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Sold on healthy living?
Opinion: Low calories, fat free and smart marketing doesn't make food healthy.
What is this "healthy living" that the whole world seems to be talking about? You can't turn down a food aisle without seeing signs such as: “For a healthy lifestyle..." or "Only 102 calories..." or "You'll see a difference in just two weeks".
We are a generation that wants to look good and feel great all the time. We want to get the most out of life. Retailers know this - if something is supposedly healthy, we often think that by eating/ drinking it, we will be able to live longer and get more out of life. However, it is often a major scam in Ireland, at least in the majority of shops.
I'm going to take Superquinn as a case study. Recently I saw on my mother’s shopping receipt that Superquinn’s organic eggs cost €3.15 for a 6 pack and Superquinn’s organic blueberry's cost €3:99! I wonder is it the 'Superquinn' or the 'organic' that makes it so dear?
"Organic" means foods that have been grown in soil free of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. However, I can't see how eggs could be non-organic, don't you just take the egg from under the chicken?!
Organic food should be cheaper; but we are willing to pay high prices because we have a fixation that organic food is healthier food. Organic fruit and vegetables are thought to be more nutritious (See the Irish Organic Farmers and Growers website for more info).
You can check whether the food you’re getting is really organic by looking for the Approved Organic certified logo (See here). However, often the best thing to do is check where products were made and the shelf life - if it says "Egypt" and has a shelf life of two weeks, I would steer clear! If you’re going organic, you would be safer sticking with certified Irish or English products.
Do you notice how expensive all the dieting foods are in shops? For example, Kellogg’s costs around €2.59? They even have a ‘Two week challenge' to entice the consumer- it's a load of nonsense! Kellogg’s cereals have fibre but are also high in salt and sugar compared with a traditional bowel of porridge! And again the 'Danone Activia 4pk' (€2.75) has the slogan "Activia, actively good" – I think you would be better off using that money for something else in this time of recession. I'm just saying, be wary of persuasive 'healthy' products, they might be good but it would be a hell of a lot healthier and cheaper to buy an apple!
I always say that we should never have discovered those darn E numbers - what good are they? Can't we go back 60 years, when there were no big supermarkets and there was only organic food?! We have become lazy; it seems so easy to buy a readymade soup (full of additives) rather than making it ourrselves. You see all these 'low in salt or sugar’ items. They seem good, but just think of all the other (worse) ingredients they could put in instead of salt and sugar!
My best suggestions for anyone who wants to stay healthy is to never skip breakfast and have tea before 7 in the evening. Exercise for a half an hour or more at least three times a week. Beware of alcohol - it's high in carbohydrates, so drink it in moderation if you’re not willing to give it up! With eating, stay away from sweets and of course lazy food....Keep it simple and natural with plenty of water, fruit,veg, organic meat and fish!
Oh and it is Ireland so don't forget suncream!
Thanks for reading.
By: Laura Keogh
