Chia, quinoa and coconut water: Testing "superfoods" (CBC Marketplace)

walk down almost any aisle in the supermarket and you'll see these things. We're not talking about regular foods, we're talking about super foods. We reviewed the label of approximately one hundred products. One thing we learn and you are talking. about super foods usually that means super prices let's talk about some of the things that are in these products Omega three proteins electrolytes these things sure sound great, but it's really time to find out this is your market first

coconut

water

we're getting I'm ready to subject this popular drink to a stress test. It's tap

water

versus

coconut

water on the street.

There is no competition. How are you? Why choose it instead of tap water? It is more hydrating. It has electrolytes. So I'm a cyclist. When I do a lot of time. monta is better fuel what have you heard about coconut water? It hydrates better than water and you believe it, yes, because it is more refreshing. What about hydration? Yes, a lot, yes, it hydrates, yes. I can't have heard of that, you really think it's 10 times that. hydrating than normal water. I think I originally heard that maybe electrolytes are something like that to help me, man there's more to it than just water and they may have gotten some of those ideas from years of advertising like this, if you want the best ride you need the latest. hydration hydration that comes naturally is loaded with electrolytes so it is incredibly hydrating and that is really the key coconut water is expensive prices range from $3 to 650 per liter the most important thing is that you are metabolizing all the wonderful things that contains at much higher rates five times as much. potassium than a banana marketing that seems to have hit the mark in just two years coconut water sales increased by 66% driven by some high-profile investors and coke evangelists on stage.

It may sound cool, but for our test we want to know if it is true. much better at keeping you hydrated than tap water at Brock University Stephen Chung is a sports scientist in his lab he subjects people to extreme temperatures and stress to see what happens to their bodies right now I've probably run three four times a day week Today we will exercise in the heat and you will run at a decent pace, you will sweat quite a bit, so one of the purposes we want to make is to see if water or coconut water helps you.

Staying hydrated is best to find out how well coconut water hydrates me. I need some privacy where we go to the bathroom. Oh my gosh, I'm actually doing the next big hurdle weighing myself on TV sixty-eight point five kilograms and so on. in pounds it's 151, so this is my 500 milliliters of coconut water. There are about forty-five calories in here. 11 grams of carbohydrates 11 grams of sugar packed with natural electrolytes and what's the other. Oh, there's more potassium in here than a banana. One of the things we want to see is if you absorbed it, they didn't get it into your fluids, into your cells, or if it just comes out directly through your kidneys and how hot it is in that room, 35 degrees, yes, and forty percent. hundred.

RH. Wow, like a nice hot day in Ontario. My speed and incline are set. I'm running for an hour. Stephen is going to ask me how I feel. Take my core temperature and heart rate every 15 minutes. Download it whenever you want. After 60 minutes, the results are available and so far the coconut water lives up to the public perception. Stephen is surprised with the results. You haven't really shown any signs of dehydration, but we're still not done in less than 24 hours. I'm at it again. I still have that hour-long run ahead of me, but the reward was discovering what hydrates me best yesterday was coconut water and It's a challenge today to see how we make good old-fashioned Ontario tap water.

I'm savoring this. 'cause I know that's the only water I'll get as soon as I get in there, you'll want more. It's like coconut water. This is not, it is not intended to be packed with electrolytes or, of course. It also has no calories and after drinking the water it is definitely nice and hydrated, comes the hard part here we go for round two that's right so my legs were definitely stocked yesterday. I feel good right now, I finish with a minute to go to my core. The temperature is the same as yesterday, but I have some familiar sensations.

Dairy, okay, yeah, I'm really thirsty. I keep licking my lips and getting nothing so I really want water or something to try. Dreamer Steven tells me that my answer is similar both days, but our test was actually a little more difficult with tap water. We stacked the deck against the water and it still held up as well as coconut water, if not better. I would sum it all up by saying that coconut water can hydrate you, but it doesn't necessarily do a better job than water. If anything, water might be a little better than what you've shown anyway, but it's not just my test, the science is. fairly new, but studies are coming to similar conclusions that there are no significant effects. benefit of coconut water over plain water vitae cacao and one cocoa are two of the best-selling brands we contacted one cocoa water but its parent company PepsiCo did not want to be interviewed when we told Vita Coco about the results of our tests with tap water they say that it is potassium that helps your training. look at the side of the container, it's there packed with natural electrolytes, that's absolutely true, but it's packed with potassium, while what you sweat out is actually sodium, so it may not be the best rehydration tool that way and look this no fat no cholesterol claim means big hearts and small BOTS the other is small bikes big hearts water has no calories coconut water has 45 calories per cup so you are gaining extra calories that you may not really need and legally speaking in 2011 and 2012 Vita Coco and a coconut water were named in class action lawsuits over nutritional claims in Canada in the US a California judge dismissed the claim accusing a coconut water of the class action lawsuit The allegations against Vita Coco were also not at trial, but rather the company settled and stopped making certain claims such as that its products are super hydrating super water, mega electrolytes packed with life-enhancing nutrients, in addition to offering consumers compensation.

