Health Halos: How Great Marketing is Destroying Our Bodies

Stop me if you’ve seen these words or phrases before: “Natural, multi-grain, fat-free, cholesterol-free, gluten-free,” and even “organic” are used to trick consumers into thinking a product is healthier than it actually is.

The same way that a website like Buzzfeed uses certain keywords in a headline to grab your attention, these food companies exploit consumers with catchy, feel-good phrases. These jovial, often misleading terms are known as “health halos.”

Health halos have seen a meteoric rise in the last few years due to consumers latching onto trendy health words. This has allowed shoppers to overestimate the healthfulness of an item based on a single claim (i.e. low-fat, gluten-free). Moreover, US researchers report that consumers frequently confuse “low fat” with “low calorie,” resulting in the overconsumption of certain foods.

Food Marketers Bank on Consumer Confusion

Nutrition is confusing as hell. This is what food companies continue to bank on. Some diets tell you that carbs are the enemy. Others say to avoid fat. And some commit to the tapeworm diet (yes, it’s actually real). Moreover, while you’re deciding which way of eating is best for you, supermarkets continue to overwhelm consumers with too many choices.

In The Paradox of Choice — Why More Is Less written by American psychologist Barry Schwartz, he argues that eliminating consumer choices can greatly reduce anxiety for shoppers.

“Autonomy and freedom of choice are critical to our well being, and choice is critical to freedom and autonomy. Nonetheless, though modern Americans have more choice than any group of people ever has before, and thus, presumably, more freedom and autonomy, we don’t seem to be benefiting from it psychologically.”

When you walk into a supermarket without a gameplan you’re already on your back foot. At this point, the food companies can reel you in with trendy health halos.

Regardless of how you eat or what diet you’re committed to, there’s one thing you should prioritize above all else in nutrition…

No bullshit ingredients.

If your food reads like a shady “terms of service” contract where you can’t make heads or tails of what’s in your food, you should likely avoid it. If you want an easy example of this, go to your kitchen right now and scan your bread. Even if you’re buying organic you’ll see an ingredient label that takes up half the package.

A good ingredient label generally has very few things to list. For example, a peanut butter label should say “peanuts” and “salt.” Not “peanuts, salt, sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oil, molasses” and “diglycerides.”

Less is always more when it comes to ingredient labels.

Health halos are used to stop you from looking at that label. It’s like going to buy a car, seeing “New” or “Low-mileage” and immediately throwing your money at the salesman. If you don’t look under the hood, you might be inheriting a mess of problems.

So, let’s arm you with key knowledge to combat the confusion and debunk these health halos once and for all.

Common Health Halos Debunked

Here are the 5 most common health halos and their actual meaning (and as you’ll soon find out, some have no real meaning at all):

• Organic — The term “organic” is regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), but that doesn’t mean it’s always healthy. Organic means no genetically modified organisms (GMOs), no prohibited substances (most synthetic fertilizers and pesticides), and raising animals in natural conditions while feeding them 100% organic food. It all sounds great until you realize that organic still allows farmers to use chemicals and there are no consensual reports that eating organic is healthier for you. Moreover, some foods are already low in pesticides whether they’re organic or not. Asparagus, avocados, broccoli, cantaloupes, cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, frozen sweet peas, honeydew melons, kiwis, mushrooms, onions, papayas, pineapples, and sweet corn are already low in pesticide residue, thus you’re spending more money for nothing.
• Natural — The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not developed a formal definition for the term natural. Consequently, many companies throw the word all over the packaging of their product. You may see the word used on sugary cereal, yogurts, or granola bars. The word virtually means nothing.
• Gluten-free — Many people equate gluten-free with being healthy. Don’t be fooled. Gluten-free foods still can contain loads of sugar, unhealthy fats like soybean oil and canola oil, and plenty of other shady ingredients on the label. Worst of all, the gluten-free label is sometimes added to foods that are naturally gluten-free.
• Local — Like natural, there is no formal definition of local; it could mean anything. Your food may be grown down the road or possibly 500 miles away. One study showed that 30% of costumers think that local products are also more nutritious.
• Grass-fed — You’re going to get a kick out of this one. The difference between “grass-fed” and “grass-fed, grass-finished” is huge. Simply put, grass-finished beef comes from cattle that ate nothing but grass and forage for their entire lives. Grass-fed, however, may be used to label meat from cattle that started on a grass diet but were finished on a fully grain-based diet. These grain feeds are loaded with antibiotics and other lousy ingredients. So, if you’re only eating “grass-fed” you’re spending extra money for nothing.

Final Thoughts

According to Cornell University, people estimate that, on average, they make about 15 food and beverage-related decisions each day. But the truth is, they make more than 15 times that: we make more than 200 such decisions. This includes restaurants and fast food.

For example, one study compared the public perception of McDonald’s and Subway. While most subjects associated McDonald’s with unhealthy eating, the participants made a fundamental mistake when eating at Subway. Researchers found that people buying from Subway were less accurate at estimating the calories in their meals, underestimating their intake by an average of 151 calories.

Health halos are the result of consumer ignorance and evil marketing genius.

Good marketing could very well mean taking advantage of your customer’s ignorance. However, once they arm themselves with knowledge, good luck keeping them.