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February!17,!2013!

The!low-down!on!Nutella!
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Nutella!is!cleverly!marketed!as!a!healthy!topping!for!bread!and!toast,!but!Catherine!Saxelby! begs!to!differ.!She!explains!why.!
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The!makers!of!Nutella!like!to!promote!the!fact!that!their!product!contains!hazelnuts,!cocoa! powder!and!skim!milk!powder.!Those!things!are!fairly!wholesome,!right?!
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Yes,!these!are!ingredients!in!Nutella!but!while!youre!certainly!encouraged!to!believe!that!the! product!is!composed!mainly!of!hazelnuts!and!cocoa!(two!healthy-sounding!ingredients)!if!you! look!at!the!actual!ingredients!listed!as!they!are!on!the!label! when!forced!by!law,!you!can!see! what!the!product!is!really!made!from.

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On!the!label,!the!manufacturer!MUST!show!the!ingredients!in!descending!order!by!weight! from!the!largest!down!to!the!smallest.!
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So,!looking!at!the!label,!I!now!know!that!the!!rst!(read!main)!ingredient!is!sugar!(not! hazelnuts),!followed!by!vegetable!oil!(not!cocoa),!then!hazelnuts,!then!cocoa!solids,! followed!by!non-fat!milk!solids,!soy!lecithin!and!vanilla!"avour.!

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From!this,!its!clear!that!Nutella!is!more!sugar!and!fat!than!hazelnuts its!true!content!of! hazelnuts!is!low,!at!only!13!percent.!Dont!be!fooled!by!the!advertising.!

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Sugar! Sugar!is!the!!rst!ingredient!and!thus!the!main!by!weight!of!all!the!Nutella!ingredients.!In!fact! Nutella!is!55!percent!sugar!!That!puts!Nutella!on!a!par!with!chocolate.!

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Vegetable!oil! The!vegetable!oil!is!palm!oil,!a!semi-solid!fat!thats!needed!to!give!Nutella!its!spreadable! texture.!The!manufacturer!says!they!were!using!a!hydrogenated!oil!until!2006!but!switched!to! palm!oil!to!cut!back!on!the!trans!fat.!Palm!oil!is!free!of!trans!fat!but!is!still!high!in!saturated! fat!so!its!not!good!for!you.!Its!a!no-win!oil!choice!that!many!manufacturers!face.!

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Cocoa! Cocoa!solids!(or!powder)!gives!Nutella!its!chocolatey!taste.!
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Emulsi!er! Soy!lecithin!!a!common!emulsi!er!that!keeps!the!sugar,!oil,!nuts!and!cocoa!nicely!blended! and!stops!them!separating!out!during!the!months!on!the!shelves.!Nothing!sinister!about!it.!

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Flavour!(vanillin)! This!is!not!vanilla!or!vanilla!extract!such!as!you!use!at!home.!Vanillin,!which!is!a!synthetic! form!identical!to!the!natural!vanillin,!but!much!less!expensive,!is!the!largest!"avour! component!of!the!vanilla!bean!but!much!less!interesting.!

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Whats!not!in!it?! At!least!theres!no!arti!cial!colours!or!preservatives,!no!corn!syrup!and!no!added!salt.!
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Nutella!nutrition!facts

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To!!ll!in!the!rest!of!the!detail,!heres!the!Nutella!nutrition!information!that!you!can!!nd!on!the! label:!
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Per!100g:! Energy!2175kJ! Protein!7.3g! Fat,!total!30.3g! Fat,!saturated!10.0g! Carbohydrate,!total!54.7g! Sugars!54.4g! Sodium!33 mg!

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The!serving!size!is!20g!which!is!one!tablespoon !!what!youd!spread!thinly!on!two!slices!of! bread.!

