Unhealthy foods marketed as healthy are evils packaged as angels. Falling for an advertisement and believing in a brand rather than a product is propaganda to mislead.
Unfortunately, many healthy food brands India generate high sales through efficient marketing techniques, product placement, and celebrity endorsements. However, what you see from the front packaging differs significantly from the story behind it.
Unhealthy foods marketed as healthy
It is time to scan through some of the products from unhealthy food companies that pose as healthy otherwise:
NUTRI CHOICE DIGESTIVE BISCUITS
Among the unhealthy foods marketed as healthy, a product that includes the term ‘nutri’ but isn’t nutritious is blatantly dishonest. It is baffling that some people would substitute having biscuits and tea instead of a healthy evening snack.
These products include 19.6% fat and are loaded with saturated and trans fat. The company claims this product is loaded with fibre, no added sugar, and no maida. But the label of a 100-gram pack mentions 68 grams of carbs, 14.5 grams of sugar, dietary fibre 6 grams, protein 8 grams, and total fat 21 grams. One pack adds 493 calories to your body, and includes ten pieces of biscuits. So, consuming two biscuits is equivalent to having 100 calories.
Now the problem is healthy junk food brands market such products as diabetes-friendly. But it is misleading to patients suffering from a lifelong condition. People with diabetes have a stringent diet, so positioning products like these with fake health claims are harmful.
Kellogg’s Muesli (Fruits, Nuts, and Seeds)
Kellogg’s claims to be one of the healthy food brands and have been a part of Indian households for decades. Whether serving cornflakes before school or adding a pack of Chocos for recess, Kellogg’s has been a part of an Indian child’s diet.
Adults, too, have taken on the consumption of Muesli as it is a quick meal to have before work. Unfortunately, these are food brands to avoid because these easy-to-make options don’t make breakfast the ‘most important meal of the day’.
Candied papaya, apple, and peach are sugar-coated dried fruits in Muesli sold by the brand. The product has oils, antioxidant additives, preservatives, artificial flavours, and artificial colours.
A single serving of Kellogg’s Muesli (Fruits, Nuts, and Seeds) includes 31.6 grams of carbohydrates. The total sugar content is 9.4 grams and 6.8 grams of added sugar. It merely contributes to our nutritional requirements with only 2.4 grams of fiber and 3.2 grams of protein.
Bournvita
When you serve children Bournvita with milk, you expect them to stay as active as the kid on the product packaging. You also assume that you are offering a glass of goodness rich in vitamins and minerals.
While the front packaging claims to make consumers healthier daily, the ingredients share a different perspective. It includes 51% Malt extracts but that can also be added by using a variety of grains like, Millets, barley, quinoa into the diet. It also contains sugar, cocoa, glucose, emulsifiers, etc.Â
Consumption of such a high amount of sugar increases the threshold of sugar sensitivity. Moreover, kids get used to sugar in their diet and crave for more sugary products.
One serving of Bournvita has 17 grams of carbohydrates, which includes 14.6 grams of sugar. The quantity is equivalent to three tablespoons of sugar. Adding to milk increases the quantity, as packaged milk also contains sugar. The protein content is 1.4 grams and 0.4-gram fat, of which 0.2 grams is saturated fat.
Maggi Tomato Ketch-up
Maggi is not a product; it is an emotion. When we think of Maggi, we only consider a pack of instant noodles that takes two minutes to make. From ‘pahadon wali Maggi’ to ‘hostel wali Maggi’, this product is close to all our hearts. But while we romanticize Maggi, we all know it is one of the unhealthy products we add to our system.
The problem lies when we don’t consider other products from the brand harmful. So, we do not restrict consumption as we do for instant noodles.
Tomato ketchup is a staple in every Indian household. From bachelors who find 15-rupee Pichkoo packs accessible to big Indian families filling their monthly shopping carts with a 1 kg pack, this product never misses out.
Be it sandwiches for breakfast or pakoras for supper, we can never have enough tomato ketchup. Moreover, there are many recipes where we find tomato ketchup as an alternative to the tomato puree.
