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You are here: Home Health & Fitness Well-Being Lost in Cheeseland: The deceiving Nutella diet

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21/01/2011Lost in Cheeseland: The deceiving Nutella diet

Lost in Cheeseland: The deceiving Nutella diet Lost in Cheeseland pulls the wool from brown, hazelnut, swirly chocolate eyes and shows a hard truth: Europeans love junk food for breakfast.

With all of the commentary about the French paradox -- how they stay slim and fit while indulging fatty, traditional fare -- what makes me laugh the most is the preposterous idea that Nutella somehow fits into a healthy, balanced breakfast. Commercials maintain that it is an excellent source of energy, what all kids (or adults, for that matter) need to start their day off right.

It should be said that Nutella’s first ingredient is sugar (all 11 grams in a 19 gram serving), so is there any doubt it will provide a burst of energy? Simple sugars are known to have this short term jolting effect, only to drop your blood sugar and subsequently your endurance and energy.

Regardless of whether several scoops of Nutella are paired with a glass of milk, it by no means constitutes a healthy breakfast as claimed in the advertisements, especially given that the second ingredient after sugar is palm oil which is high in palmitic acid (linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease).

Where are all the hazelnuts they claim are so plentiful in every jar? Third on the list.


Still, peanut butter’s rival is a cultural icon not only in Italy but France as well, securing a place alongside the croissant as the pre-eminent snack.

Spread on whole wheat bread, or any multi-grain product, with orange juice or skim milk is a good combination for a balanced breakfast [or snack] the whole family will enjoy!

Just as perplexing as my husband’s childhood snack of large chunks of baguette with squares of chocolate, not as a sort of sandwich, as I had envisioned, but eaten separately one after the other. Americans are hit over the head so often with healthy-eating messages (yet sneak cookies, chips and cakes from the cupboard) that the sheer concept of eating chocolate for breakfast or for a snack is completely mind-boggling.

Ever since I’ve lived in France, I’ve watched Nutella ads in bemusement wondering if people actually believe their claims. Don’t they realise they’re being duped by the big bad food industry into buying their sugary products and becoming addicted in the process?

Millions of children all over Europe (and a few adults known to go at it by the spoonful) prove that the targeted corporate messages are being received loud and clear. So much so that its consumers are getting larger (from that and the prevalence of other unhealthy packaged good that have arrived into their diets) and becoming more at risk for the same diseases that have been plaguing the obese American population for years.

In an attempt to combat the growing rate of obesity, the European Parliament concluded that Nutella is too fattening and too sweet and must contain a “Dangerous Product” label on its jars. Although ultimately rejected, a traffic light system of warnings was also proposed for food labels, arguing that the consumer has a right to be informed of the consequences of their food choices.

If the measure is adopted by the Council of Europe, processed food brands whose products contain over 10 grams of sugar, 4 grams of fat and 2 milligrams of salt (for 100g) -- like Nutella -- would no longer be allowed to advertise. What ever would we do without 30 seconds of joyful children skipping, playing and eating chocolate for breakfast (because their metabolisms allow them to)?

This news led to an aggressive backlash from the Vice President of Ferrero, Paolo Fulci, and Nutella lovers everywhere. In Northern Italy, a "Don’t Touch My Nutella!”support committee was formed as well as a Facebook group "Don't Touch My Nutella: The Giant Virtual Snack". Fulci argues that EU rules can not be allowed to: “influence even the habits and the most intimate aspects of one's personal sphere, like the genuine and healthy pleasures that are passed among generations.”

Fulci implied that the government has no right to interfere with the food choices made in homes. Well, they can when you’re selling 235,000 tonnes of what can be classified as a "junk food product" around which a “balanced diet” rhetoric has been created to encourage and/or reassure consumers.

 


Nutella may be delicious (it’s forbidden in our home), but the advertisements mislead the general public. It’s fair to assume that many consumers, like Americans, don’t have the financial means to invest money in healthier, more expensive goods, nor the educational level to fully understand the role that diet plays in overall health. If the foods available were healthier as a whole, education wouldn't be much of an issue.

Nutella is for many Europeans what Eggos are to Americans. Both are mostly consumed for breakfast with deceptive messages leading us to believe they aren’t really that bad for our health.

I'm not suggesting we should stop eating Nutella altogether -- on the contrary, it's excellent in desserts and should be consumed in moderation just like any other treat. As Fulci said, no one has ever died from Nutella. But it’s certainly hard to stop at just one scoop, and therein lies the problem.

Lindsey is an American expat from Philadelphia who moved to Paris for love and adventure. You can read about her musings on Paris love, life, food and more on her blog Lost in Cheeseland.

 


1 reaction to this article

Dr Adrian March posted: 2011-01-21 13:16:10

Never mind Nutella, what about trying to buy a healthy breakfast cereal in France? Practically every cereal one can think of which is claimed to be "nutritious, health-giving, and slimming" is offered with chocolate added. Whether in lumps or as a coating I wouldn't know, because I wouldn't touch the stuff, but when one has also excluded the same cereals with additions of dried fruit, there is very little remaining. One is safe with porridge oats, but I'm wondering how soon it will be before we are offered chocolate porridge!

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1 reaction to this article

Dr Adrian March posted: 2011-01-21 13:16:10

Never mind Nutella, what about trying to buy a healthy breakfast cereal in France? Practically every cereal one can think of which is claimed to be "nutritious, health-giving, and slimming" is offered with chocolate added. Whether in lumps or as a coating I wouldn't know, because I wouldn't touch the stuff, but when one has also excluded the same cereals with additions of dried fruit, there is very little remaining. One is safe with porridge oats, but I'm wondering how soon it will be before we are offered chocolate porridge!

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