IS NUTELLA HEALTHY FOR YOUR BODY-min

IS NUTELLA HEALTHY FOR YOUR BODY?

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Nutella is a common nutritious dessert that is used as a food topper or spreader. Many people love eating Nutella due to its sweet taste. Nutella is a wildly common dessert with a chocolatey confection, a staple in many households’ kitchens. Nutella is a healthy and delicious food that can be used as an alternative to nut butter. It’s important to your body as it contains hazelnuts that are very beneficial health-wise.

We have provided all the information to help you understand the importance of adding Nutella into your diet.

What Is Nutella?

Nutella is a sweet cocoa spread made from hazelnuts. It’s produced by Ferrero, a leading company in the production of chocolate-based products. It’s the third-largest producer of chocolate worldwide. This sweet product was invented in Italy during world war 2. The lack of cocoa in the country made Pietro Ferrero mix ground hazelnuts with chocolate spread. Today, Nutella is a popular dessert spreader and is consumed by many people.

Nutella is a hazelnut and chocolate spread that can be consumed in many ways. It’s widely used as a topper for breakfast foods like pancakes, toast, and waffles. Nutella is classified as a dessert topping. For a perfect Nutella serving, consume two tablespoons of 37 grams daily. Nutella is commonly advertised as a spread for children and is relatively low in calories and fats. However, it contains lots of sugar which maybe not be ideal for some people.

Ingredients and Nutrition

Nutella is made from simple components. The components are easily available and rich in beneficial nutrients. It’s made of a mixture of several ingredients hence very beneficial, especially to children. Nutella is made from the following ingredients;

Palm oil- the company has made its effort to continuously use this certified palm oil. It’s a vegetable oil that comes from the palm tree. Palm oil gives Nutella its popular creamy texture and its ability to spread easily.

Sugar- sugar is the largest ingredient in this product. It can either be sourced from refined sugar cane or beet.

Hazelnuts- Nutella is made of 100% hazelnut paste. A single Nutella jar has around 50 hazelnuts that give it the sweet taste.

Cocoa- the cocoa used in Nutella comes from western parts of Africa. They are refined, processed, and mixed with other ingredients to chocolatey color and taste.

Milk powder- Nutella contains skimmed milk powder that is made by withdrawing water from non-fat milk. Powdered milk gives the Nutella a longer shelf life. It can stay fresh for longer periods with no refrigeration required.

Vanillin-this is a common ingredient in vanilla products. Nutella has a synthetic form of vanillin that gives it a sweet flavor.

Soy lecithin is an emulsifier used to hold the ingredients from separating as you spread. This helps maintain the smooth spread and uniform texture of Nutella. Soy lecithin contains fatty substances and comes from soybeans which is a popular food additive.

Two tablespoons of Nutella contains; 200 calories, 2 grams of protein, 4% of the RDI calcium, 21 grams, and 12 grams of fats. Nutella is high in calories, fats, and sugars.

Is Nutella Healthy?

Nutella is a common dessert topping in children. Many kids consume Nutella in their breakfasts due to its sweet taste.

Has Lots of Sugar

Sugar is the main component of Nutella, giving the spread its sweet taste.

A 2-tablespoon (37-gram) serving contains 21 grams of sugar or about 5 teaspoons.

Shockingly, a serving of Nutella contains more sugar than the same serving size of Betty Crocker Milk Chocolate Rich & Creamy Frosting, which contains 17 grams of sugar.

Limiting Foods High in Added Sugar Is Critical For Your Health.

In fact, the American Heart Association recommends that women and children consume no more than 6 teaspoons (25 grams) of added sugar per day. In comparison, men should limit their intake to 9 teaspoons.

Using this rule, a woman or child would be close to their added sugar limit for the entire day after consuming just 2 tablespoons (37 grams) of Nutella.

Consuming too much added sugar has been linked to various chronic diseases and conditions, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, liver disease, cognitive decline, and even some types of cancers.

Plus, added sugar may be one of the driving factors behind the surge in kids.

For these reasons, foods with high amounts of added sugar, such as Nutella, should be kept to a minimum.

High in Fat And Calories

Though the recommended serving size is small, 2 tablespoons (37 grams) of Nutella still pack in 200 calories.

Since Nutella is sweet and creamy, it may be hard for some people to stick to the serving size, making it easy to consume an excessive number of calories from Nutella.

Eating one or two servings of it every day could lead to weight gain over time, especially for a child.

What makes Nutella, so calorie-dense is the high amount of fat it contains. After sugar, palm oil is the second most abundant ingredient in Nutella.

While fats are beneficial to health in many ways, consuming them can lead to weight gain.

Being overweight or obese increases the risk of many chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancer.

It Is More “Natural” Than Some Similar Products

Ferrero advertises Nutella as a product containing simple, quality ingredients.

While it does contain vanillin, a synthetic form of vanilla flavoring, the rest of its ingredients are natural.

One could argue that the limited ingredients found in Nutella make it a better option than other more processed dessert spreads.

For example, Nutella has far fewer ingredients than most icings and frostings.

It has no have hydrogenated oils, all of which are ingredients of concern for health-conscious consumers.

This make Nutella more attractive to shoppers trying to avoid products made with lots of artificial or highly processed ingredients.

The Bottom Line

Nutella is a sweet tasty dessert topping. However, its use must be limited as it’s high in calories, fats, and sugars, which can be harmful to the body when taken in excess.

Barbara Santini

Barbara is a freelance writer and a sex and relationships adviser at Dimepiece LA and Peaches and Screams. Barbara is involved in various educational initiatives aimed at making sex advice more accessible to everyone and breaking stigmas around sex across various cultural communities. In her spare time, Barbara enjoys trawling through vintage markets in Brick Lane, exploring new places, painting and reading.

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