Hidden ingredients

So I've been noticing that almost everything has hidden weight-gaining ingredients.  Lean Cuisines, fat free rice cakes, kidney beans (canned), all foods that SHOULD be healthy, have high fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin, sucralose, dextrose, among others, in their ingredients.  I know that all of these ingredients have hidden sugars, so how can the FDA get away with calling, for instance, sucralose (splenda) "sugar free" when a single gram has 4 calories from sugar?

I've also read that maltodextrin is actually used by body builders after pre and post workout to help muscles rebuild.  But other sources say that maltodextrin causes insulin levels to spike and ultimately leads to weight gain.  So much information out there, its hard to know which to dispose of and which to believe.

Thanks

ha? The calories that these ingredients contribute are included in nutrition label calculations. Splenda, as in actual sucralose chemical, is calorie free, the splenda packets are not. This is because Dextrose, and Maltodextrin are used as "bulking" agents.

Maltodextrin is a type of carbohydrate, it will spike insulin just like any other "simple" carbohydrate. It is used in recovery drinks, and whatenot because it is not very sweet.

UD

Guess I should have said hidden sugars... ha?  The ingredients are right there on the label, but most people don't know what these ingredients actually do inside of your body, so even if they looked, technically they would be "hidden". But who would think that a lean cuisine would have something like 40 different ingredients for a simple pizza, when they advertise it as being healthy. 

As for sucralose... whether it has calories or not, 15 percent of it is absorbed in the digestive system and is ultimately STORED in the body. 

Julie

That is because people equate "healthy" with low calorie, sugar free, fat free, blah blah blah. Got to love marketing. *shrug

I never heard/read anywhere that 15% of sucralose is absorbed. References?

UD

Yeah, marketing really loves to keep people fat while promising health.  They obviously look the other way when it comes to what crap they throw in our food.

Just copy and paste into Google "15% of sucralose is absorbed into your digestive system and ultimately is stored in your body" and you will get pages and pages of results from numerous sources.

Something else really interesting...

"Rats given Splenda (sucralose) gained more weight than rats not given Splenda (sucralose) according to a recent study from Duke University.

They not only gained more weight—9-12 percent more weight—during the three months they were given Splenda (sucralose), they also gained more weight after they were stopped given Splenda (sucralose)—17-21 percent more. Yikes!

This same study found that Splenda (sucralose) also reduces good bacteria in the gut."

http://fatnews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/ 3681/

I'm always dubious of studies on rats.

I don't equate low-calorie, fat-free or sugar-free with being healthy. I avoid processed food and that makes eating a pretty simple business - it's hard to feel tricked when you're eating an apple or some real cheese.

Original Post by merylwhite1:

I'm always dubious of studies on rats.

I don't equate low-calorie, fat-free or sugar-free with being healthy. I avoid processed food and that makes eating a pretty simple business - it's hard to feel tricked when you're eating an apple or some real cheese.

I completely agree.

UD

Beware of labels saying no calories.  the FDA allows any food with less than 4 calories per serving to label itself as no calorie,  this includes many sweeteners, diabetic products, spray dressings/oils etc..

A food can also have up to .5 grams of trans fat per serving and call its self trans fat free.

I never go by the labels. always read the nutrion panel and the ingredients.

Not to mention the serving size, as many servign sizes are ridiculous