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May 4, 2024
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The Scam of Integral Labels: Discover What Is Really Integral

Those who already eat healthy know: whole foods should not be left out of the diet. Replacing processed foods with wholegrain equivalents is a virtually unanimous recommendation among healthcare professionals, as this type of food enables better utilization of nutrients (which are preserved when the refining process is not applied).

Functional nutritionist Helouse Odebrecht points out that whole foods are healthier than refined foods. "And today we can't talk about healthy eating without including wholegrain on the menu," he says.

The nutritionist explains that wholegrain are foods that have not gone through the process of refinement or industrialization. That is, it is food in its entirety. In general, cereals such as rice, wheat, rye and oats, their flour and products such as bread, cakes and cookies. However, we can also point out foods such as sugar, oil and salt, which, although the legislation does not classify them as integral, may or may not go through the process of refinement ?, highlights.

Still according to Helouse, for the consumer, it is very important to understand and receive this information, because in unrefined (whole) foods remain the husk, bran, protective film of the grain and thus all its nutrients such as vitamins, minerals. , fibers and bioactive compounds. "These parts are important in the development, protection and nutrition of the cereal itself," he adds.

The nutritionist explains that, under the legislation regulated by ANVISA (National Health Surveillance Agency), foods such as cereals (rice, oats, barley), the flours of these cereals (wheat, rice, oats) and their derivatives, such as bread, pasta, cracker and cakes are found in the full version and must contain the full description on the label.

Read also: Brown Bread: How to Choose a Good Product

But why aren't all products truly integral?

Not everyone knows, but most products offered for sale as integrals are not integral. Which means a lot of people end up being fooled into buying a product they believe will bring health benefits.

This is a matter of flawed legislation. ANVISA Resolution 263/2055 regulates products based on cereals, starches and flours and, in fact, does not set minimum amounts for the claim that the product is whole. Thus, if the product uses any amount of whole flour in its composition, the labeling will claim that there is whole flour in its formulation, having 5% or 100% whole flour ?, explains Helouse.

ANVISA Resolution 263/2055 regulates products based on cereals, starches and flours and, in fact, does not set minimum amounts for the claim that the product is whole.

So, continues the nutritionist, the consumer who is buying a? Whole grain bread? With 5% whole wheat flour and the remaining white flour, you will certainly not be consuming whole grain bread or receiving the benefits that whole grain products offer.

? At the beginning of 2014, the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice established a 180-day time limit for bread manufacturers to inform their whole-grain bread packaging of the true content of whole flour in the composition of the products. This public civil action was brought by the complaint of consumers. With the decision, companies will have to inform if their products are 100%, 10% or 1% integral ?, highlights Helouse.

Also according to the nutritionist, in 2012, also from complaints, the issue has become so relevant that already in the National Congress, the bill 5.081 / 2013, the deputy Onofre Santo Agostini, which establishes that, to call itself whole, the product must have in its composition more than 51% of whole grains. It also foresees that two other categories will be created to label the breads: semi-whole or with added whole flour (with 15% to 51% of these grains) and without the expressions? Integral? or "semi-integral" if the percentage is less than 15%. The bill has no date yet to be voted in plenary ?, he adds.

Helouse stresses that whole foods are healthier than refined foods and that it is currently not possible to talk about healthy eating without including whole foods on the menu. ? There are several products, a multiplicity of brands, but what we see in practice is that, in some cases, despite being full, the composition still has more refined flour ?, highlights.

How to find out if food is really whole

Faced with this reality, the question arises: how to choose a whole food?

Helouse explains how to know if the products are really whole: it is necessary to recognize if the preponderant food of the composition is whole. "And this is an easy task, just read the list of food ingredients, it is next to the nutritional table on the packaging," he says.

The nutritionist points out that the ingredients appear in descending order. That is, what has the most is first on the list. Wholemeal flour being first on the list does not mean that it is within the percentage that the law will require, 51%, but at least already indicates that there is more of it than industrialized flour, which is good?

For a 100% wholemeal product, Helouse points out, white wheat flour (described in the ingredients as iron-rich flour and folic acid) or other flour does not appear in its composition.

"Grains like flax seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower nuggets, quinoa, amaranth can also be components of 100% whole grain breads," adds Helouse.

So now you know: Don't believe everything you read about products? especially on the front of the package. Often, "advertising is misleading".

What really counts is what comes written behind the label, ie the list of ingredients. Look for whole flour as the first ingredient on the list? Although the product is not 100% whole, it is already certain that there is more whole flour than industrialized flour.