Bad company: the addition of sugar, fat, or salt reduces the perceived vitamin and mineral content of foods

The addition of disreputable ingredients (e.g., fat) can cause foods to take on perceived negative qualities (e.g., as promoters of obesity and disease) and according to recent findings, these foods can also be perceived to lack positive components (e.g., vitamins and minerals). In the present study, middle-aged and older adults were asked to rate the vitamin and mineral levels of a group of primary foods (e.g., strawberries) as well as their counterparts, i.e., a second group of similar foods (e.g., strawberries with sugar on top) that contained disreputable ingredients. The results indicate that many Americans (regardless of whether or not they have tendencies toward eating restraint) believe that fat, sugar, and salt deplete foods of vitamins and minerals. Apparently, the vilification of certain nutrients in foods (e.g., fat) by health media and the food industry influences our perceptions of the amounts of other nutrients in those same foods. These results suggest that more care and caution should be used when disseminating nutritional information.