Gimmick Foods

Below is an article found at "netdoctor". A lot of parents are wasting money on omega-3 milk and eggs. There is too little in them to make any difference.

Points (1)

When we are born 90% of the brain is already developed (that is why the brain is proportionately bigger compared to the rest of the body at birth); the next 10% is developed in the next 2-3 years. Once the child is past the age of 5, DHA & AA won't help much. However, marketing people have managed to instill fear to parents that if you don't give these milk to their child they are putting them at a disadvantage.

Points (2)

The probiotics (good bacteria) is too low in bacterial count in these yogurt drinks. The bacteria needs to be freeze dried to preserve its viability.If not you could be eating dead bacteria (how horrible!). Even if it was high it may not be acid & bile resistant and likely to killed in the stomach juices. They need to be microencapsulated with a lipid layer (microencapsulation technology to prevent acid and bile degradation) as with some better probiotic preparations.

A lot of the studies done with yougurt drinks are done with drinks specially fortified with probiotics, and not the standard commercial yogurt drinks.

Article:
Gimmicky health foods 'not worth buying'

Gimmicky health foods 'not worth buying''Brain-boosting' foods such as milk and eggs enriched with omega-3 oils and probiotic drinks are not worth buying, claim food experts.

The claims made by so-called 'healthy foods' are often misleading and many have little impact at all, according to Dr Alex Richardson, an Oxford University researcher.

Research has revealed that omega-3 can boost brain activity in children, leading to a glut of new products on the market claiming to be able to boost brain power simply by containing omega-3.

One such product is St Ivel's Advance, which is advertised as 'clever milk' and is much more expensive than ordinary milk.

However, experts believe that anyone drinking the product would have to consume at least three pints a day for any noticeable effect on their brain power.

Dr Richardson told the Daily Mail: "If you want omega-3, why not go straight to the foods that are high in it anyway?

"The best place to get nutrients is from a healthy, balanced diet of fresh foods."

Another recent study by Which? magazine found that the effects of fashionable probiotic drinks is "patchy" and most of the drinks are simply loaded with sugar.

Yakult for example, contains 18 per cent sugar.

"Probiotic bacteria may be beneficial in certain circumstances but the evidence for this is patchy. There's no reliable research to prove that probiotics help your general wellbeing," concluded Which?.

Source:netdoctor.co.uk (March 6, 2006)