My husband and I were waiting for a delayed flight in an airport recently. I had arrived prepared with a high-protein snack, but my husband decided to buy some additional "food" in the event that our flight arrived too late to eat in a restaurant. He returned from an airport shop holding a box of cookies and a mostly-eaten bar with the words "Whole Grain" printed in large font on a green wrapper. The snack was made by Power Bar, and it carried the healthy-sounding brand: "Harvest." I examined the ingredients list of the wrapper.
"Let's see what you just ate, " I said. The ingredients are listed below, with all sources of sugar underlined. At first glance, it would seem that the bar is packed with oats. It's the first ingredient listed. However, if you read the entire list, five different sources of sugar are included in the bar. That doesn't count the nonfat milk, which contains lactose (milk sugar). The nutrition facts show that of this 65 gram bar, 42 grams or more than 2/3 of the bar are carbohydrate, of which 20 grams (or nearly 1/3 of the total bar!) is sugar. The technique of using multiple forms of sugar so that it doesn't appear as the main ingredient is designed to mislead the consumer and provide a false sense of security. Let's be honest: sugar is the main ingredient.
WHOLE OATS, BROWN RICE SYRUP, DRIED FRUIT BLEND (STRAWBERRIES, CRANBERRIES, APPLE JUICE CONCENTRATE, SUGAR, RICE FLOUR, SUNFLOWER OIL), SOY CRISPS (SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE, RICE FLOUR, BARLEY MALT, SALT), EVAPORATED CANE JUICE SYRUP, ALMOND BUTTER, SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE, HONEY, INULIN (FIBER), GLYCERIN, NATURAL FLAVOR, ROASTED SOY BEANS, OAT FIBER, NONFAT MILK, PEANUT BUTTER.
Comment: Why do the manufacturers of snack foods use so much sugar? They understand the difference between what consumers say they want and what they actually crave. The majority of people have sugar cravings from poor diet and insufficient exercise. If they believe they are eating a healthy snack, even when it's packed with sugar, and it satisfies a powerful craving, they'll continue to eat it. Don't be fooled!