Beware of “foods” marketed as “healthy” that aren’t.
Today’s example: Welch’s Fruit Snacks
Don’t get me wrong, these are a tasty treat…
But despite what the label may lead you to believe, they are not a health food.
They barely qualify as “food”.
Let’s break down some of the label claims:
- Fruit is the first ingredient
- Well I hope so, but the concern is more about the rest of the ingredients.
- Family farmer owned
- Don’t mistake this to mean “organic” or “non-GMO” or anything else you would actually care about. This is pure marketing and means nothing.
- Made with real fruit
- This does not mean that “real fruit” is the only ingredient, only that it contains fruit.
- Excellent source of vitamins A, C & E
- “Excellent” is a stretch, to say the least. It refers only to the 25% of the recommended daily value. The actual “source” matters for quality, and this is full of processed and artificial ingredients.
- Do you know what a true “excellent” source of these vitamins is? Yeah, real fruits and vegetables.
- No preservatives
- Translation: It doesn’t need preservatives because it’s not “real food”. Real fruit will go bad within a couple of weeks. This won’t. That should tell you something.
- Gluten free
- Maybe so, but most people don’t even know what this means. Most people who are truly eating gluten-free don’t need these words on the front of the label. They are here because people will equate “gluten-free” with “healthy”, and that is completely false. They have nothing to do with each other.
- Plus the nutritional numbers bottom right
- 90 calories and 13 grams of sugar for 30g serving size is nothing to brag about, especially for a “food” void of true nutritional value. Besides, who eats only 1 serving of “food” like this?
- Here are the actual ingredients… everything after the first ingredient of “fruit puree” is either processed, artificial, and/or chemically derived:
- Fruit Puree (Grape, Peach, Orange, Strawberry And Raspberry), Corn Syrup, Sugar, Modified Corn Starch, Gelatin, Concord Grape Juice From Concentrate, Citric Acid, Lactic Acid, Natural And Artificial Flavors, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Alpha Tocopherol Acetate (Vitamin E), Vitamin A Palmitate, Sodium Citrate, Coconut Oil, Carnauba Wax, Annatto (Color), Turmeric (Color), Red 40, And Blue 1.
Could you do worse? Absolutely. All food resides on a spectrum, this one leans more toward the “unhealthy” side.
I’ll leave you with a helpful resource of the “Environmental Working Group”. See the EWG’s rating for this food here.
Don’t fall for the food industry’s deceptive marketing gimmicks. Learn what healthy food truly is and make informed choices for your family.
Are you ready to take control of your health journey, once and for all? Check out my 12-week program, Healthy Lifestyle Mastery, then get in touch to learn if it’s a good fit for you.