“Zero” drinks, yoghurts, cheeses and other foods with the same wording: but what does it really mean? The nutritionist explains it to us
There are now various foods on the market that have the wording “zero” on the nutrition labelbut not all of them have the same meaning. Let’s clarify.
“zero” drinks
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“Zero” drinks are drinks which, instead of sugars, contain sweeteners, such as for example aspartame and sucralose of artificial derivation, or sorbitol and mannitol of derivation from alcohols, or stevia, of natural derivation. In sugary drinks, therefore, the term “zero” indicates theabsence of sugars. In fact, sweeteners have the same sweetening power as sugar, but with practically no energy impact. A distinction must be made between “zero” drinks and “light” drinks. The latter, in fact, have a different list of ingredients than the “zero” ones, but the caloric value is more or less the same. The reason why the wording has been changed is more a marketing strategy: the term “zero”, in fact, is accepted by a wider audience.
Yogurt “zero”
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As for yoghurts, the matter is completely different. Indeed, the term “zero” indicates the fat content of the food which, on the nutritional label, is equal to zero. In this case, the sugars in the yoghurt remain unchanged, equal to approximately 4-7 g per 100 g of product if the yoghurt is white. Furthermore, it is possible to find “zero” yoghurts flavored with fruit or creams, in which the sugar content is much higher, about 10-15 g for every 100 g of product. Therefore, especially in the case of pathologies such as diabetes or if you are following a ketogenic diet, it is important to know how to read nutritional labels correctly.
“zero” cheeses
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As far as cheeses are concerned, the situation is very similar to that of yoghurts, and in general to all milk derivatives. Also in this case, the term “zero” indicates the fat content. The number of cheeses that actually do not contain fat on the market is very small, often in fact, there are cheeses with a reduced fat content, but not equal to zero, usually defined as “light”. The “light” cheeses have a reduced fat content of about 20-30% compared to the same cheeses not in the “light” version.
Jams and marmalades
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Jams and marmalades are often found on the market with the wording “no added sugar”, and in rare cases other indications such as “zero” or “0%”. As you can guess from the first wording, for jams and marmalades it is the sugar content that changes, also because naturally they do not contain fat. The wording “without added sugar”, however, does not mean that these jams do not contain sugar, but rather that no other free sugars have been added in addition to those naturally present in fruit. Going to see the nutritional table on the product label, in fact, it can be seen that the sugars present in 100 g of product can vary from 30 to 50 g. This content is lower than that present in jams with the addition of sugars, which reach 70-80 g of simple carbohydrates in 100 g of product. Even with regard to jams with indications such as “zero” or “0%”, if we look at the nutritional values on the label, we will notice that the sugar content is never equal to zero, but is around 10-20 g every 100 g of product.
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