As the year comes to close, I was thinking about the foods that made a lot of headlines but didn’t really live up to the hype. The most overrated food trends of the year was the topic of my latest article in the Chicago Tribune. Click on the link to view the article online (which includes a slideshow of the five trends), or the article is reprinted below. What would make your list?
5 most overrated health-food trends
Looking back on the year, some foods seemed to take the country by storm. You couldn’t miss the ads — your neighbor talked them up and you followed all the chatter online. Maybe you even bought a book devoted to these “miracle” foods. Yet, despite the flashy marketing claims and convincing Internet buzz, many of these products deliver far less than they promise. Either the science behind them is weak, nutritionists warn, or their steep price tag is simply not worth what you get in return.
We asked nutrition experts to tell us what foods they thought did not live up to the hype. Here are their votes for overrated food trends.
–Janet Helm, special to the Tribune
1. Super juices
Why they’re overrated: You’re paying more for the marketing than the value of what’s inside the bottle, said dietitian Leslie Bonci, director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. “It’s a pricey way to get your antioxidants,” she said. “You’d be better off with a glass of orange juice and simply add more color on your plate.” Even the antioxidant levels in many of these superjuices have been questioned. Some studies have revealed that the amounts are comparable to apple juice.
Bottom line: Buy a less expensive juice at the grocery store and eat whole fruit more often. Limit juice to one glass (8 ounces or less) a day.
2. Tropical oils
Why they’re overrated: While it’s true that some of the fatty acids in coconut oil are different from those found in animal products, there is no evidence to suggest coconut oil is better for you than other saturated fats, said Alice H. Lichtenstein, a nutrition researcher at Tufts University in Boston. Numerous studies have shown that coconut oil can raise LDL or bad cholesterol, she said. For years, it’s what researchers fed to animals to induce atherosclerosis. Despite the aggressive attempts to improve its tarnished image, coconut oil is still mostly saturated fat, and research does not support the battery of claims.
Bottom line: Do not run out and buy coconut oil, especially if you plan to use it in place of more beneficial oils that have been thoroughly studied, such as olive, canola and other vegetable oils.
3. Enhanced waters
Why they’re overrated: Many of these waters are sneaky sources of extra calories and sugar, said dietitian Keri Glassman, who owns a nutrition consulting firm in New York City. Some waters contain 125 calories per bottle — which is equivalent to the calories in two pieces of fruit without the nutritional attributes of the fruit. The advertised benefits are often overblown, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group that sued Coca-Cola this year over the “deceptive and unsubstantiated claims” of its line of VitaminWater beverages.
Bottom line: Get your nutrients from foods or take a multivitamin and drink plain water. If you want flavor, add a slice of lemon to tap water or look for calorie-free flavor-infused waters.
4. Miracle seeds
Why they’re overrated: While flax-fortified products may offer some benefits, flax seeds are not a reliable source of omega-3 because the potency is much weaker compared with what you’ll find in fish, said Evelyn Tribole, a California-based dietitian and author of “The Ultimate Omega-3 Diet.” Only a small percentage of the omega-3 in plant sources gets converted into the most beneficial form once you eat it, she said. Chia seeds claim to be a new superfood, yet the amount of seeds you would likely eat is quite small — not sufficient to deliver meaningful amounts of nutrients or omega-3s.
Bottom line: Enjoy flax and chia seeds if you like the taste, but don’t let them distract you from eating more omega 3-rich fish or incorporating a variety of seeds, nuts, whole grains, fruits and vegetables into your diet.
5. Natural sugars
Why they’re overrated: There is no real difference. The body treats all of these sugars the same, said Liz Applegate, who teaches nutrition at the University of California at Davis. Even the wholesome sounding “fruit juice concentrate,” she said, is basically equivalent to table sugar. Agave nectar may come from the same cactus-like plant that gives us tequilia, but the refined sugar is similar to the oft-maligned high fructose corn syrup. The terminology of “evaporated cane juice” came under fire this year because the name falsely suggests the sweetener is juice. It’s dried sugar cane, just like table sugar.
Bottom line: Sugar is sugar. All forms are virtually the same and should be consumed in moderation
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These so-called super juices, including MonaVie, Vemma and XanGo which contain acai, goji, mangosteen and other exotic fruits, are at the center of multilevel marketing or “pyramid” schemes that rely on aggressive sales pitches by the converted. Trouble is, the enthusiastic, well-intentioned distributors who sell these “liquid antioxidants” out of their homes or on the internet have been drinking the proverbial Kool-aid. These expensive juices – $40 to $80 per bottle — do not live up to the hype. Studies have shown that eating an apple will give you more antioxidants. An independent investigation by the 
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Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool, but testimonials are not reliable evidence. I always think it’s a red flag to take nutrition advice from someone without any credentials beyond their status in a marketing company (along with a big financial interest in the advice). The 
