|
The health food that has more sugar than ice cream
22nd May 2009
• Exposed, the 'healthy' food that has
more sugar than ice cream
• Sugary cereals named and shamed
• How to eat a healthy breakfast
As you know, my ethos is 'a little bit of what you
fancy can do you good'.
I never wanted these letters to become preachy or
full of guiltinducing fingerwagging lectures.
In my view, the good life isn't about depriving
yourself of absolutely everything that the
newspapers suddenly decide is 'bad for you.'
And the idea of healthy living isn't to spend the
entire time panicking about what goes into your
mouth.
Because that's the way to make yourself ill with
'food worry'
Every time your body craves a snack, one side of
your brain becomes Mrs Doyle from Father Ted,
saying 'Go on, go on, go on, go on, go on.'
And the other side of your brain becomes the
Churchill Car Insurance dog saying, 'Oh, no, no no
no no.'
This is not a pleasant way to live.
When you should give yourself the green light...
So if a bar of chocolate makes you happy, then by
all means eat one as a treat.
Just make sure it's the best kind of chocolate you
can afford, and that you understand that the sugar
inside may be bad for you. Then ENJOY it and
don't feel guilty about it.
If you fancy an occasional steak with creamy
pepper sauce and chips, that's okay, too. Just
make sure your diet is also packed with fresh
vegetables and other sources of nutrition.
If you occasionally turn to a tub of ice cream in your
hour of need go on, indulge. Sometimes your
good mood and happiness may be more important
that the calories.
At least you KNOW ice cream is not good for your
health. At least you KNOW in your heart of hearts
that it's a naughty treat...
The big problem is when what you're naively eating
something that ISN'T what you think it is...
When food companies trick us
I get very annoyed when food manufacturers
disguise unhealthy food as a healthy, nutritional
product.
Especially when then they heavily advertise it so
that it becomes not a devilish treat, but a DAILY
staple of the nation's diet.
In these cases, people simply don't realise the
consequences of the snack they're eating.
Take a bowl of cereal for instance...
Did you know that in certain circumstances, your
daily breakfast meal could contain more refined
sugar than a bowl of ice cream?
No, well then you'll be mortified by what the
consumer magazine Which? has discovered.
|
Sugary cereals named and shamed
They looked into 100 big brand breakfast cereals
that commonly appear in supermarkets. Their
research team analysed these foods for sugar, salt
and fat content.
Twenty two of the cereals aimed at children had
more sugar in a suggested 40 gram serving
(roughly what they deem a 'bowl') than a jam
donut!
Morrisons Choco Crackles, Kellogg's Coco Pops
Moons & Stars, Kellogg's Frosties and Kellogg's
Ricicles, all had between 14 and 16grams per 40g
serving.
This four teaspoons worth - which is more sugar
than in a bowl of ice cream.
They found that a total of 31 cereals had more than
four teaspoons of sugar per portion.
Even Special K, advertised as a weight-loss cereal,
has 5.16g of sugar in a 40 serving. So that's still a
teaspoon of sugar for breakfast as part of your
'health kick'.
And by the way, we're not talking about sugar that
comes from fruit here. This is added, refined
sugar.
Other high sugar cereals that are commonly known
as healthy breakfasts include All-Bran and Bran
Flakes,
No wonder so many people in Britain are struggling
to lose weight!
By the way, the reason I name all these companies
without fear of the Big Corporation Heavies coming
round with lawyers is that all this information is
public and listed in the published Which? Report.
So don't take my humble word for it. You can see
all the details on their webpage here:
Which? report
|
What's the alternative then?
As I said at the beginning of today's letter, if you
fancy a sugary treat and LOVE eating cereal, then
this is absolutely fine. I've been partial to the
occasional bowl myself.
But when you eat that cereal, understand that it's a
very sugary treat, high in refined carbs. Eating this
every day will play havoc with your blood sugar
levels, and make you fatter, more prone to food
cravings, and other side-effects.
On the Which? website you'll see some healthier alternatives to manufactured breakfast cereals. Now I part company from these guys when it comes
to the solution.
They recommend 'reduced fat spreads' and
reduced sugar jam and low fat yoghurt.
In my view, I tend to avoid anything that has been
modified and treated to seem healthier. Margarines
and products with sweeteners inside them are NOT
the way to go.
I agree with Michael Pollan author of 'In Defence of
Food' who says:
'If you're concerned about your health, you
should probably avoid products that make
health claims'
Why? Because 'a health claim on a food product is
a strong indication it's not really food, and food is
what you want to eat.'
Hear hear.
So here's my own list of breakfast suggestions:
• Wholemeal bread with boiled eggs
• Natural yoghurt with fresh fruit
• Wholemeal toast with manuka honey
• A fresh homemade fruit salad topped with
honey and chopped nuts.
• Mackerel with bread or boiled eggs
• Good quality muesli without any added
sugar - make it a small portion
These suggestions aren't meant to be unequivocally
healthy and beyond reproach. What you choose will
depend on your own dietary needs and
preferences. But at least these are 'whole foods'
and will help you avoid refined sugars.
The best tip of all is to vary what you have for
breakfast each day so that you get a better balance
of food types throughout the week.
If you have any exciting healthy breakfast ideas that
taste great - without the secret sugary rubbish
inside - then by all means send them to me. I'll pick
out some of the best suggestions for future letters. |
|
|
|