Vitae Coco agreed to change its labels and its marketing is: Coco tells us it no longer positions its drinks as offering better hydration than tap water. If you love the taste and don't mind spending up to six dollars a liter, go for it, but if you're drinking coconut. water for hydration, then consider tap water, which according to science works, we break the news on the street in terms of how it hydrated me, it was about the same, the results are about the same, it's true, uh, hydrates about the same, very good, that's exactly what they advertise well, so I guess I'm paying for the super green or super high ads, this is not the way to get there, it's a chocolate bar that gives you one bite of the

quinoa

and she's super claimed, so if you're looking to get omega. -3 you have to get a lot more in the market subscribe to our weekly newsletter at cbc.ca forward slash the real market in your market we're taking a closer look at some super claims by reviewing about 100 popular superfood labels Next up,

quinoa

, A super grain often imported from South America.

In 1993, a NASA scientist promoted quinoa as a food for astronauts because of its nutritional properties. Fast forward 20 years and the UN declares 2013 the International Year of Quinoa, seriously the International Year of Quinoa, marketed as a high The popularity of low-carb, low-protein green quinoa continues to rise in just two years. Sales have almost doubled. You'd be hard-pressed to find people more serious about their diet than Olympic athletes. That's why we came to this high-performance center where the Canadian Olympic athletics team is located. trains team dietician Jen Psycho with her version of quinoa. It won't be a major source of protein like meat or eggs or even things like beans, lentils and chickpeas.

One cup of cooked quinoa will give you about 8 grams of protein, as will a typical chicken. brisket can give you 30 grams or more and it's also not low in carbs, it's quite high in calories, about 220 calories per cup of cooked quinoa, so you won't lose weight and that's quinoa in its purest form. Jen says it's serious nutrition. turn sideways when this happens so these are thin quinoa sticks look at her face this is a superfood another bag of chips oh superfood quinoa fed popcorn granola or you guys are humans everywhere we basically take a grain of grain of quinoa and we highly process it into this until we've removed a lot of the nutrition and then turned it into something that might be high in salt and sugar.

I'm not saying this particular food is, but I think we need to be aware that this is not the way to get quinoa. A Canadian alternative chocolate bar to quinoa would be potatoes calorie wise, they are basically on par and yes you sacrifice a little bit of that protein but potatoes are high in potassium which is important for blood sugar control. blood pressure and they are also good sources of vitamin C they are excellent sources of fiber, they are very underrated and they are also much cheaper for four dollars you can get a four and a half kilogram bag of potatoes or a 400 gram package of quinoa and get this NASA has changed course away from quinoa and towards fresh foods after all potatoes worked for Matt Damon and that was on Mars and Jen says simply swapping an expensive superfood for a better-for-you Canadian alternative applies to an increasingly popular seed: what about

chia

seeds?

You guys eat

chia

seeds, yes I do and why, why chia seeds? Because they are good for cholesterol. It is very good and is a superfood. Jacy's. Do. What about chia seeds? You eat? You see? It's simply how you eat your chia oatmeal salad. put it with my shakez why chia seeds I heard they were good for you I heard they have omega-3 fats and teams were really buying in just the last two years Chia sales have more than tripled when it comes to the most common Claims to be high in omega-3. Our dietician believes there is a better alternative.

Even if you ate this entire bowl of chia, a whole bag would still get you less omega-3s than just a piece of salmon, another catch for your body. To use chia seeds you have to convert them to acids and our bodies don't do that so well, your body converts between zero and ten percent of that into a usable form of omega-3, that's it, yeah, it's not much, No. that basically comes down to 0.3 milligrams or less per serving, so that's a lot, yes, it's an inconvenient way to get omega three, so if you're looking to get omega-3, this is going to take a lot of work for your body to get. .

The good stuff you would have to eat a lot of and you can't eat a lot because they have too much fiber if you want to stick with the seeds. Jen's suggests opting for a Canadian alternative to imported chia. flexi, in addition to being a homegrown product, flax costs approximately a third of the price of chia. She remembers that a bag of chia cost about $15 compared to just $5 for flax. Our dietician brother takes it twice. There are real problems with all the names here in this consumer deception. prevent cancer this is your market I have a story do you think we should investigate email us market at cbc.ca putting an end to

superfoods

do you believe in

superfoods

?

