yogurt....yum

The reading this week was interesting. Although Kellogg was the first company to advertise improved health outcomes by consuming their product, it seems so standard nowadays. I feel like I can't go grocery shopping without having to sift through all of the health messages on the packaging, deciding which to believe and which have unhealthy ingredients hiding inside. Even at certain grocery stores that advertise that they are "fresh and easy" (without naming any names) have a lot of items that are advertised as healthy options, but after inspecting the nutrition labels are filled with saturated fats and sugar. It is really hard to think past all of the healthy propaganda that food companies put out there. I can see how people not in public health, who don't learn about how obese the United States is every week, could take all the advertisements at face-value and think they are eating healthy when in reality their food may just me low in fat, but high in sugar and salt. Even people who are in public health (myself) get sucked in sometimes. For example: frozen yogurt!!! Where most flavors are advertised as non-fat!!! Sounds AMAZING!!!!! right? It is one of my favorite desserts that I am always in the mood for, and even after I read the nutrition facts and pile it to almost half a pound worth, still have this idea that it is a healthy option. Although in some respects it may be a "better" choice it is not always a "good" choice. For example my favorite holiday option at my local yogurtland: pumpkin has 36.1 calories per Oz!!!!!! Which, lets be honest, I usually get 8 oz which puts me at 288.8 calories, plus of course my delicious toppings such as walnuts and graham crackers and I am easily past 300 calories and over 48 grams of sugar. So not really something I should be treating my self to every other day, no matter how much I really want to. Although advertising is somewhat regulated by having to meet certain guidelines to have claims such as "high in fiber" or "non-fat" they are still very misleading because they are not advertising their other hidden high sugar, fat, or salt. No wonder people have such a difficult time in the United States to make healthy options; advertising companies are feeding on our weaknesses and getting us to buy food we think is "healthy" when that is not always the case.