Consumers are becoming more conscious about their health, and food marketers are fast to pick up on this train of thoughts. However, people should be wary of so-called healthy foods since not all of them are what they are promoted to be.
Maple Syrup
Canadians love their maple syrup, and there have been some studies that sought to explore the potential effects of maple syrup on health.
Maple syrup has a slightly lower glycemic index than white sugar (54 vs. 60). With that being said, don’t start dowsing your dishes with maple syrup. Why? Because maple syrup contains just as much sugar as plain old white sugar. One teaspoon of maple syrup contains roughly 15 grams of carb. Since the difference in the glycemic index value is small, and it’s hard to predict how maple syrup can affect a person’s blood sugar levels compared to white sugar, people with diabetes are cautioned to consume sugar and sweeteners moderately.
Sugar-Free
People with diabetes are advised to be particularly cautious about this allegation. Sugar-free food products are not exempt of carb and are not a synonym of healthy foods. These products may contain starch, a type of carb that can increase your blood sugar levels. For instance, Reese’s Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Cups Miniatures contains 0 gram of sugar and 27 g of carb per 5 pieces (not to mention 13 grams of fat).
Veggie Straws
You can’t imagine how excited I got when I first saw veggie-style chips on the shelf. Then, I thought to myself: Have we finally found another delicious way, other than stir-fry (props to my people!), to eat more veggies?
Now imagine my disappointment when I took a glimpse of their Nutrition Facts Table.
INGREDIENTS: VEGGIE STRAWS (POTATO STARCH, POTATO FLOUR, CORN STARCH, TOMATO PASTE, SPINACH POWDER, SALT, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, SUGAR, BEETROOT POWDER [COLOR], TURMERIC, CANOLA OIL AND/OR SAFFLOWER OIL AND/OR SUNFLOWER OIL, SEA SALT).
I guess this explains why each 28-gram bag of veggie straws contains 15 grams of carb.
(FYI, these products do not account for your daily servings of fruits and vegetables.)
References:
Diabète Québec. URL Link. Accessed January 16, 2017.
Sensible Portions. URL Link. Accessed January 16, 2017.
