Low Fat products = high sugar.

blagrovez
blagrovez Posts: 7
edited October 4 in Health and Weight Loss
Over the last two weeks, as I've started tracking my foods on MFP, I've found I'm quite frequently eating 28% less fat than my "goal", but am always WAY over the sugar goal, even though I'm not eating biscuits, cakes, added sugars etc. So I started looking a bit more carefully at the low-fat items. Something I've noticed is that almost all the low fat foods have a much higher sugar content. For example, yoghurt, trim milk, low-fat muesli bars etc. And as both my grandmothers are diabetic, its the carb/sugar content I'm more interested in reducing.
So..I'm considering returning to non-diet products (ie. ditching the low fat ones, not necessarily the sugar-free ones) in moderation, which will also reduce my sugar intake.
I guess I don't really have a question - just disappointed at the number of low-fat foods that are marketed as "healthy" when all they've really done is replace the fat with sugar. Call me naive, but its a revelation to me.

Replies

  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    Oh yes, the power of marketing!!
    I think we have all been duped by the "low fat" label at one time... hopefully most of us can see past it now. I have learnt to read ingredients lists to see what is actually in there and if it is something that I want to eat.

    I think the product that made it really hit home to me was reduced fat peanut butter. I had a little insight "if they've cut out the fat from peanuts, then what have they added instead?" Turns out it was two different kinds of starch/sugar. That's certainly not doing be any favours.
    Now I buy peanut butter that is made of peanuts - just peanuts, and moderate (usually!) how much of it I eat.

    I think there is a real trap in "low fat" and "low cal" products because all they teach us is how to eat more and more of something, instead of eating a moderate amount of real food.

    Well done on picking this up, lots of people believe everything they read on the front of a label and don't bother to go to the small print at the back where the actual info is!
  • Elleinnz
    Elleinnz Posts: 1,661 Member
    Oh yes - The taste of food comes from three things - fat, sugar or salt........so the moment they reduce one of these 3 ingredients it means an increase in the other two......

    "low fat" on the whole is one of the biggest traps when you start looking at reducing calories - so you really need to understand the whole equation - and not be scared of good fats....
  • Elleinnz
    Elleinnz Posts: 1,661 Member
    ,,,
  • blagrovez
    blagrovez Posts: 7
    I know, I've been really gutted to find out that all my efforts to be "healthy" have really only continued to contribute to my diabetes risk. I REALLY wanted a little something sweet at the supermarket the other day, so was checking out the low calorie bars. Sheesh, the sugar content in them was enormous. It has been quite an eye-opener. Score one for the marketing buffoons.

    You know the worst part.... my husband, who loses weight easily if he needs to (which isn't often), eats a fair amount of natural fats, but doesn't have a sweet tooth so doesn't eat a lot of processed sugars, has been telling me the same thing for years ("instead of buying trim milk, you'd be better off buying ordinary milk and watering it down"). Ugh, I hate it when he's right.
  • ziggylove
    ziggylove Posts: 57
    JMO, I think the key is to look at the calories first. Don't get me wrong, lower fat is good, but the calories will account for the sugar content. Though I still avoid sugar substitutes-- they don't taste that great and just feel "wrong".
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