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Modern consumers have access to more health and nutrition education than ever before. However, there are also more certifications, nutrition information and conflicting claims highlighted on food labels in the grocery aisle. Lately, messaging on food packaging has become increasingly focused around carbohydrates and sugar. In the 1980s and 90s, there was a similar takeover of food labels during the low fat craze that drastically altered the landscape of the grocery store. Packaged food companies compensated for the lack of flavor in low fat foods by adding sugar, which scientists and nutritionists now see as a major component of many of America’s diet related health issues. A new war is waging in the grocery aisles, but villain has changed; fat is no longer the enemy, now carbohydrates are taking the hit. This includes not only fast-burning carbs from white flour, but all carbohydrates in everything from whole grains to legumes to starchy vegetables.

At this year’s Natural Products Expo West, the world’s preeminent trade show for natural and organic products, low sugar, dairy free and full-fat products reigned supreme. In every aisle, there was a clear direction for the immediate future of food marketing: keto. “Some of these products simply called out their keto-appropriate ingredients, like MCT oil, while others had seemingly built their entire identity around the diet,” writes Melanie Zanoza Bartelme, Global Food Analyst at Mintel. The keto diet is perfectly positioned to capitalize on several food and health trends peaking at the moment, including emerging research around the gut-brain connection and the concept of functional foods. Consumers are asking their food to work harder for them in several ways; that could be with added probiotics, nutritional benefits or engineered snackability. The keto craze has taken over the imagination of eaters and product developers alike.

While it may seem unprecedented, the keto trend is simply another cycle of America’s longtime love of fad dieting. In the early 1900’s, Fletcherizing swept the nation: a diet trend that allowed eaters any sort of food they like, as long as each bite was chewed 100 times. Following that, we’ve seen everything from the cabbage soup cleanse to the blood type diet, but the past thirty years have lead to increasing attention on these magic bullet nutrition solutions.

The interesting thing about these diets that they are not sold as simple weight loss solutions or better fuel for active bodies, but as lifestyle changes to increase overall health — to purify organ systems, increase mental clarity or reduce inflammation. This is illustrated by similar diet plans such as Whole30, which promises to not only help with weight loss, but to increase energy levels, heal pain, and cure fertility issues. These diets have become about so much more than simply altering body size or increasing athletic performance, they have become a promise for a better life.

The Ketogenic diet is designed to be extremely low in carbohydrates and high in fat in order to keep your body in a state of ketosis, and to force it to burn fat for energy instead of reserved carbohydrates. However, the nutritional claims for the Ketogenic diet are often vague or based on anecdotal evidence. The crusade against carbs across the grocery aisles is eerily similar to the outcry of the low-fat era, which nutrition science now argues only made America fatter.

According to Kris Sollid, RD from the International Food Information Council, “for weight loss, research consistently shows us that the best diet is the one you can stick to for the long term. Aside from body weight, there are questions about the nutritional adequacy of Ketogenic and Paleo diets. Avoiding carbs completely means you may be missing out on important nutrients.” Missing nutrients may include magnesium, fiber and vitamin B, all of which are important for long term health. Food producers often capitalize on fast moving food trends by touting lofty health claims with slim scientific backing, so the onus falls on consumers to research the diet that works best for them.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/arielknoebel/2019/04/30/ketogenic-diet-good-nutrition-or-just-good-marketing/#751cea71c759