I Can't Belive It's Not...Zero Calories??

We all remember the famous Fabio commercials for I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, with his long blond hair and soap opera music in the background. Perhaps the advertising pros at ICBINB were using Fabio's accent and hair from the crazy ingredients found inside their spray butter.

Let's examine this product a little closer, shall we? I unfortunately have been a consumer of this condiment. Actually, I know a lot of people who have this in their fridge. I have sprayed this on rice, sweet potatoes, toast, used the spray in place of butter to cook eggs...the possibilities are endless. And with the zero calorie claim, most people feel free to spray away!! Not so fast guys, you might want to chunk the spray butter.

 

The ingredients inside the yellow bottle are: Water, Soybean Oil (Most likely GMO sourced), Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Salt, Sweet Cream Buttermilk (Definetely not organic) , Xantham Gum (Again, GMO), Soy Lectithan(GMO), Polysorbate 60(GMO), Lactic Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Calcium Disodium EDTA, Natural Flavor, Vitamin E Palmate and Beta Carotene

 

To me the first thing that comes to mind when reading the label is, "How the heck is this calorie free with EVOO and buttermilk in it and how is it sodium free if salt is the fourth ingredient listed??" Hmm..just how is that possible? The serving size is just one spray as a cooking spray or five as a topping, and if you were to use just five sprays you would actually be consuming 2.64 calories. You see, this bottle of spray butter actually contains 900 calories, not zero. A teaspoon of the stuff contains 20 calories and a tablespoon has 60 calories in it. You might as well spring for the real deal and have actual butter for just 40 calories per tablespoon more.

 

But, that is sadly not all.

 

 

Polysorbate 60- Made of corn, palm oil and petroleum, wait what?! Petroleum based ingredients are known to cause cancer and endocrine disruption.

 

Calcium Disodium EDTA- May cause blood in urine and kidney damage

 

Potassium Sorbate- Prolonged use leads to allergic reactions, diarrhea, nausea and nutrient loss in food

 

Vitamin A Palmate- May cause liver toxicity and birth defects

 

The hidden bombshell lies within the "natural flavor," a.k.a Diacetyl. Whenever you see this term you can almost bet there is nothing natural about this ingredient. Diacetyl (DA) is an artificial butter flavoring found in not only ICBINB but frosting, corn chips, margarine, gelatin and pancake syrup. Diacetyl can also be found in strawberry, banana and dairy flavorings. So what is the big deal with a little extra flavor in our food?? Chronic exposure to diacetyl has been linked to Alzheimer's disease. It has also been known to cause respiratory problems and other health problems. You can read more about that here.

 

I think the moral of this story is to eat clean, eat simple and read ingredients. If you can't pronounce it then its most likely not real food, and more importantly if you have to google an ingredient to figure out what it really is that is not a good sign. Also, skip anything that lists natural flavors as an ingredient. The natural flavorings are not so natural and can come from crazy sources.