WANTED trustworthy, reliable light food!

In any case, what IS a light product? We talk so much about them but do we know what they are made of?

By definition low calorie products are those which have 30% fewer calories than the same food in its natural or "NORMAL" form.  This reduction can be achieved by decreasing the amounts of sugar or fat or replacing them with other ingredients with fewer calories.  

The most common type of low calorie products are:

"Low (reduced) in carbohydrates”:

It includes food products that have les sugar (or no sugar) than the original food.  Most of them contain artificial sweeteners like saccharin, acesulfame K, aspartame, sucralose or natural sweeteners like stevia or fructose in order to maintain the sweetness without adding many calories.

“Low (reduced) fat”.

Also called low-fat or nonfat products. These are products that have wholly or partially removed the fat, the most common are dairy products (milk, cheese, butter, etc).

When choosing this type of food, check that those which say "low fat" have not used starch or sugar as a substitute. If so, it is better to choose the healthier natural (full calorie) version.  Remember that sugar and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) have been identified as responsible for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and obesity.

In order to be certain that what we buy is really low in calories, I suggest you compare how many calories per serving the light product that you like contains and how it compares to the equivalent "normal" or non light product.

It is important to state that light products DO NOT MAKE you lose weight.  Many of us fall into the trap of eating them as if they had no calories and end up gaining more weight.  To get a clearer picture, a tablespoon of mayonnaise contains about 100 calories, while the light version provides about 50 calories.  Therefore, if we fall into the mistake of since being a light product we can eat twice as much, in the end we will be eating the same calories and fat grams than if it were regular mayonnaise.

One of the biggest problems when choosing light food is that it doesn’t make us feel as satisfied as when we eat the normal version (with fat).  Fat has the quality of making us feel "full" for a longer time after eating. Also, with those foods where the fat has been replaced by sugars, we will feel hunger faster and for some of us even anxiety.

Personally, when I choose light food I seek those with natural ingredients, I prefer those that are low fat than those containing artificial substitutes of sugar or fat.  The natural product will always the best choice, the most reliable and environmentally friendly.

Low calorie products, chosen with knowledge can be helpful for weight loss, glucose control (in the case of people with diabetes), reduce blood cholesterol levels and in some cases help to a healthier diet.

So, don’t just choose them because it says LITE, LIGHT, or LOW CALORIES on the packaging.  Let's take two minutes to read the labels. Do not fall into the trap, choose wisely.

See you next week.