crackers
Seems harmless, right? Says “Whole Wheat” on the front. Claims “5g whole grain”. What does that even mean??? The Ritz marketing team is going to the bank that you do not know or even care. You say, “hey, its whole grain, it must be good for me, right?” Let’s flip the box and take a closer look…
Do you see anything whole wheat or whole grain in this ingredient list? Not sure about you, but I see a whole lotta partially hydrogenated this and corn syrup that. And this cracker is definitely more than 5 ingredients. We do not do this anymore right? We have evolved!
Lovely Chef Boyardee. Oh be still my heart.
Hilarious. Since when does slapping the label “Whole Grain” on Chef Boyardee make it healthy? I applaud their efforts, but seriously? I’d rather give my kids plain white pasta than this sodium-laden canned goop.
“Healthy butter”. How many of you have bought into this?
Olive oil butter. As if olive oil magically makes it healthy. “Oh right, that’s the stuff that’s good for my heart, right?? I think I’ll buy olive oil butter because it’s better for me than my old Promise spread that I use to buy.” Wrong.
Oh and this one is the best. Total identity crisis on this label.
This company is throwing every health claim at you at once. Words like “light” and “extra virgin olive oil” and “omega 3” and “Vitamin E”. Wow, all of these things in one tub of buttery spread? Might as well eat it in one sitting.
So my homework assignment????
The next time you shop, find 5 diet and wellness products that are being marketed towards an unsuspecting consumer (you). Don’t worry, you can still buy your Omega 3 peanut butter, JUST BE AWARE.
Report back to me. Let’s be accountable.
I would love to hear what’s out there. It really is everywhere.
Except the produce aisle…
