What is the difference between regular and low fat foods?

Answer 1

• If you find one product and then find another product that is almost identical but "Low-Fat", it just means they've removed some of the fat out of it. Sometimes the difference of the fat content in the regular product isn't a great amount anyway.

These food terms should help you out:

- Fat-free means the food has less than a half-gram of fat per serving.

- Low-fat means 3 grams or less of fat per serving.

- Cholesterol free means less than 2 milligrams of cholesterol.

- Low cholesterol means less than 20 milligrams per serving.

- Low sodium means 140 milligrams or less per serving.

- Low calorie means 40 calories or less per serving.

- Sugar-free means less than a half-gram per serving.

- High or Rich means the food contains 20% or more of the daily need for a specific nutrient.

- Fortified means that a nutrient that is not naturally present in a food has been added.

MORE INFO:

Most people agree that low fat foods just don't taste the same as regular foods do. Some even say they don't taste as fulfilling. Something has to take its place once fat is removed. Normally the things added are very long lists but dairy products, like ice cream, have fewer ingredients added. But another thing is, just because the product says low fat, does not mean low calorie. Most of the time, people think that eating the low fat version of foods means we can eat more but it's not always the case. But you can mostly always tell the difference between low fat and regular foods.

First, Mostly sugars are added to replace the fat taken out in low fat foods and sometimes carbohydrates. The problem with these fillers is that it can lead to excessive weight gain. Another thing added to these low fat products are salts, flavor enhancers and artificial flavors. These things make the food taste good, it's a trick to make them more appealing. Excessive weight gain occurs because low fat foods tend to be not as satisfying as the regular foods. That is when people start eating larger portions to satisfy their cravings. Full fat foods on the other hand can cause clogged arteries. Low fat foods just aren't that healthy for you. Fat is a key ingredient in foods that adds taste and calories, but is used to add texture and flavor to foods. Remember that even low fat cake and cookies are not health food. Like in low fat and regular cream cheese, low fat has twice as many ingredients. All in all, low fat is not necessarily healthier.

Next, just because products say they are low fat doesn't necessarily mean that it is low calorie. For example, a 6 ounce cup of low fat fruit-flavored yogurt is 173 calories, whereas a 6 ounce cup of regular fruit-flavored yogurt is 168 calories. Most of the time, low fat versions of the regular foods have more calories that the original full-fat versions. It is a good idea to limit the amount of fat you take in, there really isn't that much of a difference. Most of the time, low fat foods have about 28 percent more calories. This means that when people pay more for foods that say "LOWFAT" there really isn't much of a difference. Therefore it's not necessary to pay for almost identical foods.