Marketers love using “health halos” to trick you into buying their products.

Every week, I meet with people who want to change their eating habits, and at least 75% of them have fallen victim to a health halo.

What is a health halo?

Health halos can come in many forms, but they all have one thing in common: they fool you into thinking a food is either better for you than it really is or they make you think a particular product is better than a competitor’s product.

How to spot a health halo

There are many ways health halos arise.  Sometimes it’s the product name or the brand name.  Sometimes it’s elements of the package design.  Or it could be how the product is marketed or advertised on television, social media, or in print or digital media.  It could be what a friend or coworker tells you about a product.

Let’s look at three common products so you can practice spotting health halos and avoid being fooled by them.

This salad item commonly fools people

Have you been in a restaurant or store and seen a salad or vegetable side dish with cranberries on it?   The cranberries they use are delicious, and many people tell me during a nutrition counseling session, “and it had cranberries in it, and they’re good for you” when talking about what they ate.

So here’s the health halo: While there have been many studies about cranberries and cranberry extract for a range of medical conditions, those aren’t the cranberries they are using on those salads or vegetable side dishes!

The cranberries the restaurant (or you, a friend, or a family member) used are loaded with sugar.  A serving of the original Craisins® has over 6 teaspoons (i.e., over 2 tablespoons) of sugar in it!

Here’s a second health halo for the item: A famous brand offers one that uses juices and that has the same amount of added sugar as the original Craisins®!

Do you need to avoid eating dishes that use sweetened cranberries?  Probably not.  Just limit how often you enjoy them.  When you do eat them, watch how much you have.  Most importantly, don’t be fooled by the health halo!

A chip is still a chip

A recent gathering I attended inspired me to write this post.  There was a bowl of chips at the event and I overheard the person who brought them tell someone, “Oh, these are better for you than potato chips, they’re vegetable chips.”

What was the product?  It was Nature’s Promise Vegetable Chips.   Looking at the picture of the package and considering what I said in the above paragraph, can you identify several “health halo” several elements?

As I always tell my clients, ignore the front of the package and look first at the ingredient list. Then look at the nutrition facts label.  So let’s do that. Here’s the ingredient list:

So, yes, these really do contain vegetables, but they’re made from vegetable powders and vegetable flour.  I’ve written previously about how turning fruits and vegetables into powder does not give you the same benefits as eating the actual item.  Let’s consider whether these are better for you than potato chips.

Nature’s Promise doesn’t make a potato chip, so I’m going to use Cape Cod’s original potato chips as a comparison:

So, looking at the two products, aside from the sodium content, there’s not much of a difference between them.

What’s my recommendation? If you’re going to eat chips, pick the chips you like the most based on taste, watch your portions, and limit how often you have them.

Oh yes, there’s one more tip: Don’t fall for health halos!

The big health halo: protein

Perhaps the most frequently used health halo these days is protein.  I’ve written about things you need to consider about protein before, but here’s an example you’ll find in a grocery store.

A major cereal company offers its classic “original” version of a famous cereal and its new “protein” line of cereals.  Before comparing the two versions below, it’s essential to ensure that we’re comparing the same portion size.

A serving of their “original” cereal is 1.5 cups, and the serving size of their cinnamon protein cereal is only one cup.  I’ve adjusted the nutrition facts below so that we’re comparing 1.5 cups of each cereal.

While the protein is higher in the protein version of the cereal,  the manufacturer has to add 4.25 teaspoons of sugar to make it taste okay.  Yikes!!  There are far better ways to get your protein in at breakfast without massive amounts of added sugars.

My recommendation? As with any product, ignore the front of the package!  Go directly to the ingredient list and then the nutrition facts panel.  Read that information, know what you are eating, and keep on the lookout for health halos!

Health halo awareness

Health halos are everywhere these days, especially with foods.  Being aware of them, and checking the facts with an expert who follows evidenced based information and isn’t being paid to promote products is key.

If you need help with spotting health halos or are wondering if the products you’re buying are as good for you as the marketers want you to think, set up a free discovery call with me.  We’ll talk about what you’re trying to accomplish and see if sessions with me could help you.