You’re at the grocery store looking for healthy options for you and your family. You may see products that use words like “Veggies,” “Packed with Vitamins”, “Low in Fat,” but are these foods really good for you? Companies like to use marketing techniques to sell you a product, but are you really getting the benefits from what they claim? Often, they are using your health-conscious intentions to increase sales. Label reading is important when trying to determine if a product is really as good for you as it claims to be. Here’s a few examples of products to be wary of:

1. Reduced fat peanut butter: If you are trying to lose weight, a product labeled “reduced fat”

must be better for you right? Wrong. Consider the nutrition labels of regular vs reduced fat peanut butter: Regular peanut butter has 16 grams of fat and 190 calories, and reduced fat has 12 grams of fat and 180 calories. A difference of 10 calories is not significant and will likely not help you lose weight. If the reduced fat peanut butter has 6 grams less fat, then why isn’t it lower in calories? If you look even more into the labels, regular peanut butter has 6 grams of carbohydrates, while the reduced fat has 14 grams. The 2nd ingredient on the reduced fat peanut butter is corn syrup solids, while that is not found on the regular peanut butter. Peanuts are a good source of healthy fats with many health benefits, so why take that out just to add sugar? The bottom line is the company wants to have an extra product on the shelves to make more money.

2. “Veggie” chips: The push to eat more vegetables may lead you to try anything with “veggie” in the name. You might notice the colorful veggie chips at the store, but unfortunately they don’t count towards your 5-a-day. The first 2 items in the ingredients list are potato flour and potato starch, which means you’re not getting the real benefits of eating vegetables such as antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and water content. The green and red colors are achieved by a little tomato paste and spinach powder, but not anywhere near the equivalent of eating these veggies. If you want to enjoy a true veggie chip, try baking your own kale chips. Wash kale and cut into into bite size. Brush lightly with olive oil and season with spice of your choice (try curry or chili powder for some spice). Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

3. Sports drinks: There’s almost an entire isle dedicated to these drinks. You see commercials that glorify them and make you feel like you need them to stay hydrated. In some cases, sports drinks can be beneficial for people than are engaging in strenuous, high impact exercise. However, for the average person they just contribute to excess sugar in your diet. After normal workout, your body needs water and a high protein snack like Greek yogurt with fruit to help your muscles recover. A drink that claims to provide vitamins may seem healthy, but it’s basically fortified sugar water. Sugary beverages contribute to weight gain because the contain calories but not nutrients and doesn’t provide the feeling of satiety. Getting vitamins from eating a variety of foods is the best way to give your body what it needs.