Yes, I do what's the superfood. Not really. I only see all the packages. I'm like, okay. that sounds good, super seeds, super vegetables, super food, it makes me stop and read the label, but that super food label is not completely regulated. Companies can claim that any product is some type of superfood. We went through about 100 labels and showed some of them to Canada's team, the gentlemen of ayat ition. I mean, this one caught the attention of the quinoa superfood girl, so on the back it says: energy booster, sleep aid, cardiovascular controls, blood sugar, curd, cravings, weight management, reduces cholesterol, prevents cancer, reduces the risk of Alzheimer's.

Oh, in this convenient package of granola, there are real problems with the suckers here, well, the claims here, I'm quite concerned, it's not that, although Health Canada is very clear about what can be labeled as real problems because the companies do not They can say that foods can prevent serious diseases like cancer, yes, no. this worries me, we take your concerns to halifax, to food scientists with saint rupa singie, has built a career studying the health benefits of food, says the government is notmanaging to solve a key problem, there is no scientific definition for a superfood, companies are using the word superfood.

Without any scientific basis or without any government criteria, why is it a problem? Consumers think that when they see the word superfood it is better than other normal foods, but it doesn't have to be that way. Japan has strict rules about the use of that word. and in the EU you won't find superfood on any food label, that term is banned. He believes Health Canada needs to step up and take strong action; It's a problem if a company uses the word superfood and misleads our consumers, so how do you think they should do it? change I think our regulatory agencies like Health Canada need to come into the picture and add some sort of regulation on what foods could be classified as functional foods or superfoods.

Why is this a superfood? You decided it's a superfood if you're going to advertise it, it should be regulated, right, it's in, almost mocking healthcare, which I would like companies, but superfoods on packages, oh no, no, I realize I'm sorry. , why not, so I started listening to the audience and that's where we go next. In Ottawa, when it comes to policing food labels, the work is shared between two agencies. This is my live evaluation with Health Canada. At Health Canada we basically set the regulations that the compliance parties actually make and that's a lean Dmitriy from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

They confirm that in Canada the term superfood is not regulated at all, so talking about superfoods, super flakes, super oats, super grains, frizzy super fruit, Central Roast, non-crunchy super food, super hydration, there are a lot of very great things because critics say it's a superfood, there is no definition of what it means to be a superfood so allowing it in a package is misleading, it's not just the superfood issue, it's what's in the package that makes that Food is the superfood that we often use. We work with industries, they often come to us with a statement that they plan to use on the package and ask us for advice saying okay, this is truthful and not misleading to consumers.

Good question, remember the product that surprised our dietician. This was alarming. For some of the people we spoke to, this is a superfood, granola with quinoa reduces cardiovascular disease, increases energy for healthy digestion and helps sleep, prevents cancer. If you saw this on a grocery store shelf, what would you personally think? My first thought is: too good to be true, there are too many claims and I would certainly ask some questions of the industry and as a consumer I would also raise this with the CFIA, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, if this misleads consumers prevents cancer, all packaging has to comply with the fundamental law of truthful and non-misleading, so I can't tell you if this is misleading, there is evidence behind this that needs to be examined and therefore when you simply look at a label which raises a question, but it doesn't mean the answer is automatic and we can't just make a judgment right away, but we have to ask the questions, it's very important after we contact Nature's Mix, they remove the product from the shelves and review the labeled with the CFIA, remember all those health claims they now make.

He's gone, it's a drastic change. Nature says that Mix did not intend to deceive customers and they made an honest mistake, but the question remains why the government did not realize this sooner. The CFIA tells us that someone has to complain before they can intervene. Meanwhile, the government admits there is more work to do, labeling is one of those areas we are also looking to modernise. We will consult with Canadians and with the industry on this, so for us it will be the best way to rejuvenate our framework so that we can address a situation where maybe when we developed the framework 50 years ago we are not part of the conversation, we are going to check that even if the government is reviewing labeling practices, it's still up to you, the consumer, to speak up and say something if you see a label that worries you and we want to see it too, so tweet us, find us on Facebook, send us an email to Marketplace at cbc.ca, leaving you with a little superfood to think about for next time.

We're at the supermarket, we're back on the case, investigating the food waste that was before the salad of the day, still three days from now, these kids saw a need and are taking matters into their own hands. What has changed for Walmart, whose responsibility it is to try to reduce? Food waste was our responsibility.