We show you that theoretically healthy products are almost as harmful as potato chips
The healthy 'snacks' are fashionable. The majority of the Spanish population wants to lose weight, and instead of resorting to rational solutions such as eating healthier, choosing better their diet or doing sports, they choose to consume products, in theory, diet or 'light'.
Rice or corn cakes, cereals and 'fitness' bars, granola and much more are part of the theoretically healthy 'snacks' that are sold as friends of weight loss.
However, the reality is quite different. And while most are less harmful than pastries or pizza, they don't qualify for a weight-loss snack - quite the opposite.
The healthy snack scam
The Spaniards are not very smart in terms of issues of thinning. More than half of those who want to lose weight in our country spend an average of 150 euros a month on it, according to a survey conducted by the Union of Consumers and Users (OCU).
These 'light snacks', which abound in advertisements, are actually a bit of a scam, since they are full of complex carbohydrates, which are what end up making us fat
Most of this money is not invested in fruits and vegetables or in gym fees, but in theoretically healthy products with which to calm gluttony. These 'light snacks’, which abound in the media advertisements, are actually a bit of a scam, since although they have fewer calories and fat than a bag of potatoes, they are packed with complex carbohydrates, which are that end up making us fat.
So that they do not continue to 'deceive' you with false advertising, we have compiled two of the best-selling snacks in Spain that are presented as healthy when they are not so healthy:
Cereals 'fitness'
'Light' cereals are one of the products that most blatantly sell as 'healthy' and friends of diets, when the reality is quite the opposite.
In fact, Kellogg's was convicted of "false advertising “in 2008 for having lied about the percentage of fat stated in Spécial K packages. These cereals bore a red logo with the text "Breakfast with Special K, 0% fat ". A message that the Bobigny correctional court found misleading. The company had to pay a paltry 15,000 euro fine.
However, Kellogg's is not the only brand that markets cereals dressing them as 'light'. In this case we are going to focus on the Nestlé Fitness range. We see that on the package there is a message ("nutritive energy") and an image (a woman with her arms raised) that symbolize healthy, but their nutritional composition is very similar to that of infant cereals.
For every 100 grams, Fitness cereals have 395 calories, 6.2 grams of fat and 74.2 of carbohydrates, of which 23.6 are sugars.
Now, let's compare 'healthy' cereals with others intended for children. We have chosen the Frosties, from Kellogg's. For every 100 grams, they have 412 calories, 11 grams of fat, and 72 grams of carbohydrates, of which 26 are sugars.
As we can see, there is hardly any difference between one option and another. The fat grams are lower in the case of Fitness, but in calories, carbohydrates and sugars they are on par, so if you want to lose weight, reader, do not eat breakfast or snack on cereals, no matter how healthy they may seem. There are better and much healthier options.
Bread sticks with cereals
Although they are sold as healthy, breadsticks and their varieties with cereals, pipes and substitutes are another ultra-processed 'snack' and not healthy at all.
We have selected one of the Snatt's brand, by Grefusa, which is now in the advertisements of all television networks. We see that for every 100 grams, this theoretically healthy snack has 483 calories, 21 grams of fat, 57 of carbohydrates and 2 of salt. In the bag we see that they sell it as a healthy product and highlight its "source of fiber and phosphorus", but nothing is further from the truth.
We compare these healthy 'snacks' with a bag of Lay's to the point of salt, the classic. For 100 grams of these chips we find 539 calories, 35 grams of fat, 47.6 of carbohydrates and 1.5 of salt.
Conclusion? The nutritional composition of both is super similar. We see that although Lay's has (only) 56 calories more and more fat (because it is a fried and not baked product), it contains less carbohydrates (9.4 grams) and less salt (0.5 grams). In other words, French fries are almost as (un) healthy as these healthy 'snacks'.
Why healthy 'snacks' are not used to lose weight
In addition to the examples described above, there is much more fabric to cut: we have cereal bars, rice or corn cakes, granola, cereal bread ...
And all these products have one thing in common: they are a carbohydrate and sugar bomb. And to lose weight, the first thing we have to cut is just that.
All these products have one thing in common: they are a carbohydrate and sugar bomb
The good slimming diets focus, in fact, reduce the maximum carbohydrate diet, as this body will feed on stored fat, which inevitably will cause weight loss.
Also, carbohydrates cause insulin spikes, making you feel tired once you've processed them, which will make you eat more and worse.
And this is it, reader. As you can see, nothing is what it seems in 'light' and 'healthy' products. Be careful what they sell you and don't be fooled. If you want a snack, opt for fruits and vegetables, and for breakfast, better protein.
If you or your clients find that a ketogenic meal plan is difficult to follow all of the time, another option is a cyclical ketogenic diet. This involves following a ketogenic approach five days a week as opposed to all seven. On a cyclical Ketogenic diets, the carbs on off days increases to 50 percent. Protein remains around the same at 25 percent and fat drops to 25 percent as well. This enables your body to produce ketone bodies on your diet days but also gives you a couple of days to eat more of the foods you enjoy.