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Spreadable!chocolate,!anyone?!
Think!of!Nutella!as!chocolate!in!spreadable!form.!With!30!percent!fat!and!almost!55!percent! sugar,!Nutella!is!very!close!to!chocolate!in!its!composition.!In!fact,!Nutella!is!more!akin!to! milk!chocolate!with!hazelnuts!for!fat,!sugar!and!kilojoules!!theyre!so!close. !See!my! comparison!of!the!two!weight!for!weight:!Nutella!side!by!side!with!Cadbury!Milk!Chocolate! with!Hazelnuts.!
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Nutella! 2175kj! 30.3g! 10.0g! 54.7g! 54.7g! 13%!

Hazelnut!Chocolate! 2320Kj! 37.0g! 14.6g! 45.5g! 44.4g! 23%!

Did!you!notice!that!the!chocolate!block!has!19!percent!LESS!sugar!than!Nutella,!and!23! percent!hazelnuts!compared!to!Nutella!at!only!13!percent?!Less!sugar,!more!nuts!!
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So!is!Nutella!healthy?!
Nutella!provides!very!little!in!the!way!of!good!nutrition.!Not!much!protein,!!bre,!vitamins,! minerals!!the!nutrients!we!are!lacking.!We!dont!need!more!sugar!and!fat.

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But!are!there!any!good!points?!Yes.!Nutella!is!low!in!sodium,!as!are!many!sweet!foods. And! its!a!concentrated!food!that!can!increase!kids!kilojoule!intake!easily!if!theyre!the! chronically-underweight!type!and!already!eat!a!well-balanced!diet.!

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The!four!most-asked!questions!about!Nutella:!
Q.!Is!Nutella!healthier!than!peanut!butter?! No.!Nutella!might!be!sold!in!the!peanut!butter!aisle,!but!it!isnt!a!nutritional!swap.!Peanut! butter!has!more!protein,!little!sugar,!healthy!fat!and!vitamins.!Its!a!decent!protein!for! vegetarians.!Most!are!85!percent!peanuts!(with!some!oil!and!sugar)!but!you!can!buy!100! percent!peanut!types.!
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Q.!Is!Nutella!healthier!than!jam?! Not!really.!Nutella!has!54!percent!sugar,!while!jam!and!honey!have!around!60!to!70!percent.! But!Nutella!slaps!on!30!percent!fat,!while!jam!and!honey!have!none.!The!nearest!equivalent!to! Nutella!on!toast!is!peanut!butter!topped!with!honey!on!toast.!Then!its!the!same!for!sugar!and! fat.!

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Q.!Is!the!suggested!kids!breakfast!of!fruit,!Nutella!on!two!slices!of!toast!and!low-fat!milk! a!decent!breakfast!for!kids?!
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Nope!and!you!know!its!not!the!healthiest!breakfast!to!send!your!kids!off!the!school!with.!It! never!has!been!and!never!will!be.!Its!just!Nutella!on!toast!enhanced!to!look!better!by!the! fruit!and!milk!and!white!high-!bre!bread.!

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Best!bet: !If!you!are!going!to!give!the!kids!the!occasional!piece!of!toast!with!Nutella,!dont! use!butter!or!margarine!and!spread!it!on!wholegrain!bread!rather!than!low-!bre!white!bread.!

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Q. !Is!Nutella!really!low!GI?! Yes.!But!so!are!things!like!sausages,!corn!chips!and!chocolate!cake!!usually!thanks!to!their! fat!content!which!slows!down!the!rate!of!digestion!and!absorption!in!your!system.!However,! just!because!something!has!a!low!GI!doesnt!necessarily!make!it!a!healthy!choice.!Would!you! give!your!kids!corn!chips!and!chocolate!cake!for!breakfast?!

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Simply!slapping!on!a!low!GI!claim!doesnt!make!something!healthier!overall.!If!you! believed!the!ads,!youd!think!that!chocolatey-hazelnut!spread!was!the!health!food!of!a!nation! and!the!perfect!breakfast!toast!topper.!It!isn't!!

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The!bottom!line!
Why!try!to!make!out!something!is!healthy!when!its!not?!Just!accept!Nutella!for!the! chocolatey!treat!it!is!!Have!it!on!toast,!croissant!or!crepes.!Its!a!good!case!of!clever! marketing!that!highlights!the!few!positives!!and!says!nothing!about!the!bad!things.!