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Fortified Foods

Fortified foods are foods to which nutrients are added that were not present originally, or to which nutrients are added that increase the amount already present.

There’s been an explosion in foods fortified with vitamins and minerals. They’re called “functional foods,” and Americans spend billions of dollars a year on them. Your milk is fortified with Vitamin D; your OJ has so many added vitamins its container has more letters in the alphabet than your child’s school books, and your cereal claims to help you lose weight and reduce your risk of a heart attack and stroke. Feeling guilty about eating junk food Even ice-pops, chocolate pudding, and sugary drinks these days have added vitamins and minerals. It’s hard to find a product that doesn’t contain some healthy-sounding additive.

But are these foods worth buying and consuming The answer isn’t all that simple. “I’m concerned about it, because it’s a way of getting us to eat things that may not be completely healthy for us,” says Dr. Marc Siegel of New York University Hospital in New York City. “A lot of these products have additives that in and of themselves are good, [such as] vitamins. But what about the overall product Do they have too many sugars in them [or] caffeine A lot of these products are not that healthy.”