additives

Question
A friend told me she avoids all the additives and chemicals added to foods. I think that's a good thing, but she said she also avoids foods that are labeled "low fat" or "low sodium" or "sugar free" because to be able to alter the food in that way, they add other things to it and it upsets her stomach. Is it true that to change foods to be 'low sodium' etc., they use more additives?  Thanks

Answer
Hi Lee,

That's a good question, and the answer is, "not necessarily".

The way to tell is to read the food label panel where the ingredients are and compare products.
For instance, if you compare two types of salad dressing and one says "fat free", yes, there are definitely ingredients added to the fat free dressing to make it appear, feel, and taste like the one with fat.

Sometimes if I find a "sugar free" tea or "diet tea" I like to think it's just good old brewed tea that's put in a can or a bottle--but usually it's not. I read the ingredient level and see that it's got sucralose or stevia or aspartame, and I just want plain tea! So I have to find one called "unsweetened". (and I still read the label just to be sure)

And definitely if you see "low calorie orange juice" it's got something funky changed in it for sure!

BUT, there are examples of low fat/salt/sugar foods that are just plain lower!
-A lower sodium soup may simply have less salt added to it (there could be some spices and seasonings they believe will make it taste better, but not necessarily a chemical additive)
- Low-sodium crackers, chips and pretzels just have no salt put on the tops
- Low-fat milk has some (or all) of the fat skimmed off it, and NOTHING is added to it (except fat-soluble vitamins in some brands)

And sometimes a product is just making a claim, and the product has not changed at all: examples that come to mind are "cholesterol-free peanut butter", "caffeine-free 7-up" and some candy bars that advertise "less fat"--like peppermint patties and 3 musketeers bars-- and in small print it says "compared to other full-sized candy bars", most of which contain nuts... which are naturally high in fat and calories.

So, the bottom line is, there's no 'always' about it. You have to take each individual case, read the ingredient label (the truth will always be there), and compare it to the original product to detect changes that were made!  

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