Nutella: Healthy or Not?

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Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Mof3wc wrote: »
    I've never tried it myself (hazelnut allergy), I don't think I'd try it even if I could though. My niece and nephew (3 and 5) eat it every single day, and since their mother says she only feeds them healthy foods, she must believe that nutella is in fact good for them....

    a single serving of nutella is 15g... if the kids are only having that much on toast or bread each day as part of abalanced diet then i dont see how its 'bad'?

    its all of us who eat it out the jar that have the problem!!!
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    Mof3wc wrote: »
    I've never tried it myself (hazelnut allergy), I don't think I'd try it even if I could though. My niece and nephew (3 and 5) eat it every single day, and since their mother says she only feeds them healthy foods, she must believe that nutella is in fact good for them....

    a single serving of nutella is 15g... if the kids are only having that much on toast or bread each day as part of abalanced diet then i dont see how its 'bad'?

    its all of us who eat it out the jar that have the problem!!!

    it's not a problem. It's just chic to randomly call things unhealthy, much in the same way oprah randomly gives out things.
  • asdowe13
    asdowe13 Posts: 1,951 Member
    Nutella can fit very well into a healthy diet.

    Context and dosage - all food can be part of a healthy diet
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    edited March 2015
    just read the article. so she's saying that the website is misleading and you have to read the back of the nutella jar to know the ingredients. isn't the default for most people to read the jar anyway? i wouldn't even bother with the website. she really isn't revealing anything that anyone with a brain can't figure out for themselves.
  • blktngldhrt
    blktngldhrt Posts: 1,053 Member
    edited March 2015
    This is a great article discussing the pros and cons of Nutella by looking at its ingredients. Labeling foods as good or bad may be a false dichotomy but consider her conclusion:

    "The bottom line: Why try to make out something is healthy when it’s not? And clearly not, when you look at the true list of Nutella ingredients. Just accept Nutella for the chocolatey treat it is! Have it on toast, croissant or crepes. It’s a good case of clever marketing that highlights the few positives — and says nothing about the bad things."

    Here's the link: http://foodwatch.com.au/blog/additives-and-labels/item/nutella-the-full-correct-list-of-ingredients.html

    Is that a direct quote from the conclusion? If so, I don't want to struggle trough the rest of the article.

    Are companies supposed to highlight the potential cons of their products during marketing? If a person needs calories, carbs, and fat..or finds it delicious and wants a treat..nutella is a good product.

    I'm with everyone else who never thought nutella was 'healthy'..if by healthy you mean full of vital nutrients and to be consumed regularly.
  • RonRoff
    RonRoff Posts: 175 Member
    everything is healthy if you can find enough excuses to justify it.
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
    adowe wrote: »
    Nutella can fit very well into a healthy diet.

    Context and dosage - all food can be part of a healthy diet

    context and dosage! love it! will be using that in my own life.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    RonRoff wrote: »
    everything is healthy if you can find enough excuses to justify it.

    I enjoy early morning comedy, thanks.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    RonRoff wrote: »
    everything is healthy if you can find enough excuses to justify it.

    hangry?
  • franola12
    franola12 Posts: 45 Member
    I consider myself lucky that I'm no fan of Nutella because it seems to be a hot item now.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    It's basically chocolate spread. I don't care for hazelnut so am not fond of it. It's fine to eat, but I wouldn't say it's "healthy" and wouldn't give it to my kids for breakfast.
  • JesseDP00
    JesseDP00 Posts: 367 Member
    Definitely not healthy, though fine if only eating it occasionally.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    franola12 wrote: »
    I consider myself lucky that I'm no fan of Nutella because it seems to be a hot item now.
    euro fetishism paired with deliciousness.
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    edited March 2015
    and you really just have to taste it to know that the first ingredient is most likely sugar, not hazelnuts. i don't even need to read the back of the label to figure that point out.

    I kind of dislike hazelnuts and they leave a weird feeling on my tongue that seems sort of allergy-like maybe. I'm good with nutella though.
  • DWBalboa
    DWBalboa Posts: 37,259 Member
    The point is MOOT! It’s creamy, chocolaty, hazelnut goodness trumps any health concerns PERIOD!!! They could put asbestos in it and I would still eat it! Ok maybe that’s going a bit far but you get the point. Just don’t eat a jar a day of it and you’ll be fine.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    Thank you for using moot and not mute. Irks me how many people call a point mute. I just ask them how do they know? Maybe it just chose to stop talking.

    They don't get it.
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    RonRoff wrote: »
    everything is healthy if you can find enough excuses to justify it.

    Everything is unhealthy if you look hard enough for things that support it and ignore things that say they're not.
  • Cryptonomnomicon
    Cryptonomnomicon Posts: 848 Member
    edited March 2015
    Well I don't really care about the debate of whether it is healthy or not. I boycott it as it has palm oil in it...why do I care?

    Because Orangutans are endangered and at risk of extinction. The single greatest threat facing orangutans today is habitat loss.

    The average annual rate of forest loss in Indonesia was 498,000 hectare (ha) (FAO, 2010) from 2000 to 2010 or the equivalent of over 55 rugby fields per hour.

