Kids and Nutrition

dragonlady writes:
In article ,
Cindy Kandolf wrote:
Louise writes:
I just found out that popcorn might count as a whole grain. This
seems too good to be true!

Funny you should mention that. The last jar of popcorn I bought has a
large graphic on the front of the label: "100% WHOLE GRAIN!"

It was a teachable moment for the 11-year-old. "Sometimes what you
see on a label is absolutely true and at the same time absolutely
meaningless. This is one of those times."


Why is that meaningless? As a whole grain, popcorn is a decent source
of fiber. Nutritionally, it isn't bad. And if you don't add fats, it's
a pretty low calorie snack.

I suppose we're interpretting it differently. As I read what you
wrote, it sounds like you believe they're trying to increase sales of
popcorn in general (and their brand in particular) by pointing out
that popcorn can be a healthy snack. I saw it differently, as an
attempt to increase sales of their brand by saying that *their*
popcorn is 100% whole grain and leaving you to wonder about the other
brands. And of course unpopped popcorn is 100% whole grain by
definition...

Sort of like if one particular brand of bottled water started
advertising "No Sugar Added!" It's true, but it's a feature of all
unflavored bottled water, not of any single brand. And that's how I
explained it to young Kenneth: manufacturers can't flat-out lie on
their labels, there are laws about that. But they can mislead you in
many ways, and one is by implying that they are better than their
competitors because of a certain feature - they just don't tell you
that this product *always* has that feature.

- Cindy Kandolf, mamma to Kenneth (11) and Robert (4)
****** Bærum, Norway
Bilingual Families Web Page:
http://www.nethelp.no/cindy/biling-fam.html