Column #74

There’s big money in marketing to vices. Sometimes customers get what they want, but when promotional perceptions of value greatly exceed reality, consumers get scammed.

Naturally, people have the right to pursue their own lifestyles and are free, legally or not, to act on their desires and needs. They base their decisions on past experiences, what they think, or what they believe to be true. Then, just like the stabilizing inertia of a spinning gyroscope, habits and addictions keep them from changing their lifestyles, desires, and needs.

How many money-grabbing vices can you name?

Drugs
Cigarettes
Alcohol
Gambling
Sex
Candy
Soft drinks
Games
Health foods/supplements

The last listing ranks right up there with illegal and prescription drugs. It’s especially relevant in January when people make new year’s resolutions. The universal desire to eat better provides a burst of demand and the health and nutrition marketers see them coming. The marketers test responses to keywords year round in order to best spin their jargon and they know that asking for very much change lowers conversion rates. So, to maximize long-term returns they sell sizzle, not steaks.

There are many keywords for triggering healthier perceptions. Most are legal, but their validity is based on low standards and/or common-knowledge myths. So, unless consumers know the science behind nutrition and food chemistry, they are gambling just like a little old lady playing a one-armed bandit.

Real nutritional guidelines draw a very fine line that eliminates about 95% of all food offerings. The healthiest foods are low glycemic, nutrient dense and diverse, with a 1:1 balance of Omega-6 and Omega-3 essential fatty acids (EFAs). Unfortunately, most keywords and “healthy” recipes promote foods that are high glycemic, nutrient lite, and with unbalanced EFAs because that’s what consumers prefer!

Deceptive keywords include: gluten free, organic, sugar free, vegetable fed, low carb, natural, local, hormone free, low fat, salt free, cage free, fresh, no cholesterol, antioxidants, Omega-3, free range, and more.

Organic never implies low glycemic, nutrient dense and diverse, or 1:1 balances of Omega-6 and Omega-3 EFAs. Nearly all food safety issues involve organic bacteria. Plants produce pesticides naturally. Organic foods have the same fundamental chemistry as their counterparts. Organic sugar (insert name of a food) is chemically identical to plain sugar (insert name of same food).

Gluten free is for celiac disease sufferers. But its healthier connotations compel many to switch from wheat, barley, and rye to far worse grains and seeds such as corn, millet, tapioca, sorghum, and amaranth that have more inflammatory Omega-6 fatty acids and nutrient deficiencies.

“Sugar-free” foods loaded with honey, dates, raisins, fruit juices, or other high glycemic ingredients may be just as damaging as foods with added sugar.

Providing some Omega-3 is meaningless unless it’s balanced with an equal weight of Omega-6. Corn and nuts provide some Omega-3 but, unfortunately, their EFA ratios are sky high. Similarly, all foods have at least one positive attribute. But incomplete foods are problematic.

Most health food keywords are deceptive. If consumers do not educate themselves in food chemistry, they’re just like the gambler who thinks the longer they play the slot machine the more they’ll win. Professional gamblers know the odds and wager accordingly. Knowing how fundamental food chemistry impacts health is like looking behind the curtain. It makes good food choices a snap. Now maybe you understand my disdain for keyword scams.

To your health.

Ted Slanker

Ted Slanker has been reporting on the fundamentals of nutritional research in publications, television and radio appearances, and at conferences since 1999. He condenses complex studies into the basics required for health and well-being. His eBook, The Real Diet of Man, is available online.

Don’t miss these links for additional reading:

Dining on Pesticides

Food Analysis Tables

Educational Science Links

Food Addictions

No Money Behind Nutritional Science