Are They Really "Healthy" Foods?
By: Michaela McLaughlin
Article Summary
This article was written by Katherine Schreiber and published in the well-known women’s magazine, Cosmopolitan on March 24, 2016. She discusses common food choices that most women believe to be healthy but in fact are actually not. Energy bars for example contain so much processed ingredients that they actually aren’t that nutrient dense. In addition, low fat or fat free yogurt might be lower in saturated fats but they contain high amounts of sugar. The popular frozen yogurt places such as Fro-Yo aren’t even good for you because they contain such high amounts of sugar in their yogurt. Even smoothies aren’t healthy for you because the ingredients within them can take you over your daily sugar intake. Additionally, granola is so high in fat and sugar that it makes it a less healthy choice for your diet. Many people also believe that frozen diet meals are healthy for you because they are lower in calories but in fact they contain more unhealthy additives than other home prepared meals. Dried fruit also may not be a healthy choice because during the drying process large amounts of sugar can be added. Lastly, vegan desserts obviously contain no animal products but they contain more fat and simple carbohydrates than other desserts. With all of this being said, Katherine suggests buying prepackaged snacks and food that contain at a maximum five ingredients and to seek the most nutrient dense sources of food.
Article Critique
Overall, Katherine writes a very convincing article to all the women that read out of Cosmopolitans magazine, but when reading nutrition articles out of these mainstream magazines you have to question how reliable the information truly is. Although I can agree with all of Katherine’s points, there are not any credentials given on the page. It is hard to validate how reliable the information given in this article is without the credentials of the author that wrote it. Within Katherine’s article she does reference Kristin Kirkpatrick who is an MS, RD, LD. The fact that Katherine gives direct quotes from Kristin Kirkpatrick who is a specialist in nutrition, makes Katherine’s article and the information portrayed in the article a lot stronger. Since Katherine is quoting a registered dietician about some of the claims she is making this makes some of the evidence scientific. Examining the credentials of the source of the article is also another factor when determining how accurate the information in this article truly is. Cosmopolitan is a famous women’s magazine that features beauty, fashion, career and sex advice. Although this magazine is very well known among many women, the information that is conveyed within the magazine can definitely be deceiving. If this article was found in a magazine or website that was government run then the information would be much more convincing. For the purpose and crowd that Katherine is targeting I do find her article to be very well written. She is trying to appeal to women that want a quick read in a magazine. The article gets right to the point and is very basic in structure. In conclusion, Katherine’s article is well written and convincing. Although she herself may not have any scientific credentials, she does quote a registered dietician, which makes the information in the article a lot more scientific and convincing.