Cool Whip/Whipped toppings: light, fat free, or sugar free? Which is best?

After the last post about strawberries, it is only appropriate to discuss whipped toppings-a topping commonly used in strawberry dishes.  Which is best regular, light, fat free or sugar free...that is the question. We made a chart to compare not only calories, fat and sugar, but also to compare the ingredients in the products.  Check it out below:

image sources: Cool Whip, Reddi Wip

What does all this mean?  All of the Cool Whips are 15-25 calories/2 tbsp while the Fat-Free Reddi Wip is 5 calories/2 tbsp.  The Regular Cool Whip has more sugar and fat (which is expected) than any of the others compared.  The Sugar-Free Cool Whip and Fat-Free Reddi Wip has less sugar and the Fat-Free Cool Whip and Fat-Free Reddi Wip has less fat than the others.  By calories, fat and sugar alone, the Fat-Free Reddi Wip wins big. 

Looking at the ingredients, water is the first ingredient in all the Cool Whips while cream (imagine that) is the first ingredient in the Fat-Free Reddi Wip.  Note: the Regular Cool Whip has cream, but it is the 6th ingredient listed on the label.  Remember, the ingredients are listed in order of amounts that are actually in the product.  So, the higher on the list the more of it the product contains.  Each of the Cool Whips contain corn syrup (a source of sugar), hydrogenated vegetable oil (trans fat), and high fructose corn syrup (a source of sugar) while the Fat-Free Reddi Wip does not have any hydrogenated vegetable oil or high fructose corn syrup.

The bottom line: The Fat-Free Reddi Wip wins in all categories and is the best choice to top your strawberries this season based on calories, fat, sugar & ingredients.  You can find it in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, unlike Cool Whip which is located in the freezer section.  

Food Labels: Health Claims vs. Marketing

There are 3 different claims that you might find on a food and nutrition label of any food product on the market.  They are 1) Health Claims, 2) Structure/Function Claims, and 3) Nutrient Content Claims.  These claims are regulated by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA).  

Last week we blogged on Nutrient Content Claims, so it only seemed appropriate to do a quick blog on health claims. The FDA states that health claims 'describe a relationship between a food, food component, or dietary supplement ingredient, and reducing risk of a disease or health-related condition'. A health claim has 2 parts: 1) some kind of substance (ie. food, food product or dietary ingredient) & 2) a disease or health related condition (ie. high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, etc).  

An example of a health claim might be "diets high in calcium may reduce the risk of osteoporosis" or "diets low in dietary fat may reduce the risk of some cancers".  Calcium and low dietary fat have been studied over the years and the conclusive evidence from research suggests that they reduce the risk of the stated above.  The FDA has certain requirements that these claims must maintain.  Read HERE for a complete list of health claims and their requirements.  

As you can see these claims are regulated and have evidence to back them up.  Therefore, they are appropriate for the consumer to know and so they are appropriate to be placed on the label of a food product. If a consumer is interested in reducing their risk of osteoporosis, knowing that the products they are deciding between will or will not help them in that goal is important to purchasing a product.  

On the other hand, there are claims that the manufacture places on the label that are not regulated by the FDA.  These claims are simply marketing claims.  They grab your attention and try to make you think you NEED a product based on the claim being marketed and a lot of times they are successful in doing so.  However, the research and evidence to back them up is not there! Be aware of these statements-they are traps to get you to buy their product.  Here is a short list of "marketing claims" that manufacturers use to get your money!

• Doctor-recommended
• Eco-friendly
• Energy
• Green
• Naturally raised, naturally grown
• Natural (except for the term's regulated use on meat and poultry)
• High-quality
• Local
• No additives
• Sustainable
• Wholesome

The food label and design, along with the claims, can be very eye-catching and persuasive when deciding between products, but you must be careful what "catchy" images or words make you purchase a product.  Think through and know the difference between something that is helpful in knowing and something that is just there to encourage you to purchase a product! Those marketers are good...but we can outsmart them if we understand what they are doing!

  

What Does THAT Mean on the Food Label?

The food label provides a plethora of information that most Americans can only dream about understanding.  What they do understand is something that grabs their attention whether it is the color, images or design on the product container.  In addition to the design, the words can also provide a reason to choose a product over another.  Phrases like "lower calorie", "good source of", and "fat-free" are at the top when it comes to grabbing the consumers attention when they are deciding between similar products. 

What are those phrases and what do they mean?  They are "nutrient claims" that are regulated by the FDA and must meet certain requirements in order to be noted on a products' package/container. Read on HERE in an article by the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics to find out what the requirements are for the claims that you see most often.     

Do you see the claim in the picture below?  (hint: reduced fat)

Image Source

Can We Trust the Nutrition Facts Label?

Many Registered Dietitians promote using the nutrition facts label to understand basic concepts of nutrition such as calories, protein, carbohydrates, etc. It is a great tool for necessary record keeping.  However, knowing and understanding the nutrition facts label is another story. 

Have you ever seen a product's nutrition facts label say 0 calories, 0 fat, 0 this, 0 that....0 everything! This is GREAT, right?? Wrong!  What the label (or better yet, the manufacturer) is trying to tell you is 'buy me I'm 0 calories', but what you should know is the FDA has a list of Food Labeling Guide Rules that manufactures must follow.  One of those "rules" is that if the product has less than 0.5 grams of total fat in the labeled serving size it can be marketed as Fat Free and therefore be labeled as 0 grams total fat.  Did you get that?  The product still has 0.5 grams or less per serving size.  So, if the serving size is 1 tbsp and you eat 4 tbsp, you could potentially be consuming up to 2 grams total fat when you thought it you were consuming 0 grams of total fat! Follow this link to see these kind of claims & the rules.

Now for a real food example, spray butter.  Parkay or I Can't Believe It's Not Butter are the most popular and wide spread-both are marketed as 0 calories, 0 grams fat, 0 grams trans fat...etc.  Read this to understand what is really going on with this Fat Free & Calorie Free food-an awesome example to keep you on your toes when you think what you are eating is 0 calories!  Spray butters are a great way to reduce calories and still get that buttery, savory flavor that is desired. However, if you are dumping the bottle on a ear of corn and thinking you aren't adding any calories-guess again.  The entire bottle has 832 calories & 93 total grams of fat-hardly calorie or fat free!

The nutrition facts panel is still a great resource, but we want you to understand and know that when something is too good to be true...it probably is! Be informed before making choices. Know what you can expect in certain claims made on nutrition facts labels.