• Binzy_Boi@supermeter.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    136
    ·
    8 months ago

    I work on OpenFoodFacts, and the big issue is simply the amount of saturated fats and refined sugars there are in a lot of processed foods.

    Like, sure, people have to be held personally responsible to some extent, but it should also be on the government to properly regulate how foods are advertised. I really appreciate the Nutriscore system that’s being pushed for in Europe despite the flaws it has, and here in Canada they’ve been making some changes in how certain products are shown on shelves such as requiring labeling if they’re high in sugar or fats and changing the previous confusing labels for energy drinks with a more easy-to-read Supplemental Food Facts label.

    End of the day though, if something is still being labelled as being “healthy” when it really isn’t, that’s all it takes to fool the average consumer unfortunately. Stuff like Lucky Charms shouldn’t be advertised to kids as “part of a complete breakfast”, and it’s absurd that a lot of “healthier” alternatives to certain foods are being advertised that way despite only being barely any better than the original product, like turkey bacon or veggie straws.

    • Buffaloaf@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      58
      ·
      8 months ago

      Like when Coke argued in court that no reasonable person would think Vitamin Water is actually good for you.

      • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        21
        ·
        8 months ago

        Yes, but I don’t remember if that was before or after Fox News successfully argued that no reasonable person would mistake them for a News Outlet

    • morphballganon@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      37
      ·
      8 months ago

      You can have something packed with sugars that says “NO FAT!” on the label, and otherwise intelligent people will think it’s healthy.

        • whoisearth@lemmy.ca
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          6
          ·
          8 months ago

          Full fat or no fat!

          Also, I enjoy a cold cereal once in a while but people need to stick with the classics.

          Also oatmeal > cereal

          • shuzuko@midwest.social
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            8 months ago

            Shitty cereal is my weakness, but even then you can fit it into an otherwise healthy diet as a treat every now and then. I just buy the tiny box once a month and only have a few bowls. Working on a box of fruity pebbles right now, lol.

            • whoisearth@lemmy.ca
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              8 months ago

              My son has celiac. Fruity pebbles is one of the few he can safely have. I made the mistake of reading into the food coloring they use I guess there’s some unconfirmed links to ADD lol. FML we can’t win.

        • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          8 months ago

          To be fair I can’t figure out what to have for breakfast. I have issues with low blood sugar recently so I’ve been having… Lucky Charms :/. I just need to cut calories elsewhere I guess

            • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              8 months ago

              Yeah I had a seizure in early January and the culprit seemed to be low blood sugar. When I came to, they took a blood glucose reading and it was 50. I suspect some medicines I was taking at the time were artificially reducing my blood sugar without me realizing it.

              So these days, I would never dare it yeah haha. Isn’t protein something I want to avoid though, since it doesn’t really add to my blood sugar and just makes me feel full? I’m not following I guess.

            • dubyakay@lemmy.ca
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              2
              arrow-down
              3
              ·
              edit-2
              8 months ago

              Oats cooked in full fat non-homogenized milk, toss an egg or two in near the end and stir well. Top with ripe bananas or blueberries. Stir in some honey, but not the pasteurized shit and avoid spring variants.

              Edit: this (and variants) was my breakfast for a year at the age of 35 and I went from 90kg to 75. No lunch, only dinner around 6PM, only coffee in between. Admittedly I also biked 20-40km a day and did some dumbbell and calisthenics exercises.

          • SmoothIsFast@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            3
            ·
            edit-2
            8 months ago

            Overnight oats with protein powder and fruit, Chia pudding with fruit and Greek yogurt, eggs and whole wheat toast with guacamole or avocado, protein pancakes with fruit and Greek yogurt,

            Something high in protein and with low glycemic index carbs.

            You want something that will digest over a long time and release sugars and nutrients into the blood steadily, not something high in refined highly available sugars which hit the bloodstream all at once and spike blood sugar, then when it’s all used up your blood sugar dips back down sharply.

            • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              8 months ago

              Mmmm. Scrambled eggs, whole wheat toast with real fruit jam, and then fruit or Greek yogurt should be good too then right? Because that actually sounds delicious.

          • Sodis@feddit.de
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            3
            ·
            8 months ago

            Oats and nuts maybe? They’re filling and will last you quite some time.

    • Kethal@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      24
      ·
      8 months ago

      Lobbyists have even polluted the ingredient label on the back. Now they can list a brand name as an ingredient, then list the ingredients of that. This lets them disguise the most prevalent ingredients if they’re also part of the brand.

      Water, oil, sugar, xantham gum, Bob’s secret spice (enough sugar so that if the label were truthful, sugar would be the second ingredient instead of the third, cinnamon, nutmeg).

      • Mkengine@feddit.de
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        8 months ago

        I never used the ingredient list to determine sugar content, since there also is a table on the back with g sugar / 100 g product. Is that not printed on the products package where you live?