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When
is food something more?
July 08, 04
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
Question:
When is food more than something you serve for dinner?
Answer: When it contains a little something extra and becomes
“phood” – a cross between food and drug
designed to impart special health benefits beyond those already
present in ordinary, wholesome foods.
Take orange juice, for example.
By itself, it’s a healthful beverage rich in vitamin
C and folic acid. But add calcium, and it’s a liquid
delivery system for the bone-strengthening mineral.
Another example: margarine such as Benecol, spiked with plant
stanol esters – natural components of vegetable oils,
corn, beans and wood – found in studies to lower blood
cholesterol levels.
There are beverages with added carotenoids and sports bars
with components of soy. Some companies are marketing eggs
rich with omega-3 fatty acids from chickens fed special feed.
Nutrition scientists call products like these “functional
foods,” and they’re a big – and growing
– business.
In part, that’s due to research demonstrating beneficial
effects of phytochemicals, including certain vitamins, minerals,
and other substances from plants that can have drug-like effects.
This comes at the same time that people are generally more
open to alternative approaches to health and healing.
And as I reported last year, the Food and Drug Administration
has also relaxed the standards for health claims on food labels.
The new food labeling policy allows foods to carry health
claims if the “weight of scientific evidence”
supports the claim. The previous rules were stricter and called
for “significant scientific agreement” on health
claims for specific foods.
The change has opened the door for products bearing health
claims that previously would not have been permitted.
Why should you care?
Because lower standards for health claims – coupled
with a burgeoning market for functional foods – means
there’s a greater risk to consumers that you’ll
pay a premium price for products that, in reality, aren’t
effective and don’t merit the extra cost. Worst case:
the potential for ingredients – such as herbal extracts
– to be consumed in amounts that cause adverse health
effects.
Many of these products, of course, are fine. Calcium-fortified
orange juice, breads and cereals with added folate –
a vitamin that helps protect against neural tube defects in
infants – and fiber, such as oat bran, benefit some
people. But in general, when you consider products with health
claims, keep these tips in mind:
* Be skeptical. Be aware that the standards for health claims
are lower now than they were in the past. Read food labels
with an eye toward common sense. If a claim seems too good
to be true, it probably is.
* Consider the total product. Eggs loaded with omega-3 fatty
acids are still high in cholesterol. Cookies that contain
added antioxidants or cholesterol-lowering soy protein but
are high in added sugars, sodium, trans- or saturated fats
defeat the purpose.
* Keep the big picture in sight. Processed foods with a couple
of added ingredients such as soy isoflavones or antioxidant
nutrients, are unlikely to trump whole, unprocessed foods
in their natural state, such as fruits, vegetables, whole
grains and legumes.
Government regulation should ensure that health claims on
food products don’t overstate benefits and mislead consumers.
But the current rules fall short, so the onus is on each of
us to educate ourselves and make wise choices.
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