Every time I read a magazine or walk down the supermarket aisles, I see packages, advertisements or promotions trying to lure consumers into living a better life. I looked into a few of the latest health pitches to see whether the claims meet my expectations.
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•Hershey's Reserve ( www.hersheys.com/cacaoreserve/main.
aspx). Is it better than regular chocolate?
This chocolate comes in several styles; I chose the fancy tin container at my supermarket checkout line. Each tin contains six truffles in 65 percent cacao (dark chocolate) or 35 percent cacao (milk chocolate), at 50 calories per candy.
Eating chocolate has health benefits. Registered dietitian Teresa Moore, a University of South Carolina professor, said, "Cacao contains polyphenols (potent plant-based compounds also found in tea and red wine) that may act as antioxidants, which may help reduce LDL (bad cholesterol) oxidation and modulate platelet activity, both of which contribute to cardiovascular disease. Cacao also contains biogenic amines that may help enhance feelings of well-being, methylxanthines such as caffeine that act as stimulants, and anandamide, which helps give feelings of heightened euphoria.” Even with these health benefits, the idea is not to add the chocolate to your diet but to use it to replace a less healthy food. For instance, if you typically eat a bag of Skittles or have a Snickers bar, you would be better off having chocolate with high cacao content.
Bottom line: Kudos to Hershey's for promoting a healthier chocolate, but don't forget that this is still candy and should be eaten occasionally, not daily. But if you eat chocolate, the more cacao, the better.
•"Don't Go Hungry” campaign by Post Cereal (www.kraft
foods.com/posthealthyclassics/mm_home.html). Will it fend off hunger?
Most cereals these days seem to have a health claim. The latest: the campaign for all Post Shredded Wheat, Raisin Bran, Grape-Nuts Original and Grape-Nuts Trail Mix Crunch claiming to prevent hunger.
Elisa Zied, spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association and author of "Feed Your Family Right!” said the focus on fiber is good. "You can feel fuller, work toward meeting your daily fiber needs (which many of us do not meet) and incorporate more whole grains (three servings a day), and this can help you in your weight-management efforts.”
But many of these cereals are high in calories and have lots of added sugar. "For example, 1 cup of Post's Honey Nut Shredded Wheat contains 190 calories and 12 grams of sugar (the second and third ingredients on the label are sugar and honey), which makes this a high-sugar food,” Zied said. She recommends no more than 8 grams of added sugar and prefers even less.
Bottom line: Pushing fiber and 100 percent whole grains is good, but the extra sugar is not so good. Your best bet from this batch is Post Shredded Wheat Original Cereal, which has no added sugar, no sodium and about 6 grams of fiber, or Post Original Shredded Wheat 'N Bran, with 1 gram of added sugar, no sodium and 8 grams of fiber.
•Special K Protein Water (www2.kelloggs.com/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?brand=215
&product=7376&cat=protein).Does it really cut down on hunger?
A colleague started buying this 50-calorie drink (5 grams fiber and 5 grams protein) by the case at Costco because he was convinced it was helping him shed pounds.
Lona Sandon, a professor of nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, said, "There is currently no evidence to suggest that drinking protein- and fiber-enhanced water will curb your appetite.”
Zied said, "The added sugar — 6 grams — which provides half the calories, makes this essentially sugar water. And while it has a few vitamins and minerals, which probably can't hurt, in general, protein water is probably not going to reduce hunger unless it's paired with real food and more calories. Also, the drink contains phosphoric acid, which in excess can deplete bones of calcium and promote fractures and bone loss if you fill up on too many of these and don't get ample daily calcium from dairy sources such as milk.”
Bottom line: It shouldn't be a water replacement, but if you're going to have a snack, this could be an OK choice because of the 5 grams of whey protein and the 5 grams of fiber.
•Diet Coke Plus (www.diet
coke.com/press_032207.pdf).Are these vitamins and minerals we need? Is it worth drinking?
Zied said, "We need B vitamins and the minerals zinc and magnesium. But we get all these from a healthy, well-balanced diet that includes all the key food groups — low-fat dairy, lean meats, fish, nuts and seeds, fruits and vegetables, and vegetable oils. I question whether we need to get these vitamins and minerals from glorified beverages such as Diet Coke Plus.”
In fact, most experts recommend getting key vitamins and minerals from food. There is some unknown magical combination that works much better than when nutrients are taken as supplements.
What about the taste? John Craven, editor of the online beverage business magazine BevNET.com, said, "This doesn't taste like Diet Coke, and it uses a different artificial sweetener blend than the original. So, it's not really Diet Coke plus vitamins and minerals. It's more like Diet Coke Reformulated.”
Bottom line: If you're drinking Diet Coke, this is probably an OK alternative. If you happen to be drinking regular Coke, this is a much better choice. But it's not worth adding to your diet if you're just looking for a vitamin supplement.
Charles Stuart Platkin, a nutrition and public health advocate, is founder of DietDetective
.com.
