kyrasdad
Thu, Jul-05-07, 12:20
So, this campaign has been going on for a while, but I saw an ad this morning and was amazed at how brazen it was. When all the whole grain hoopla started, people here nailed it when they said it would be easy to advertise a sugary cereal or cookie (and what difference is there besides how you apply the milk?) as "whole grain" and give it a fig leaf of healthiness. Happened to see a whole grain ad this morning that was particularly stomach-turning and it prompted me to look at what they were claiming in the name of whole grain.
The implication is that a whole grain, incredibly unhealthy, sugary item is "healthy" when the truth is it ought to be termed "A tiny bit less unhealthy." Whole grain is better than simple flour products -- but it's not very much better, and the truth they can't tell you is that if dumping processed grains for whole grains is good, then dumping whole grains for none would be best.
http://www.wholegrainlife.com has a lot of the spin. For instance, this page (http://www.wholegrainlife.com/Benefits/HealthBenefits.aspx) says that:
With all the good things that whole grains contain, it’s easy to see why they make up an important part of a healthy diet. In fact, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans encourage the intake of whole grain foods because they are related to important health benefits.
Scientific evidence shows that the benefits of whole grain really add up. Including whole grain as part of a healthy diet may:
* Lead to a healthier heart. Heart-healthy diets rich in whole grain foods can reduce the risk of heart disease.
* Help reduce the risk of certain types of cancers. Regular consumption of whole grains as part of a low-fat diet reduces the risk for some cancers, especially cancers of the stomach and colon.
* Play a role in diabetes management. Making healthy choices, like including whole grain foods, is recommended as part of a diabetic diet by The American Diabetes Association.
* Help keep you regular and your digestive tract running smoothly. Fiber from whole grains promotes regularity and keeps the intestines working smoothly to help maintain good digestive health.
* Help fill you up, not out, especially as you age. A growing body of evidence supports that people who eat more whole grain tend to have healthier body weights and gain less weight over time than those who don’t. This can be important for long-term weight management.
The health benefits of whole grains can’t be pinpointed to one particular component of the grain — it’s the “whole grain package” that makes the difference.
This is genius because they are comparing whole grain relative to processed white flour, not to a diet absent most or all grain products. They can make claims that products are health food (when they clearly are not) using this method. It is only in comparing the whole grain Fruit Loop to the processed grain Fruit Loop that you can make any claim, as flimsy and bogus as it is. You can't make that claim when comparing it to a diet free of Fruit Loops.
The ad I saw this morning (over a lovely piece of breakfast sausage) is here (via YouTube). (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRzxqm4te24&mode=related&search=) .
It's really marketing brilliance, as sick as it is. Amazing that heavy-hitting sugary cereals like Honey-Nut Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Lucky Charms are able to be associated with "healthy" through the Whole Grain labeling. They can do the same with "Organic" and "Trans Fat" type labeling as well.
You don't have to claim that Fruit Loops in particular can help you lose weight. Not when you can claim that whole grains "a growing body of evidence supports that people who eat more whole grain tend to have healthier body weights and gain less weight over time than those who don’t. This can be important for long-term weight management."
Oh, and by the way, these Fruit Loops are Whole Grain. Forget the insulin-spiking sugar and high calorie counts. They may as well be candy, but they are whole grain candy.
The whole thing is deplorable.
The implication is that a whole grain, incredibly unhealthy, sugary item is "healthy" when the truth is it ought to be termed "A tiny bit less unhealthy." Whole grain is better than simple flour products -- but it's not very much better, and the truth they can't tell you is that if dumping processed grains for whole grains is good, then dumping whole grains for none would be best.
http://www.wholegrainlife.com has a lot of the spin. For instance, this page (http://www.wholegrainlife.com/Benefits/HealthBenefits.aspx) says that:
With all the good things that whole grains contain, it’s easy to see why they make up an important part of a healthy diet. In fact, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans encourage the intake of whole grain foods because they are related to important health benefits.
Scientific evidence shows that the benefits of whole grain really add up. Including whole grain as part of a healthy diet may:
* Lead to a healthier heart. Heart-healthy diets rich in whole grain foods can reduce the risk of heart disease.
* Help reduce the risk of certain types of cancers. Regular consumption of whole grains as part of a low-fat diet reduces the risk for some cancers, especially cancers of the stomach and colon.
* Play a role in diabetes management. Making healthy choices, like including whole grain foods, is recommended as part of a diabetic diet by The American Diabetes Association.
* Help keep you regular and your digestive tract running smoothly. Fiber from whole grains promotes regularity and keeps the intestines working smoothly to help maintain good digestive health.
* Help fill you up, not out, especially as you age. A growing body of evidence supports that people who eat more whole grain tend to have healthier body weights and gain less weight over time than those who don’t. This can be important for long-term weight management.
The health benefits of whole grains can’t be pinpointed to one particular component of the grain — it’s the “whole grain package” that makes the difference.
This is genius because they are comparing whole grain relative to processed white flour, not to a diet absent most or all grain products. They can make claims that products are health food (when they clearly are not) using this method. It is only in comparing the whole grain Fruit Loop to the processed grain Fruit Loop that you can make any claim, as flimsy and bogus as it is. You can't make that claim when comparing it to a diet free of Fruit Loops.
The ad I saw this morning (over a lovely piece of breakfast sausage) is here (via YouTube). (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRzxqm4te24&mode=related&search=) .
It's really marketing brilliance, as sick as it is. Amazing that heavy-hitting sugary cereals like Honey-Nut Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Lucky Charms are able to be associated with "healthy" through the Whole Grain labeling. They can do the same with "Organic" and "Trans Fat" type labeling as well.
You don't have to claim that Fruit Loops in particular can help you lose weight. Not when you can claim that whole grains "a growing body of evidence supports that people who eat more whole grain tend to have healthier body weights and gain less weight over time than those who don’t. This can be important for long-term weight management."
Oh, and by the way, these Fruit Loops are Whole Grain. Forget the insulin-spiking sugar and high calorie counts. They may as well be candy, but they are whole grain candy.
The whole thing is deplorable.