A friend of mine in the United Kingdom was telling me about a news story in which it was claimed that what we often call "junk food" in the USA (what they call "snacks") is very unhealthy because these items have a "high saturated fat content," or something equivalent. Apparently, such people have not actually looked at the labels of these kinds of food items (unless they are made differently in the UK - out of all the foreign "junk food" I've seen in the USA, very few items are very rich in saturated fatty acids, or SFAs). It's not just that they are incorrect, but that if they were correct, then this kind of food should be recommended, not disparaged. And it irritates me that when I go to the food store to find some "junk food" that is rich in saturated fatty acids but low in unsaturated fatty acids, I have very few choices. Below is a list of very popular "junk food" items made by a company called Little Debbie. I found the nutritional information at www.foodfacts.com, and I can't say for sure if it's all correct, but I do know that it's consistent with what I see when I read labels, that is, most of these items are rich in unsaturated fatty acids and low in SFAs. One of the few Little Debbie items I am willing to eat has 7 grams of fat per serving, 5 of which are SFAs, with no cholesterol (I wanted to try the no fat one, but haven't found it in local stores yet). Should such "reports" be considered "pure propaganda," or is there a better phrase to describe them?
Here is the list, with total fat in grams followed by the SFA content, following the name of each item:
Little Debbie Apple Pie
19 - 5
Little Debbie Apple Streusel Coffee Cake
7 - 1.5
Little Debbie Banana Marshmallow Pies
no fat
Little Debbie Banana Nut Loaves
10 - 1.5
Little Debbie Be My Valentine Cakes
14 - 3
Little Debbie Boston Creme Rolls
12 -3
Little Debbie Brownie Lights
3 - 0
Little Debbie Brownies with English Walnuts
13 - 2.5
Little Debbie Cheese Crackers with Peanut Butter
8 - 1.5
Little Debbie Creme-Filled Strawberry Cupcakes
10 - 2.5
Little Debbie Devil Cremes Filled Cakes
8 - 2
Little Debbie Devil Squares
13 - 3
Little Debbie German Chocolate Cookie Rings with Caramel
7 - 5 (this is what it says on the package I have)
Little Debbie Honey Buns
13 - 3.5
Little Debbie Peanut Butter Crunch Bars
15 -3
Little Debbie Pound Cakes
9 - 2.5
Little Debbie Snack Cakes
15 - 4
Little Debbie Star Crunch Cookies
6 - 1.5
Little Debbie White Fall Party Cakes
15 - 3.5 |
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