2024-10-21 16:09:00
Researcher Miguel Herrero, of the Food Science Research Institute (CIAL), denied that bread crumbs are more fattening than crust, among other food myths and beliefs, in “Nutrition hoaxes”, the new book in the ‘What do we know?’ series of the Superior Council for Scientific Research (CSIC).
“Having less water, the components of the flour, essentially the carbohydrates, are more concentrated in the crust, therefore, with the same weight between crust and crumb, there will be a higher concentration of calories in the crust“, explained the researcher.
Another myth about antioxidant foods
Another myth that Herrero wanted to dispel was the repeated benefit of consuming antioxidant foods. In this sense he underlined that “there is insufficient scientific evidence to reveal the true role of dietary antioxidants in terms of preventive effect against the development of diseases”.
However «there are some indirect clues which suggests they could have a positive effect, although it is not known to what extent, and more and more research is emerging studying how antioxidants in foods are absorbed and metabolised in humans, which will help light on this problem. “, he added in this regard.
In any case, he stressed that antioxidant foods are not harmful. “What is not very justified is that these salads or juices that bear the antiox sign are more expensive, because antioxidants are already naturally present in their composition”, he clarified.
Other compounds that are not free from controversy are additives that are used to ensure the preservation of food or for modify its flavour, color and aroma. The author explained that despite being so maligned, they play a vital role in nutrition and are safe for consumption. “There are food groups like honey, oils, butter or pasta for which the use of additives is prohibited or limited, but there are others such as wine or legumes already cooked in jars in which they are necessary”, he specified.
How to correctly interpret the labeling?
As consumers, it is sometimes difficult to identify the relevant information that appears on a food label, or even interpret the messages contained therein. In this sense, Herrero explained it Nutrition information is an essential part of labels and its inclusion has been mandatory since 2016.
He also stressed that the ingredients of a food must be presented on the label from greatest weight to least weight. “This means that, if in a soluble cocoa The first ingredient on the list is sugar, this will be the ingredient present in the greatest proportion in the product, and not cocoa”, indicated the author.
In turn, some nutritional statements may be misleading, such as “high fiber” or “low calorie”, which are some of the most used marketing tools in the food industry. Herrero clarified that these are voluntary messages and that their main problem is that they usually refer to a specific component, which does not always imply that the food can be considered healthy.
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