    The expanding palm oil industry has been a key driver of this deforestation. In the decade to 2010, Indonesian plantation area nearly doubled to close to 8.0 million ha and is expected to near 13 million ha by 2020 (PWC, 2012).

    STRDNkV.jpg

    Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil?

    Yes - about 14% of palm oil production is now certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO). This oil has been produced according to a set of environmental and social criteria designed to ensure the rights of local communities are respected and that no new primary forests or high conservation value areas have been cleared for palm oil production since November 2005.

    The food group Ferrero has announced that its flagship product Nutella is now using 100% segregated palm oil certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in the French market. This decision affects its production units in France, but also one in Italy and another in Germany, supplying other European markets. Ferrero also confirmed that it will source exclusively RSPO-certified palm oil globally starting from 2014, bringing its initial target forward by one year.

    So till they are using sustainable palm oil exclusively it will not be on my shelf anytime soon.
  • KombuchaCat
    KombuchaCat Posts: 834 Member
    It's pretty easy to make your own "nutella" at home, then you can tweak the ingredients to your liking...any make a smaller batch so you aren't so tempted to eat a whole jar. As far as the advertising I think they are just trying to piggyback on the "healthy" image of other nut butters. I think with anything it's really up to the consumer to be skeptical of any advertising, because it's not going to change anytime soon.
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  • asdowe13
    asdowe13 Posts: 1,951 Member
    It's pretty easy to make your own "nutella" at home, then you can tweak the ingredients to your liking...any make a smaller batch so you aren't so tempted to eat a whole jar. As far as the advertising I think they are just trying to piggyback on the "healthy" image of other nut butters. I think with anything it's really up to the consumer to be skeptical of any advertising, because it's not going to change anytime soon.

    It's not the same. Still delicious, but not the same.
  • blktngldhrt
    blktngldhrt Posts: 1,053 Member
    I thought saturated fat lost some of its scare power..
    dbmata wrote: »
    Thank you for using moot and not mute. Irks me how many people call a point mute. I just ask them how do they know? Maybe it just chose to stop talking.

    They don't get it.

    Hahaha :)
  • foursirius
    foursirius Posts: 321 Member
    If I needed to take in some additional fat & carbs then yes it seems like a good food.
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    edited March 2015
    it's not bad in moderation, but it is disingenuous for the company to specifically market it as healthy if that's what they are doing.
  • DWBalboa
    DWBalboa Posts: 37,259 Member
    dbmata wrote: »
    Thank you for using moot and not mute. Irks me how many people call a point mute. I just ask them how do they know? Maybe it just chose to stop talking.

    They don't get it.

    LOL... I’m not judging but most likely they are the same people who use irregardless. Nevertheless, who am I to say anything English is a second language for me, I usually communicate with clicks, grunts, and baring my teeth.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    it's not bad in moderation, but it is disingenuous for the company to specifically market it as healthy if that's what they are doing.

    except of course healthy is an ambiguous term that means nothing.

    Healthy as compared to what? A bullet to the palate? Yeah, nutella is much healthier than that. Boom, claim validated.
  • asdowe13
    asdowe13 Posts: 1,951 Member
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    it's not bad in moderation, but it is disingenuous for the company to specifically market it as healthy if that's what they are doing.


    You are totally missing context and dosage.

  • KombuchaCat
    KombuchaCat Posts: 834 Member
    Well I don't really care about the debate of whether it is healthy or not. I boycott it as it has palm oil in it...why do I care?

    Because Orangutans are endangered and at risk of extinction. The single greatest threat facing orangutans today is habitat loss.

    The average annual rate of forest loss in Indonesia was 498,000 hectare (ha) (FAO, 2010) from 2000 to 2010 or the equivalent of over 55 rugby fields per hour.

    The expanding palm oil industry has been a key driver of this deforestation. In the decade to 2010, Indonesian plantation area nearly doubled to close to 8.0 million ha and is expected to near 13 million ha by 2020 (PWC, 2012).

    STRDNkV.jpg

    Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil?

    Yes - about 14% of palm oil production is now certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO). This oil has been produced according to a set of environmental and social criteria designed to ensure the rights of local communities are respected and that no new primary forests or high conservation value areas have been cleared for palm oil production since November 2005.

    The food group Ferrero has announced that its flagship product Nutella is now using 100% segregated palm oil certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in the French market. This decision affects its production units in France, but also one in Italy and another in Germany, supplying other European markets. Ferrero also confirmed that it will source exclusively RSPO-certified palm oil globally starting from 2014, bringing its initial target forward by one year.

    So till they are using sustainable palm oil exclusively it will not be on my shelf anytime soon.

    Good information, thanks for sharing! Will definately keep making my own.
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    edited March 2015
    adowe wrote: »
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    it's not bad in moderation, but it is disingenuous for the company to specifically market it as healthy if that's what they are doing.


    You are totally missing context and dosage.

    dosage? yes, i understand it's not bad in small doses. i'm saying the marketing gimic sounds disingenuous. the general population who is shopping for nutella and goes for these marketing gimmics is not thinking of chocolate when they are shopping for healthy. whether or not it's fine in moderation is irrelevant.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    This one wonders, how does orangutan taste?
This discussion has been closed.