Something that helped me start putting sugar quantities on nutrition labels into context was to convert it to sugar packets — you know, the kind of single-serve sachets you’d dump into a coffee. A...
Something that helped me start putting sugar quantities on nutrition labels into context was to convert it to sugar packets — you know, the kind of single-serve sachets you’d dump into a coffee.
A sugar packet is about 4 grams, so when looking at a product’s nutrition facts, you can simply divide the sugar content by 4 to get the equivalent number of sugar packets in the food. I used to literally visualize opening that many and dumping them into whatever I was planning to buy, and it genuinely made avoiding high-sugar foods a lot easier for me. “Seeing” how much sugar was in them made them less desirable. At times it would turn my stomach.
By this measure, a single serving (1 cup) of Fruity Pebbles or Lucky Charms has 3 sugar packets. Also, it’s unlikely that a kid is eating only 1 cup. It’s more common to fill up most of a cereal bowl, which could be more in the range of 2-3 cups, or 6-9 sugar packets.
And that’s just the cereal.
Add in a cup of dairy milk? That’s, believe it or not, 3 more packets. Doesn’t matter if it’s whole, 2%, or skim.
In just one breakfast of nothing more than a bowl of cereal, a kid might eat the equivalent of TWELVE sugar packets. On the low end, it still might be in the range of 4-5.
To shill for a moment, I've found a really good breakfast cereal that has <1g of sugar per serving - https://nanajoes.com/collections/granola/products/savory-blend. It's pretty expensive but damn...
This whole thing makes me feel sick, but this one really gets me: This is all the more reason why it's so important that they eat foods that are ACTUALLY healthy and not filled with addictive...
This whole thing makes me feel sick, but this one really gets me:
The food manufacturers also stressed that the FDA should consider that cereals represent an affordable and accessible option for “families who are experiencing food insecurity.”
This is all the more reason why it's so important that they eat foods that are ACTUALLY healthy and not filled with addictive sugars!
The agency, they wrote, should recognize the beneficial role of sugar. “Sugar plays a role in foods beyond palatability; it controls water activity, creates texture, adds bulk, and also contributes to flavor complexity,” the filing states.
Most of those are just different ways to say "it makes it taste better". None of them are critical in anything regarding health. I don't even know what to say about how they consider "bulk" a positive role for sugar to play.
The makers of Fruity Pebbles, Froot Loops, Lucky Charms, and other popular cereal brands are bitterly lobbying against a new Food and Drug Administration proposal that would prevent them from labeling their products as “healthy.”
The proposed FDA rule mandates that foods labeled as healthy must contain a major food group — such as dairy, fruits, or whole grains — and must fit certain limits on saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars.
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In response, processed food companies that produce a variety of snacks, baked goods, pastas, and frozen pizzas are challenging the rules before they are finalized by the agency. Among the most vocal food companies are producers of high-sugar cereals, which are largely marketed to children and have been criticized as a driver of the obesity epidemic in America.
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The public comment docket includes a filing from the Washington Legal Foundation, a shadowy nonprofit that litigates esoteric and often controversial business interests. The group filed a letter in opposition in the form of a legal brief, laying out a broad case for a future court challenge against the FDA guidelines.
The organization contended that the healthy labeling requirements are an unconstitutional overreach of government power. Food companies, the Washington Legal Foundation argued, have “constitutionally protected commercial speech” rights covering their ability to use the term “healthy” to describe their added sugar products.
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The joint filing from cereal manufacturers not only scorns the labeling rules, but also argues that sugary cereals pose no health risks and are, in fact, beneficial to society and childhood health.
Something that helped me start putting sugar quantities on nutrition labels into context was to convert it to sugar packets — you know, the kind of single-serve sachets you’d dump into a coffee.
A sugar packet is about 4 grams, so when looking at a product’s nutrition facts, you can simply divide the sugar content by 4 to get the equivalent number of sugar packets in the food. I used to literally visualize opening that many and dumping them into whatever I was planning to buy, and it genuinely made avoiding high-sugar foods a lot easier for me. “Seeing” how much sugar was in them made them less desirable. At times it would turn my stomach.
By this measure, a single serving (1 cup) of Fruity Pebbles or Lucky Charms has 3 sugar packets. Also, it’s unlikely that a kid is eating only 1 cup. It’s more common to fill up most of a cereal bowl, which could be more in the range of 2-3 cups, or 6-9 sugar packets.
And that’s just the cereal.
Add in a cup of dairy milk? That’s, believe it or not, 3 more packets. Doesn’t matter if it’s whole, 2%, or skim.
In just one breakfast of nothing more than a bowl of cereal, a kid might eat the equivalent of TWELVE sugar packets. On the low end, it still might be in the range of 4-5.
To shill for a moment, I've found a really good breakfast cereal that has <1g of sugar per serving - https://nanajoes.com/collections/granola/products/savory-blend. It's pretty expensive but damn is it good.
This whole thing makes me feel sick, but this one really gets me:
This is all the more reason why it's so important that they eat foods that are ACTUALLY healthy and not filled with addictive sugars!
Most of those are just different ways to say "it makes it taste better". None of them are critical in anything regarding health. I don't even know what to say about how they consider "bulk" a positive role for sugar to play.
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