HEALTH HALOS: Don't Let the Front of the Packet FOOL YOU!

Walk through a supermarket and apparently everything is healthy.

Natural. High protein. Plant based. Gluten free. No added sugar. Multigrain. High fibre. Organic.

Put enough healthy-sounding words, green leaves and pictures of farms on a packet and suddenly a highly processed snack can look as though it has just wandered in from the vegetable garden.

Welcome to the HEALTH HALO.

A health halo happens when one positive feature of a food makes us assume the whole product is healthy.

The claim might be perfectly legitimate. The problem is the conclusion we draw from it.

So before something earns a regular place in your trolley, turn it over and DICECT it.

1. ORGANIC

Let's get this one straight because organic itself isn't the problem.

A certified organic apple, carrot, oats, lentils, eggs, yoghurt, milk or other whole food can be an excellent choice. Organic certification provides standards around how that food has been produced, including restrictions on synthetic pesticides and fertilisers and requirements covering genetically modified organisms.

In Australia, look for certification from a recognised organic certification body rather than assuming the word or imagery alone tells the whole story.

Where the halo begins: organic describes how ingredients were produced. It doesn't magically change what those ingredients are.

Organic biscuits are still biscuits.Organic chips are still chips.Organic sugar is still sugar.

Organic chocolate containing plenty of sugar and saturated fat doesn't become broccoli because the cocoa and sugar were organically grown.

KWS VERDICT: Organic whole food? Great option. Organic processed food? Still read the packet and know it can still blow the 'good for me' budget.

2. NATURAL / ALL NATURAL

Possibly one of the most powerful words in food marketing.

It sounds wholesome, clean and untouched.

But natural doesn't automatically mean low in sugar, high in fibre, nutrient dense or minimally processed.

Sugar is derived from a plant. So is coconut oil. cautin!

KWS CHECK: Don't ask, “Is it natural?” Ask, “What is actually in it?”

3. NO ADDED SUGAR

Useful information - but don't translate it into “hardly any sugar.”

A product can contain substantial (lots) naturally occurring sugars, and concentrated fruit ingredients can make products very sweet.

e.g 1 cup of natural orange, apple, grapefruit etc juice equates to 10 teaspoons of sugar.

Check the ingredients and the Nutrition Information Panel.

NO ADDED SUGAR ≠ NO SUGAR.

KWS SUGGESTS: Eat the whole fruit instead to get all the fibre and the 100's of unprocessed vitamins and minerals.

4. NO REFINED SUGAR

This one deserves attention.

Honey, maple syrup, rice malt syrup, agave, coconut sugar and various fruit syrups may sound considerably more virtuous than white sugar.

They may differ somewhat in composition, flavour and micronutrients.

But they're still concentrated sources of sugar with the same kilojoule count.

Your metabolism doesn't award something a halo because its sugar was collected by a bee or came in an artisan-looking jar.

5. HIGH PROTEIN

Protein is enormously important, particularly as we age.

But adding protein to something doesn't automatically make the whole product healthy.

Protein bars, protein cookies, protein ice cream, protein yoghurts and protein cereals can still contain substantial amounts of refined ingredients, sweeteners, saturated fat or kilojoules.

KWS Says: Ask two questions:

How much protein am I actually getting? And what else am I eating thats not good for me to get it?

6. GLUTEN FREE

For someone with coeliac disease, gluten-free food is medically essential.

For everyone else, the words “gluten free” shouldn't automatically be translated as “healthier”.

Some gluten-free packaged foods use refined starches and can be relatively very low in fibre.

An apple is naturally gluten free.

So are potatoes.

So is a gluten-free biscuit.

They're clearly NOT nutritionally equivalent.

7. PLANT BASED

Eating more minimally processed plant foods is one of the strongest dietary principles we have.

Vegetables, legumes, fruit, nuts, seeds and whole grains? Fantastic.

But manufacturers can also turn plants into highly processed foods. A plant-based label isn't a nutritional assessment.

“Plant based” tells you where ingredients originated. It doesn't tell you the nutritional quality of the finished product.

KWS VERDICT: read the label, if you don't know what the word, or chemical is AVOID!!

8. VEGAN

Similar story.

Vegan describes the absence of animal-derived ingredients.

It doesn't automatically mean high fibre, low sugar, low salt, minimally processed or nutrient dense. It doesn't guarantees superior nutrition.

Plenty of confectionery, chips and biscuits can be classed as vegan.

Choose vegan foods because they suit your dietary choices - not because the word itself guarantees superior nutrition.

KWS Says: Eat the whole vegetable, fruit, nut, seed, legume food instead.

9. MULTIGRAIN

This sounds magnificent.

Multi = several. Grain = grain.

It doesn't necessarily mean those grains are whole grains.

A product can contain several grains while still being predominantly made from highly refined nutritionally deficient flour.

Look for whole grain/wholemeal ingredients and check where they appear in the ingredient list. If not at the top of the list cautin.

10. MADE WITH WHOLE GRAINS

Another potentially worthwhile claim - but ask how much?

A product containing some whole grain isn't necessarily predominantly whole grain.

The ingredient list helps reveal what's doing most of the heavy lifting.

A sprinkle of goodness shouldn't create a halo around everything else that is low in nutrition and high in profit.

11. HIGH FIBRE / SOURCE OF FIBRE

Fibre matters enormously for bowel health, the microbiome, satiety and metabolic health.

So this can be a genuinely useful claim.

But once again:

One good characteristic doesn't automatically make the whole food good.

Fibre helps you poo but if the rest of the food is full of sugar fat and additives its NOT good for you.

