5 products you thought were healthy BUT MAY NOT BE

Dear Friends,

Just think of sharing with you all...

1. BISCUITS :

Biscuits are widely seen as a healthy snack in India. Doctors even recommend their diabetic patients to take a couple of biscuits along with their tea as an evening snack. But what nutrition do biscuits like Marie provide?

Let’s look at the ingredient list for some brands we found on the shelves. Britannia’s NutriChoice Digestive biscuits that claim that they are “Hi Fibre biscuits” that seems to be a good choice for diabetics. But look closely at the ingredient list and you will see that apart from “whole wheat flour”, it also contains “wheat flour”, which is nothing but the refined Maida flour that diabetics are advised to keep away from. Other ingredients added are sugar and liquid glucose (a fancy word for sugar), which diabetics should stay away from. Also added are “hydrogenated fats” that contain the dangerous “trans-fats”.

Nutritionists believe that hydrogenated fats are “killer fats” and everyone should eliminate it from their diets completely. Despite the label claiming “hi-fiber”, the product only contains 5gms of dietary fiber per 100gm of the product. That is much more than the 2-3 pieces that constitutes the serving size for most people. And should you choose to take enough biscuits in order to get the 5gms of dietary fiber, remember that it comes with a whopping 26.4gms of fat.

A number of biscuit brands list refined Maida flour as their principal ingredient. Refined flour has a high Glycemic-index (meaning it produces a rapid surge in blood glucose levels) which diabetics should avoid as much as possible. Better to choose unrefined and unprocessed whole grains instead of refined flour. Further, many biscuits contain sugar but do not mention them prominently on the labels. Marie biscuits, a favorite among diabetics, contain both sugar and refined wheat flour.

Tip - Choose biscuits that use only whole wheat or whole-grain flour. Currently there aren’t any that do. Avoid biscuits with sugar. If you see the words partially hydrogenated, or shortening or vegetable fat, chances are it contains trans-fat. It could be better to avoid these brands.

2. FRUIT JUICES :

In a concerted attempt to avoid sugar, people are often choosing a variety of fruit juices over regular colas and other aerated and sugary drinks. Is drinking all those orange and apple juices an answer to good health? Nutritionists say that while fruit juices have a small nutritional benefit, they are calorie dense as any soft drink. A 200ml serving of fruit juice typically could contain between 100 to 110 calories. Two to three glasses add up greatly to the total calorie intake in a day. Fruit juices are processed and therefore they lose some of the fiber, vitamins and minerals that you get from whole fruit. Fruits therefore have fewer calories and more nutrition than fruit juices.

Tip - Try eating fruits instead of fruit juices. Eating fruits means consuming lesser calories and more fiber. Limit consumption of fruit juice to a serving, a day. Take water to keep you hydrated through the day.

Many fruit-juice brands in the market contain added sugar- so watch out for that. We found that several brands like Tropicana and Real juice contain added sugar. This translates to a lot of empty sugar calories. Exceptions are those which say “100% natural juice – No sugar added” on their labels.

Tip - Look at the ingredient list to see if your fruit juice is really “100% natural” or if it contains sugar.

3. INSTANT "ATTA" NOODLES :

A number of Noodle brands claim that they contain atta. However, whole grain atta is just one ingredient and often wheat flour, which is refined and has a high Glycemic index, is added too. Further, packaged noodles contain plenty of salt. Nissin’s Top Ramen Smoodles, for example, displays a nutrition label which claims that one serving of noodles contain 1391.1mg of sodium. That is more than half of the sodium that healthy adults should consume in the entire day. For children, this is almost three quarters of their daily requirement.

Many noodles brands do not even list how much sodium is contained in one serving. Doctors believe that an increased intake of salt over the long term leads to an increase blood pressure. The recommended daily intake of sodium should be about 2400mg. Most of these brands contain half as much as that in a single serving.

Tip - As far as possible, stay away from packaged instant noodles. Instead cook your own noodles where you have more control over the salt you add.

4. "WHOLE WHEAT" BREAD :

Health conscious people seem to think that “brown bread” and “whole wheat bread” is better than “white bread”. This is because whole-grains have a lower Glycemic index and contains more fiber than refined white flour. A number of brands claim that they are made from “Whole wheat”. But look at their ingredient list and you will find that refined “wheat flour” is often listed as the main ingredient. Another problem with most brands of bread is that they are baked with hydrogenated vegetable oils (also called as vegetable shortening or vanaspati) which contain the dangerous trans-fats. According to nutritionists, avoiding trans-fats completely is the best choice for your health.

Tip - Almost all brands of “whole wheat bread” that we found were not 100% whole wheat and all of them had hydrogenated fats. Its better to avoid these and eat home made roti instead.

5. BREAKFAST CEREALS :

Breakfast cereals are seen as an excellent way to begin one’s day. But all brands of cereal are not the same. We found that the majority of cereal brands on the supermarket shelves contain added sugar.

Tip - Check the label to see if your cereal is laden with sugar. Choose cereals with at least 4gm of fiber.

With Regards,
Uma

 

Thanks Sheshin for your first response

 

Thanks a lot Joshila.
I agree with you, even though many ready made / packed food products are said to be very healthy, It is better to choose home made foods:thumbsup which we would be 100% sure that they are really healthy

 

Thanks deepd

 

Thanks Hemadurga for your response

Before reading this article I was also sailing in the same boat :hide: