Dr Oz: Fake Blueberry Products
Are you a fan of anything with blueberry flavor? Whether it’s a blueberry muffin, granola bar, or even yogurt, it turns out that those realistic-looking blueberries may not actually be blueberries. Registered dietitian Ashley Koff explained that the only thing those “blueberries” actually have going for them is the color blue. What you’re actually consuming is sugar, corn syrup, and food coloring.
Dr Oz: Deceiving Food Ingredients
When you choose a seemingly healthy blueberry-flavored product, are you actually getting real blueberries at all? (kylemcdonald / Flickr)
Ashley actually used to work in advertising years ago, and knows first-hand that the front of the package is “the story you want to hear.” Because blueberries are known as “super foods” that you want in your diet, a food product will claim to be loaded with blueberries. It’s when you actually read the label on the back that you’ll see the problem. For example, one food label actually listed “artificial blueberry bits” which aren’t even real blueberries themselves.
Those bits could contain real blueberry flavoring, but it could be artificial flavoring, that is then mixed with sugar or corn syrup. That can be the case even when there are real blueberries pictured on the label. Another ingredient list showed “blue 2 lake” instead of blueberries. The only good news is that all you have to do is read the ingredient list to determine if you’re actually getting real blueberries.
Dr Oz: Blueberry Bits & Fake Flavors
So why would companies not just use real blueberries? Just like practically everything else, it mainly comes down to money. The fake, blueberry bits allow companies to create cheap food. Secondly, real blueberries have juice in them, which means you can’t use them in a cereal or mix that needs to stay dry until it’s ready to be used.
To determine whether a product has real blueberries, pay attention to whether it looks like it actually has blueberries in it. If you can see big pieces that look like real blueberries, instead of tiny, crunchy pieces, there’s a better chance you’re eating real blueberries. An inexpensive way to get blueberry flavored foods in your diet, is with real blueberries! Go ahead and add them to a healthy muffin, yogurt, or oatmeal. Frozen or fresh blueberries are just as good!
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