Popularity of diet drugs fuels ‘dumpster fire’ of risky knock-offs, questionable supplements, food products, experts warn

Nutritional labeling is often designed to be misleading, Naidoo added. Companies add just enough whole grain to be able to include that marker of dietary health in the label, even of otherwise unhealthy foods.

Sugar is a key ingredient in many foods — even those that aren’t sweet — because it can trigger cravings. Fast food companies add sugar to French fries, she said, because even levels too low to taste can trigger compulsive eating.

There are 262 different names for sugar in processed foods, including “brown rice syrup,” which benefits from an association with the whole-grain benefits of brown rice but which Naidoo said is basically just sugar.