The myth of ‘healthy’ snack foods
When dietician Kate Di Prima analysed the nutritional content of 17 snack foods that children commonly eat, the levels of sugar and salt content were alarming, to say the least. The study looked at a range of food items from sultanas, fruit sticks and fruit yogurts to muesli bars and cookies.
A piece of fresh fruit contains 200 kilojoules, whereas many snack foods contain two to three times this amount per serve. While an apple contains less than 1 mg of salt; the sodium content for the foods analysed averaged 83 mg.
A lunchbox containing a jam sandwich, small packet of sweet biscuits, muesli bar, fruit wrap, biscuit and dip, and juice box contains the same amount of added sugar as 7 lollipops!
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This article was first published in Australian Family Magazine, May 2006. Updated July 2009.
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