‘Fat-burning’ foods and other scientific-sounding nutritional trickery

products. And we believe much of what we read when it sounds scientific and plausible.

This practice is brilliantly exposed in a video from Mcgill University’s Office for Science and Society (OSS) that went viral last week. Jonathan Jarry, science communicator at the OSS (and the person who made the video), says flashy marketing accompanied by cool music, enticing fonts and pleasing images are very effective tools of persuasion.

“Many people believe what they see because the packaging is convincing,” Jarry says. “Our access to information has exploded since the development of the internet, but most of us have never been taught how to critically assess this information.”

And the truth is, lots of “information” is junk. Don’t fall for scientific-sounding claims or nutritional trickery.

Here are four examples to be aware of.

‘FAT-BURNING’ FOODS The claim:

Certain foods rev up metabolism and cause heat inside the body, which helps you lose weight as fat miraculously burns away.

Studies show that capsaicin in hot peppers does have some effect on internal temperature and metabolism, but it’s minimal. Hot peppers cannot solve the obesity epidemic, but many marketers exaggerate and twist the claims into flashy and enticing ads that suggest otherwise.

Websites that sell capsaicin supplements throw in scientific words that most people don’t understand, such as adipocytes, neuropeptides and thermogenesis. These terms sound clinical and credible, and you’re led to believe that these pills can aid in weight loss, no matter your diet or exercise level. It’s bunk.

Then there’s the multitude of online articles that list the “best fat-burning foods” and highlight random items such as chicken and yoghurt. Sure, these foods can be part of a balanced diet, but there’s absolutely no evidence that they magically make your fat cells shrink away. No food, beverage or supplement can do that.

The reality: ‘IMMUNE-BOOSTING’ FOODS The claim:

Foods with vitamins or antioxidants can strengthen your immune system and leave you more resistant to disease.

Any food that is part of a healthy diet will promote good overall health, which helps the immune system function optimally, explains David Stukus, an associate professor at Nationwide Children’s Hospital

The reality:

in Ohio.

“Claims that individual foods can ‘boost immunity’ are generally unfounded and extrapolated from research in lab animals or association data that does not demonstrate any true cause-and-effect relationship,” Stukus says.

He adds that overactive immune systems cause problems, including auto-immune conditions such as lupus or coeliac disease.

“Ask anyone with a chronic auto-immune condition if they are happy about their ‘boosted’ immune system, and I’m sure they’re not.”

Enjoy a healthy diet for proper immune health, but don’t expect any superfoods to give you a true immune boost.

ACID-NEUTRALISING ALKALINE WATER The claim:

Because it’s less acidic than tap water and contains more minerals, proponents believe alkaline water can neutralise the acid in your blood and lead to better health.

Sales pitches claim alkaline water can help you lose weight, avoid diabetes, live longer, fight cancer and, my favourite, boost your immune system.

“For alkaline water to work, it would have to overcome a very strong protective mechanism that we all have: our blood is always kept within a very strict ph range. Drinking alkaline water won’t change that, especially since our stomach’s acid will neutralise the

The reality:

alkalinity. It’s pseudoscience, pure and simple,” says Jarry, though alkaline water will probably quench your thirst.

If you want to make alkaline water at home, a water filter is expensive. Science says: save your money and drink plain old water instead.

NO ADDED SUGAR The claim:

Packages of sweet foods made with fruit say they have “no added sugar”.

Fruit can be turned into sugar during processing and it’s easy to consume too much.

In nutrition textbooks, sugar is divided into two types: natural sugars, such as those found in fruit, and added sugars, such as honey, syrup and white sugar. Here’s the trick: companies take fruit, concentrate it into a pulp or purée, and then use it to sweeten foods.

Because it comes from fruit, food-labelling laws allow the sweetener to be called natural, and the claim “no added sugar” is permissible, even though the fruit is basically processed into sugar or syrup.

If a food package says “no added sugar”, look at the ingredient list. If you see fruit pulp, concentrate or purée, that’s sugar! Now check the item’s Nutrition Facts panel.

You may be shocked to find that your “no added sugar” juice or sweet has 40g (10 teaspoons) of “natural” sugar per serving. Anything with that much sugar is not healthy to consume in a single serving.

The bottom line is: “Buyer beware.”

“If someone out there is offering a miracle cure or other treatment that sounds too good to be true, then it is,” Stukus says. – The Washington Post

The reality:

Lots of information in sales pitches or labelling are junk

■ Rosenbloom is president of Words to Eat By, a company specialising in nutrition education and recipe development. She is the co-author of

Nourish: Whole food recipes featuring seeds, nuts and beans.