'Healthy' cereal bars a myth - over half contain more than 30% sugar - Polidicks

[B]The image of cereal bars as a healthy snack is a "myth", according to a study by Which?[/B] The consumer group found all but one of the 30 bars it analysed were high in sugar, with more than half containing over 30% sugar. One bar, Nutri-Grain Elevenses, [B]contained nearly four teaspoons - more than in a small can of cola[/B] and 20% of the recommended daily allowance. Other snacks it analysed were found to be high in fat and saturated fat. The Tracker Roasted Nut bar, for example, was almost a third fat. Meanwhile,[B] six of the seven cereal bars targeted at children were high in saturated fat[/B], the study found. And Monster Puffs, a cereal bar marketed to children and described as [B] "great for your lunchbox", contained 43.5% sugar[/B] - more than two teaspoons. Which? compared the nutritional content of the bars using the manufacturers' information and applied traffic light labelling to see if the levels of fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt were high, medium or low. The Nakd Apple Pie was the only bar in the study that did not contain any added sugar, while the Alpen Light Apple and Sultana was the only one to have three green traffic lights for fat, saturated fat and salt. Which? is calling for manufacturers to reduce sugar and fat in food products marketed to children and for tighter controls over the way they are promoted. Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: "[B]People often choose cereal bars in the belief they're healthier than chocolate or biscuits, but our research shows this can be a myth.[/B]" A spokeswoman for Kellogg's, which makes the Nutri-Grain Elevenses bar and some of the other snacks tested, said: "[B]We're confused as to why anyone would call a Nutri-Grain Elevenses snack a cereal bar.[/B] "If you've eaten one you know it's not. It's a baked bar and [B]looks and eats much more like a muffin [/B]or cake. "We bake it like a cake and market it as a mid-morning snack. "In fact, compared to other similar mid-morning snacks, it's one of the choices that has slightly less sugar than the norm." [URL]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19300160[/URL]

Not surprising at all really.

can't the FDA regulate what you can label or advertise as "healthy"? there's so much misleading shit like this

[QUOTE=Dori;37299796]can't the FDA regulate what you can label or advertise as "healthy"? there's so much misleading shit like this[/QUOTE] They never said it was healthy, they just make it look healthy by putting things on the front like "No artificial colours or flavours, all natural ingredients" and as people are always told to eat breakfast they think it's just as good Which is why Kellogs are playing dumb and saying "we never said it was for breakfast"

psh, I know they're not that healthy for you but damn I love them, they're really tasty.

Am I the only one who can't can't stand all the fucking sweet shit? I used to love this stuff as a kid, but lately I can't even drink half of the soda stuff because the sweetness makes my tongue twist. I only really enjoy sweet chocolate when flushing it with bitter tea or coffee, generally preferring bitter chocolate, the the only "soda" I really like is tonic. I won't pretend I am eating healthily because half of the stuff I love is nasty as fuck anyway, but if there was less sugar in everything I would be fucking happy.

[QUOTE=Dori;37299796]can't the FDA regulate what you can label or advertise as "healthy"? there's so much misleading shit like this[/QUOTE] Yeah? They just say stuff is natural (Which even those guidelines are blurry) Its the same reason bottled water is pretty nasty. FDA is nice and all, but its easy to find little loopholes in its regulations.

those bars are like held together with frosting what did anyone expect

yay refined sugar Interesting read: [URL="http://www.lurj.org/article.php/vol1n1/sugar.xml"]The Reclassification of Sugar as a Drug[/URL]

Blimey, that is a lot of sugar for a bar like that. Surely there's a healthier binding alternative?

[QUOTE=matt.ant;37299831]They never said it was healthy, they just make it look healthy by putting things on the front like "No artificial colours or flavours, all natural ingredients" and as people are always told to eat breakfast they think it's just as good Which is why Kellogs are playing dumb and saying "we never said it was for breakfast"[/QUOTE] they need to explicitly advertise this food as candy, because that's what it really is. they shouldn't be allowed to pass it off as anything else

[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;37299940]Am I the only one who can't can't stand all the fucking sweet shit? I used to love this stuff as a kid, but lately I can't even drink half of the soda stuff because the sweetness makes my tongue twist. I only really enjoy sweet chocolate when flushing it with bitter tea or coffee, generally preferring bitter chocolate, the the only "soda" I really like is tonic. I won't pretend I am eating healthily because half of the stuff I love is nasty as fuck anyway, but if there was less sugar in everything I would be fucking happy.[/QUOTE] Completely agreed with this - non diet fizzy drinks and sweets are a big no for me, and I avoid most chocolate too Anything but artificial sweetened stuff is too sweet for me

Haha I tend to avoid all soda myself lately, switched to Yerba Mate a while ago - it's awesome, you should try it :P Does anyone else get a weird reaction to sweeteners? If I have a diet coke or diet tango I become very very easily confused and anxious/dizzy. Sugared pop is fine but I'm avoiding it for the sake of health plus discovering the Yerba Mate that I actually prefer to it now

[QUOTE=Dori;37301593]they need to explicitly advertise this food as candy, because that's what it really is. they shouldn't be allowed to pass it off as anything else[/QUOTE] If your average fuck had half a brain he'd know this shit is candy. The problem is not that companies are using false advertising, it's that people are stupid enough to believe it.

Oh, these were supposed to be healthy? We've been giving them out during Halloween as treats.