Look at the complete product.

12. LOW FAT / FAT FREE / 97% FAT FREE

One of the great health halos of previous decades.

Fat was removed and consumers were encouraged to see “fat free” as synonymous with healthy.

But fat itself isn't the enemy.

Foods containing nuts, seeds, avocado, extra virgin olive oil and oily fish contain very beneficial fats we actively want to be eating.

And removing fat from a processed product doesn't automatically transform the remaining ingredients into nutritional gold.

13. LIGHT / LITE

Light in WHAT?

Fat? Energy? Salt? Taste? Texture? Colour?

Don't let one beautifully positioned word do all the thinking for you.

Find out what has actually been reduced or changed.

14. REDUCED SALT / REDUCED SODIUM

Reduced compared with what?

A meaningful reduction can certainly be worthwhile.

But “reduced” is a comparison claim. It doesn't necessarily mean the finished food is low in sodium.

Check the actual sodium number on the Nutrition Information Panel.

15. NO ARTIFICIAL COLOURS, FLAVOURS OR PRESERVATIVES

Fine.

But now ask the obvious question:

What IS in it?

A product can contain no artificial colours and still be mostly refined flour, sugar, oil and salt.

Absence of one undesirable feature doesn't automatically establish nutritional quality.

16. MADE WITH REAL FRUIT

Wonderful.

How much fruit?

A picture of strawberries exploding across the front of a packet can create a much bigger impression than the ingredient list justifies.

Turn it over.

Look for the percentage where declared and where the fruit ingredients sit in the ingredient list.

Better still: Eat the fruit.

17. SUPERFOOD

There are certainly extraordinarily nutritious foods.

But “superfood” isn't a magic nutritional category that overrides the rest of your diet.

Blueberries, broccoli, sardines, legumes, nuts, seeds and many other ordinary foods deliver impressive nutrition without needing a halo cape.

KWS FACT: Putting a fashionable “superfood” ingredient into a processed snack doesn't make the other crappy ingredients disappear.

18. KETO / LOW CARB

Low carbohydrate describes one aspect of a food.

It doesn't automatically tell you about:

fibre, micronutrients, saturated fat, energy density, degree of processing or overall dietary quality.

Something isn't automatically healthy because the carbohydrate number is small.

19. FORTIFIED / ADDED VITAMINS & MINERALS

Fortification can be genuinely valuable. It has important public-health uses and can help address specific nutrient needs.

But don't fall for the reverse logic:

“They added vitamins, therefore this must be healthy.”

Adding several vitamins to a sugary, fatty refined product doesn't erase the rest of the product.

Sometimes the better question is:

What nutrition did the original food bring to the party?

20. THE PACKET ITSELF

This may be the cleverest health HALO of all.

Green leaves. Brown paper. Pictures of farms. Wooden spoons. Beautiful berries.

Words such as wholesome, goodness, clean, vitality, farm fresh and nourish.

Before you've read a single ingredient, your brain has already been given a story.

Healthy. Natural. Wholesome.

Maybe it is.

Maybe it isn't.

There's only one way to find out.

TURN IT OVER.

The front of a packet has an important job:

SELL THE PRODUCT.

Your job is different:

DECIDE WHETHER THE FOOD DESERVES A REGULAR PLACE IN YOUR BODY.

Look beyond the halo.

Check the first few ingredients. Look at how much whole food is actually present.

Check protein and fibre. Consider sugars, sodium and saturated fat where relevant.

Look at the serving size - and compare it with how much you're realistically going to eat.

KWS Says: remember that one impressive nutrient doesn't cancel everything else out!

THE KWS RULE

IGNORE THE HALO. INTERROGATE THE FOOD like your weight, life, health and youthful ageing depends on it. BECAUSE it DOES!!!!

A health claim isn't necessarily dishonest. It may be completely accurate.

But:

“high protein” doesn't mean healthy.

“gluten free” doesn't mean healthy.

“plant based” doesn't mean healthy.

“organic” doesn't automatically mean healthy.

And equally importantly:

KWS NB: Certified organic whole foods should not be lumped into that criticism.

Organic vegetables, fruit, grains, legumes and other minimally processed foods can absolutely form part of an excellent diet.

The distinction is simple:

ORGANIC WHOLE FOOD = an excellent high quality healthy choice.

ORGANIC JUNK FOOD = still junk food wearing an wonky organic halo.

At KWS, we don't need to fear food or obsess over every label.

We just need to become harder to fool and then make sensible, and informed choices with our future health in mind.

Turn it over. Read it. Question it. DICECT it...

and don't be conned by a smart HALO.

FRESH off a tree or bush, out of the ground, out of the paddock or ocean is ALWAYS the best.

Strength to YOU!

Helen

References & further reading

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) — Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, including Standard 1.2.7: Nutrition, Health and Related Claims.

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) — guidance on false or misleading claims under Australian Consumer Law.

National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) — Australian Dietary Guidelines.

World Health Organization — Healthy Diet guidance.

Chandon P, Wansink B. The Biasing Health Halos of Fast-Food Restaurant Health Claims: Lower Calorie Estimates and Higher Side-Dish Consumption Intentions. Journal of Consumer Research. 2007;34(3):301–314.

Roe B, Levy AS, Derby BM. The Impact of Health Claims on Consumer Search and Product Evaluation Outcomes: Evidence from FDA Experimental Data. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing. 1999;18(1):89–105.

Hall KD et al. Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain: An Inpatient Randomized Controlled Trial of Ad Libitum Food Intake. Cell Metabolism. 2019;30(1):67–77.e3.