Facts about food companies

One in every six adults, 17% of the U.S. adult population has high blood cholesterol. Anyone, including children, can develop high cholesterol and it greatly increases the risk for heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. 71 million American adults (33.5%) have high LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol and people with high total cholesterol have approximately twice the risk of heart disease as people with optimal levels High Cholesterol. Food companies know we have these worries and offer their products as a solution. Probiotics contain good bacteria that help with the digestion, immunity and it also balances the organisms within the intestines . Also, cooking with olive oil is supposed to help with the good cholesterol i.e HDL in your body . All the information mentioned about yogurt and olive oil is true , that yogurt gives us probiotics and olive oil helps to improve cholesterol levels in human body but it is unproven. All the food companies that manufacture these products are misleading us with the facts that they advertise to improve their sales but don't have hard facts behind it . There has been no scientific proof from food companies that foods like yogurt and olive oil improve good cholesterol; therefore, courts should stop these companies from using misleading marketing based on unproven claims.

Cholesterol is a combination of HDL(High Density Lipoprotein), LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein), VLDL (Very Low Density Lipoprotein). HDL is the good cholesterol that helps in absorbing the bad cholesterol in the human body which then reduces the chances for a heart attack, blockage in the arteries. We gain cholesterol from dairy products and meat. It’s the bodies natural fuel we need for further growth and development. These days everyone is confused as to whether cholesterol is good for you or bad, either way, not all cholesterol is bad. Actually cholesterol is necessary for our existence, it is necessary for the body to have cholesterol as it creates cell membranes, sex hormones, estrogen and testosterone.The liver is actually the organ in our bodies that manufacturers the cholesterol.

Your diet, weight, physical activity and exposure to tobacco smoke all affect your cholesterol level. Being overweight with unhealthy diet and no exercising will increase your high cholesterol levels and lead to heart diseases.Cigarettes contain a host of toxins, including a particularly reactive chemical compound called acrolein which is a yellow, foul-smelling vapor that is produced by burning plants, like tobacco. Acrolein is easily absorbed into the bloodstream through the lungs, and scientists believe it contributes to heart disease by affecting the way the body metabolizes cholesterol.

Companies like Dannon claim that yogurt can boost levels of HDL, or good, cholesterol. There have been studies that tell us we need a healthy amount of good bacteria in our daily diet. Yogurts are made using good active bacteria. Probiotic yogurt improves immune defense and it has been also said that probiotic is a bacteria that is beneficial for a human body to protect against certain bacterias and also helps in recovery from certain illness. As yogurt is made from milk that has protein and also nutrients like calcium, vitamin B-12, potassium, magnesium Benefits of Yogurt. Probiotic , antioxidants and cholesterol are important terms in lives of every human beings these days as they are supposed to help with well being .

Olive oil companies have also claimed that their product increases levels of HDL cholesterol. In medical terms Also eating a diet rich in olive oil, helped those at high risk for cardiovascular problems avoid heart trouble better than those eating a low-fat diet. Popular Mediterranean diets that emphasize olive oil have a 30 percent greater reduction in relative risk of a heart attack, stroke or death from cardiovascular disease. There are lot of overview and facts about choloesterol that could be helpful from www.webmd.com .

There are companies that claim the benefits of eating probiotic yogurt for immunity defense and cooking with olive oil for healthy improved cholesterol levels in the body, but have not been able to provide any scientific evidence to prove these claims.

Since this issue about benefits of yogurt and olive oil have been in the European Parliament and there have been some regulations imposed about the scientific evidence related to the marketing claims , we will not see the words “probiotic”, “antioxidants” on the labels until they have a solid scientific evidence . There have been 2,927 health claims for different ingredients examined by EFSA only 241 passed and at another chance given it was only proven that prunes help with normal bowel function and polysaccharide cyclodextrin i.e a soluble dietary fibre that helps with blood glucose. Regulations , drafted by European Commission and adopted by the EU in 2007, are intended to put an end to the free ride that the food and food industries have enjoyed until now. European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and European Union (EU) in Italy, are taking steps against these food claims and will disallow the health benefit claims that the food companies are claiming in their marketing and this issue has been presented to the European Parliament and the marketing companies have toned down their marketing claims since then. There have been strict regulations that have ended the unproven claims and the marketing companies will not be able to claim any unproven facts that they have been claiming for years without any hard proven scientific evidence and the promises that were made for healthier, slimmer and happier lives.

With the imposition of the new legislation the yogurt industry is bound to have scientific evidence required by law and they will need to do some clinical studies to prove their marketing claims , it is going to cost them a lot but they will have to provide evidences in order to keep their product in market.




Works Cited


http://www.nature.com.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/news/culture-shock-1.12158


http://www.cdc.gov/cholesterol/faqs.htm


http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/guide/cholesterol-management-overview


http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/benefits-of-yogurt