It might break many hearts, but it is one of the products you should not store in your refrigerator. Going through the ingredients, you will find more sugar content than tomatoes.
A serving of Maggi tomato ketchup includes 3 grams of carbohydrates and 2.8 grams of sugar. Such a high amount of sugar even in small quantities makes it more addictive, and we keep asking for more.
It tastes so good because of the sugar content and has a tangy flavour that we confuse with tomatoes. Along with refined sugar, it has synthetic thickeners and stabilizers.
Water, sugar, and tomato paste comprise 27.3% of the entire bottle of Maggi ketchup. It also includes preservatives in the form of dehydrated onion and garlic.
REAL JUICE
Every 200 ml pack of Real Juice is marketed to be two times more nutritious than ‘real’ fruits. The front packaging includes terms like real fruit power, no-added preservatives, rich in vitamin C, and more.
To verify all these terms are accurate, look at the ingredients section at the back. It has high sugar content, acidity regulators, antioxidants, stabilizers, natural flavours, and colours. These elements interfere with  Gut microbiome and reduces the good flora. The impact leads to digestion issues and poor absorption of nutrients.
On average, the real concentrated fruit in a 1-litre Real Juice is only 12.03%. Concentrated fruit juice is processed through several layers of manufacturing that damage the nutrients. It is prepared after boiling fruit juices to create a thick consistency. They then add water and all the ingredients mentioned above.
The pack has 13.4 grams of carbohydrates for every 100 ml that only comes from sugar. It also has 7.4 grams of added sugar. The 1-litre juice pack recommends one serving size of 150 ml, but they sell their smallest pack of 180 ml as one serving.
Ways to choose healthier grocery items
Confused about the healthy food brands in India? Here are ways to shortlist things to purchase:
Look for healthier alternatives
Expecting the readers of Half Life To Health to abolish the usage of the products above can feel forced. We don’t want you to compromise on your tastebuds, but we want you to replace unhealthy products with healthier ones.
We suggest relying on home-made chutneys / pickles for that additional flavor. However, if you are short on time here are few suggestions
You can buy Napuor organic tomato sauce instead of Maggi tomato ketchup. It is made from tomato pulp, water, jaggery, rock salt, spices, and acetic acid. Some healthier brands like Orchard Lane, D-Alive, and Refresh Organics sell tomato ketchup.
The only disadvantage of buying such products is the price gap. But when you cannot exclude items like these, paying slightly more for healthier ones is better.
Reading nutrition labels
When you find a product interesting because the package is bright and has health claims in front, turn it over for verification. Look through the ingredients to ensure that the product you want to purchase will add dietary value. Choosing products low in carbs, sodium, and sugar and high in fibre and protein is your go-to option.
Lookout for sneaky ingredients
If a product displays sugar-free in front but has terms like fructose or sucrose at the back, it isn’t sugar-free. There are many ways to disguise sugar or add alternatives like purified stevia leaf extracts, acesulfame potassium, saccharin, etc. Before adding them to your diet, you must know if your health condition allows you to incorporate products with such alternatives.
Choosing raw alternatives
It is better to purchase frozen, dried, and canned products than those with preservatives.
For example, a healthy fruit juice brand will optimize the fruit content and minimize artificial flavouring. Neither a bad product nor a slightly healthier alternative can be as nutritious as raw fruits.
If your lifestyle and geography requires you to consume canned fruits and vegetables, choose the ones with low sodium. But in all circumstances, try to avoid packaged fruit juices.
How to have a healthy diet?
The first step towards a healthier lifestyle is to have a list of healthy and unhealthy food items. But if you are not an expert in nutrition, it will be hard for you to differentiate.
Knowing your body type and nutritional requirement is necessary to alter your diet according to what suits your digestive health. To give you a holistic solution, Half Life To Health takes the initiative to help you recognize such differences.
Our team constantly works with women who believe in our expertise and find significant results that transform their lives. We are working towards building a community where women empower themselves and work towards shaping healthier families.Â
Join us today for a quick consultation as you replace unhealthy products and choose the ones that make you fitter.