In-take Management - Diet Food

If you have ever tried a weight loss plan, then you have no doubt been introduced to a myriad of diet foods.  Many vendors market foods that they swear will melt the pounds away, usually at a pretty high price.  But are their claims valid?  Just what does it mean to be considered a diet food?  And do they really work?

A Definition

A diet food is any food or drink whose ingredients have been modified to meet the standards of a particular dietary regimen.  This includes building muscle, melting fat, or eliminating certain foods from one’s diet.  While the usual intention of diet foods is weight loss, there are also diet foods meant to help one gain weight, as well. 

Lite, Light, Low, and Free… Which One Can My Diet Food Be?

The Food and Drug Administration regulates which terms can be used to describe diet foods.  A food can be designated as light or lite if it meets one of two criteria.  Light foods must either contain at least one-third fewer calories or half the fat of the reference food.  Or, in the case of a low calorie or low fat food, its light version must have at least fifty percent less sodium. 

A food can be denoted as ‘low’ if a person can eat a large amount of it without exceeding their daily value for that food.  Foods can be considered low in sodium, low fat, low cholesterol, or low in calories.  The designation of high is given to foods that meet the opposite conditions.

To be considered ‘free,’ a food must be completely devoid of a specific nutrient, or contain a statistically or physiologically insignificant amount of the nutrient.  For example, a fat free food cannot have more than 0.5 grams of fat per serving.  The term free can refer to saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, sugars and carbohydrates, and calories. 

Before embarking on any diet, it is always best to seek the advice of a qualified medical professional.  Diets can have negative consequences, particularly among those with nutrient deficiencies, and certain health conditions.