[QUOTE=matt.ant;37299831]They never said it was healthy, they just make it look healthy by putting things on the front like "No artificial colours or flavours, all natural ingredients" and as people are always told to eat breakfast they think it's just as good Which is why Kellogs are playing dumb and saying "we never said it was for breakfast"[/QUOTE] Reminds me of that lawsuit Nutella lost a few months ago.

This is what they're packaged like: [img]http://img.tesco.com/Groceries/pi/374%5C5010477321374%5CIDShot_225x225.jpg[/img] Looks healthy and natural, but: [IMG]http://i46.tinypic.com/bhnhur.png[/IMG] Nuts are naturally higher in fat but it's not healthier to eat them all day like people think

[QUOTE=matt.ant;37299747] And Monster Puffs, a cereal bar marketed to children and described as [B] "great for your lunchbox", contained 43.5% sugar[/B] - more than two teaspoons. [/QUOTE] [img_thumb]http://www.chocablog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/monster-puffs-2.jpg[/img_thumb] You'd have to be either blind or a retard to think that didn't contain at least 40% sugar.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxmfx0-nj4U[/media]

Wait, I thought people ate cereal bars to get a quick jolt of energy on the go, not because its... hahahaha, healthy... oh man...

lol where have you been? all these lady bitches that go "oh i don't eat breakfast, I don't eat lunch or dinner. I just eat cereal bars because they're healthy and shit!" and then "WHY AM I SO FAT BWAHAHAHA" But honestly, I don't really blame them. They usually are advertised as something really heatlhy and natural. I mean, you see a picture of cereal and strawberries and tell me that's not the representation of healthy right there. But in the end it's totally different. I guess that only a couple of cereal bars are actually heatlhy, but generalizations oh my

[QUOTE=Pitchfork;37301848]If your average fuck had half a brain he'd know this shit is candy. The problem is not that companies are using false advertising, it's that people are stupid enough to believe it.[/QUOTE] There has to be false advertising for people to believe it, unless you are implying people are so stupid that they are making up false information and following it.

[QUOTE=JustExtreme;37301816]Haha I tend to avoid all soda myself lately, switched to Yerba Mate a while ago - it's awesome, you should try it :P Does anyone else get a weird reaction to sweeteners? If I have a diet coke or diet tango I become very very easily confused and anxious/dizzy. Sugared pop is fine but I'm avoiding it for the sake of health plus discovering the Yerba Mate that I actually prefer to it now[/QUOTE] Aspartame gives me migraines. Great stuff.

[QUOTE=FreakyMe;37302605]There has to be false advertising for people to believe it, unless you are implying people are so stupid that they are making up false information and following it.[/QUOTE] To be honest I'd say it's a mix of false advertising and people being so stupid they're making up the false information and believing in it.

[QUOTE=FreakyMe;37302605]There has to be false advertising for people to believe it, unless you are implying people are so stupid that they are making up false information and following it.[/QUOTE] I'm implying that the people who gobble this shit up are fucking morons. Is it that hard to understand? There's false advertising in every trade, how the hell do you expect companies to not market their product as healthy? Of course there has to be false advertising for people to believe it, but do you really think that companies will stop it? Take a look at a 'health' bar and tell me that the people who actually think that the thing's gonna cure their diabetes aren't retarded.

I just googled cereal bar looked at the first one I saw. a 23 gram bar has 7 grams of sugar. 7 grams of sugar is not significant amount of sugar. A serving of milk that I would have if I were to eat cereal contains 12g of sugar. This is just some bullshit media stunt, someone learned that if you divide the mass of sugar by the total mass you get a mass ratio and thought they were science. The whole point of breakfast (and these bars) is to raise your blood sugar and pump you up with carbs (which basically just turned into sugar) in the morning. edit: what can of soda has less than 7 grams of sugar that isn't diet?

[QUOTE=D3TBS;37302600]lol where have you been? all these lady bitches that go "oh i don't eat breakfast, I don't eat lunch or dinner. I just eat cereal bars because they're healthy and shit!" and then "WHY AM I SO FAT BWAHAHAHA" But honestly, I don't really blame them. They usually are advertised as something really heatlhy and natural. I mean, you see a picture of cereal and strawberries and tell me that's not the representation of healthy right there. But in the end it's totally different. I guess that only a couple of cereal bars are actually heatlhy, but generalizations oh my[/QUOTE] I don't know any lady bitch that eats them and says that. Or do I?....

[QUOTE=JustExtreme;37300478]yay refined sugar Interesting read: [URL="http://www.lurj.org/article.php/vol1n1/sugar.xml"]The Reclassification of Sugar as a Drug[/URL][/QUOTE] buying 4 refined sugar

I'm not surprised. Aren't most things marketted as "healthy" fake?

[QUOTE=I Am A Rock;37303998]I just googled cereal bar looked at the first one I saw. a 23 gram bar has 7 grams of sugar. 7 grams of sugar is not significant amount of sugar. A serving of milk that I would have if I were to eat cereal contains 12g of sugar. This is just some bullshit media stunt, someone learned that if you divide the mass of sugar by the total mass you get a mass ratio and thought they were science. The whole point of breakfast (and these bars) is to raise your blood sugar and pump you up with carbs (which basically just turned into sugar) in the morning. edit: what can of soda has less than 7 grams of sugar that isn't diet?[/QUOTE] They were comparing the can of coke to the bar with the highest amount of sugar, diet has no sugar, just sweetners