Six common beliefs addressed, Part 272 - Seasoning Edition

1. I watch a nutritionist online that believes in low carb and "keto" diets. He sometimes recommends certain products, which he deems are the healthiest. He recently recommended the brand Siete. I tried their fajita seasoning mix but noticed that my postprandial blood glucose rose a bit more than usual. I checked the ingredients and didn't find any carbs. I saw no added sugar. What could have happened?

Quackery. Quackery is what happened and usually it's the only thing that happens consistently. A lot of these nutritionists/dietitians, who are online selling their supplements, programs and books, are focused on their agenda and not on the science. It seems that whatever gimmick this online nutritionist is selling, diabetes is not their forte.

I found the Siete brand Fajita Seasoning Mix you mentioned. Look closely at the ingredients and tell me what you see that shouldn't belong there. To make it easier for you, I actually circled what it is on my photo below - ground dates. Why would a savory seasoning mix, which is used on beef or chicken dishes, contain dates? In fact, all of their seasoning mixes contain dates.  

These supposedly "healthy" food manufacturers are very clever, if not cunning. They hide the sugar in their products by adding it as dates or syrup or fruit juice or honey, etc. etc. I even saw "fermented cane sugar" once, as if that made a difference. The circus left but the clowns remain. I have said it many times before - the obese will put sugar on a steak and this is the proof. This manufacturer knows that sugar sells.

This is why I always advise my readers to be very leery of products marked "low carb", "no added sugar" and/or "keto". You must look closely at the ingredients and do not expect to see the word "sugar", "high fructose corn syrup" or "fructose". They know you are looking for those trigger words, so they hide them now and quite clever ways.  Just look for any ingredient that contains sugar. This can be hidden with terms such as "fruit" or "starch". The consumer has to be smart and unfortunately paranoid.

The best thing you can do is not buy seasoning mixes. There is no need to. You can make your own seasoning blends. They also have many seasoning mixes in the seasoning aisle, in bottles, which do not contain extra ingredients like dates.