Foods may not live up to manufacturers' claims

As part of Diet Detective's effort to expose the truth about the foods we eat, here are a few recent health pitches from manufacturers.

•Kellogg's Yogos Rollers ( www.kelloggs.com).

Claims: Made with "real fruit and yogurt,” has 100 percent of the daily requirement for vitamin C and is a good source of calcium.

Facts: This has fruit and yogurt, 100 percent of the daily requirement for vitamin C and 100 milligrams of calcium. With 80 calories, 1 gram of saturated fat and 10 milligrams of sodium per serving, it's a low-fat, low-saturated-fat, low-sodium food.

Concerns: "The fruit and yogurt are just in trace amounts: Yogurt is almost the last ingredient on the label, and the first ingredient — fruit concentrate — is closely followed by a couple of types of added sugar,” said Dawn Jackson Blatner, American Dietetic Association spokeswoman.

David Ludwig, author of "Ending the Food Fight” (Houghton Mifflin, 2007) and director of the Optimal Weight for Life clinic at Children's Hospital, Boston, calls this "fake food,” saying it's a "highly processed product, chock-full of factory-produced ingredients, bearing little resemblance to anything from nature. The minor amount of actual yogurt present is heat-treated after culturing, so the potentially beneficial probiotics (yogurt bacteria) are destroyed. Then, to top it all off, they add a host of artificial flavors and colors. Thus, the healthful associations with fruit and yogurt in the title are totally misleading.”

Bottom line: Low-fat yogurt with real fruit is clearly better. But, Blatner said, because of the added vitamin C and calcium in Yogos Rollers, it could be the lesser of evils compared to other snacks.

•Stonyfield YoKids (www. stonyfield.com).

Claims: This is a healthful, organic, low-fat snack.

Facts: These squeezes are 60 calories per tube and have 1 gram of fiber. Compared with Yogos Rollers, "Stonyfield YoKids is what we call a ‘real food.' The first ingredient is organic low-fat milk; added sugar is listed once and comprises well under half the total calories; live probiotic (yogurt) cultures are present; and all ingredients are natural. Since it's actually very low in total fat, top it off with a few nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds) for a balanced, nutritious snack,” Ludwig said.

Concerns: Not too many.

Bottom line: A good choice for a child's (or adult's) snack.

•Hellmann's/Best Foods Mayonnaise (www.hell

manns.com).

Claims: The concept is that Hellmann's mayonnaise is made with "simple ingredients” such as eggs, oil and vinegar, so it represents "real food,” not the overprocessed foods being marketed today.

Facts: The recipe for traditional mayonnaise calls for eggs, vegetable oil, vinegar and seasonings. Hellmann's uses these ingredients, as do other brands of mayonnaise. Foods such as mayonnaise and vegetable oils are excellent sources of heart-healthy unsaturated fats as well as vitamin E and essential fatty aids. A good diet should have 20 percent to 35 percent of calories from fat, predominantly unsaturated fat, so mayonnaise is a healthful spread, said Joan Salge Blake, a Boston University nutrition professor.

Concerns: A tablespoon of mayonnaise provides 90-105 calories. All foods can be healthful in the right portions. But Americans don't do well with portions: They underestimate and overindulge. "If you want some mayo on your turkey sandwich or to make tuna salad, 1 to 2 teaspoons is a good rule of thumb,” said Elisa Zied, a New York City dietitian and author of "Feed Your Family Right!” (Wiley, 2007).

Bottom line: Real or not, mayonnaise is high in calories.

•Frito Lay's Flat Earth Fruit and Veggie Crisps ( www.flatearth.com).

Claims: You get half a serving of real fruit in every ounce, and this is a nutritious snack.

Facts: Baked potato chips are actually lower in calories at 120 calories per ounce (one handful) compared with 130 for Flat Earth chips. Plus, the Flat Earth chips have more fat. Also, the first ingredient for the chips is dehydrated potatoes, whereas the Flat Earth Fruit or Veggie Crisps have flour as their first ingredient.

"The veggie versions' primary ingredients are rice flour, potato flakes and corn oil. Pumpkin, which is what boosts the vitamin A to 20 percent of daily value, comes up sixth on the ingredient list. Tomato paste, the other vegetable used, is even farther down in the ingredient list. The fruit versions at least have dried apples within the first three ingredients,” said Lona Sandon, a professor of nutrition at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

Concerns: It's easy to be lulled into a false sense that Flat Earth Crisps are healthy.

Bottom line: Chips are not replacements for real fruits and vegetables.

Charles Stuart Platkin is a nutrition and public health advocate and founder of DietDetective.com.