Are We Being Misled By Food Labels?
Article Round-Up: 1.19.25
Enjoy this week’s curated round-up of articles, videos, and more from the web to help you live a healthier, happier life.
Featured Thoughts:
Is Intermittent Fasting The Key To Killing Cravings?
Takeaway: Did Chris Pratt use intermittent fasting to get shredded for his movie roles?
Maybe, but does that mean you should give it a whirl?
Also maybe.
But also maybe not.
It’s not magic, but could provide some unique benefits.
Published This Week:
From Medication to Maintenance: Your Guide to Sustainable Weight Loss with Semaglutides
Takeaway: Semaglutides can be a powerful tool for weight loss, but relying on them without building sustainable lifestyle habits can lead to setbacks once the medication stops.
By focusing on nutrient habits, strength training, and understanding emotional triggers, you can set yourself up for long-term success.
Abstain vs Moderate: A New Way To Diet [podcast]
Takeaway: You’ve heard of your fair share of diets. Some ultra-restrictive, some only marginally suffering-inducing. And yet, they all sound terrible to follow for long periods of time.
Part of the problem could be our misunderstanding of our own food preferences.
In this podcast episode, the hosts discuss why some people are perfectly content with moderation while others need the whole dang container.
Listen to the episode to learn more about each type, and how to make your type work for you.
The Specific Meaning of Words You Think You Know on Food Labels
Takeaway: Did you know the FDA has no formal definition for what “Natural” means as it pertains to the foods we eat?
The workable definition is something like, “The general understanding that it implies nothing artificial or synthetic has been added that would not normally be expected to be added.”
For a food to be labeled “High” in anything, it must contain at least 20% or more of the recommended daily amount of that specific nutrient.
“Good Source” only requires 10-19% of daily recommended amounts of that nutrient.
While this may sound good and well, it’s important to note in some cases the FDA guidelines for recommended nutrients can be off-base.
Take protein, for example. The FDA suggest adults aim for 50g of protein per day. This is substantially lower than our goal of 1g per pound of our ideal bodyweight. (sometimes by as much as 75+% too low.)
A food could be labeled “High Protein” as long as it contains just 10g of protein per serving. It can be a “Good Source of Protein” as long as it contains 5-9.5g protein per serving.
If your goal is to eat 150g of protein (for someone weighing 150lbs), this 10g would only contribute 6.7% of your daily protein needs.
This is why we shouldn’t be looking to the marketing labels on food to make our purchasing decisions.
P.S. As of this email, TikTok might be banned in the United States.
Personally, I don’t care either way. But I will say its inaccessibility will be one less distraction for me. Maybe that means I’ll be more productive? :-)