Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association, An Interlocal Service of the Massachusetts Municipal Association One Winthrop Square, Boston, MA 02110 • 617-426-7272 • 800-882-1498 • www.emiia.org

March Product CornerFranceen Friefeld, RD., LD., P.H.Ec.

Welcome to “The Product Corner”, empowering you with reliable facts about some

of the most popular and newest foods on the market. We will expose the products

that aren’t what they claim to be and applaud the ones that do, helping you make

the healthy choice!

Mission Garden Spinach Herb Wraps

Is Mission on a mission to deceive us? “No artificial flavors,” is displayed in bold

print on the front of a bag of Mission Garden Spinach Herb Wraps. Hmmm..

no spinach to speak of either, unless you call “spinach powder” as part of the

seasonings, right before “onion powder”, the spinach they’re referring to.

Maybe there’s no artificial flavors, but what about colors? It doesn’t get more

artificial than “Yellow 5” and “Blue 1” dyes to give it the green color. I believe people

buy green wraps to get greens, not green-dyed food. Mission also advertises that

this wrap is made with fresh ingredients, but that freshness is maintained with

loads of preservatives like Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Fumaric Acid, Calcium

Propionate And Sorbic Acid.

Some healthier varieties of spinach wraps are made by “Veggie Life “ and “Green

Leaf Foods”. They are more costly, but they contain real spinach and no added

preservatives.

If you can’t find these brands, or they are too expensive, then simply buy “whole

wheat wraps” where “whole” is the first word in the ingredient list, and use fresh

spinach inside the wrap!

Smart Balance Spread

“Supports healthy cholesterol levels” claims Smart Balance. But look for the small

hidden print below that, which indicates that it only supports cholesterol levels

“already in the normal range”. This margarine is obviously not part of the fats that

can, in fact, lower cholesterol like canola and olive oil.

Further down the label, there’s another hidden disclaimer which states “Clinical

research has shown that the right blends of fats may improve your cholesterol ratio

when at least 2/3 of your fat intake comes from this product or a properly balanced

diet”. Is a spread likely to supply 2/3 of your fat intake? Not likely. Furthermore, over

25% of the fat in this spread is saturated which raises cholesterol and increases the

risk for heart disease.

Better margarine spreads are “Promise Activ Light” and “Benecol”. The addition of plant

sterols (in Promise) and plant stanols (in Benecol), have been proven to lower LDL

cholesterol.

An even better bet? Replace margarine altogether with canola or olive oil

for cooking. Spread toast with mashed avocado, peanut or almond

butter and use mayonnaise instead of margarine in your sandwich.

Chobani, A hint of

We’re in a yogurt predicament. Never have there been so many choices. Many people find plain

yogurt too tart, and the flavored ones, too sweet. Some products use stevia, a so called “natural” sugar

substitute... but who knows what research we will discover about this additive in the not too distant

future. I have yet to see a sugar substitute that has not been proven to cause side effects. Instead

of substitutes, use real sugar, which we know in moderate amounts can be part of a healthy diet, just

control how much you use.

Many consumers, now conscious about adding too much refined sugar to their diets are buying

plain yogurt and adding their own fruit. This provides them with a high protein, low sugar option with

some flavor coming from natural fruit, which we know is a healthy source of fiber and other important

nutrients.

“Chobani... a hint of” is made with 2% milk and just enough sugar to add a little bit of sweetness along

with nutritious real fruit puree. The result… a lower sugar Greek yogurt with a good source of protein

and no questionable sugar substitutes. A good rule of thumb is to choose a yogurt with less sugar

than protein and this yogurt does- with

only 9 grams of sugar and 12 grams of

protein. Each 5.3 oz container is only 110-

120 calories, and contains 15% of a day’s

calcium. And oh yeah.. it tastes great too!

Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association, An Interlocal Service of the Massachusetts Municipal Association One Winthrop Square, Boston, MA 02110 • 617-426-7272 • 800-882-1498 • www.emiia.org