Granola and Granola Bars: The Sweet Deception
That crunchy granola topping on your yogurt might seem like a nutritious choice, but it’s often loaded with surprising amounts of sugar and calories. Even though some granolas and granola bars are quite nutritious, many are packed with added sugar and very high in calories. For example, a 2/3-cup (67-gram) serving of Nature Valley Oats and Dark Chocolate Protein Granola contains 17 grams of added sugar and 280 calories, while Quaker Chewy Yogurt Granola Bars pack 7 grams of added sugar per bar.
The problem gets worse when you look at some popular brands. For example, Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Harvest granola bars can contain up to 15 grams of sugar per serving — mostly from added sugar. So it’s not a surprise that a March 2024 Consumer Reports nationally representative survey (PDF) of 2,000 American adults found that 59 percent hadn’t eaten granola recently. Many people are starting to realize that their go-to “healthy” breakfast option might not be so healthy after all.
What makes this even more concerning is that We reviewed the nutrition stats for a dozen granola and oat bars and found just a few that met our suggested limit for added sugars, which is no more than 5 grams per serving. Nature Valley Oats ‘n Honey Crunchy Granola Bars, for instance, had more than double that amount. Some granola bars contain as much sugar as candy bars, making them a poor choice for sustained energy.
Acai Bowls: The Instagram-Worthy Sugar Bomb
Those gorgeous purple bowls flooding your social media feeds might look healthy, but they’re often nutritional disasters disguised as superfoods. The average store-bought acai bowl contains 600 calories or more, plus a ton of sugar and carbs. Acai bowls are sugar bombs. Eating one every day might increase your blood sugar levels or result in weight gain. The reality is that most commercial acai bowls are essentially smoothie desserts masquerading as health food.
The sugar content alone should make you pause. A limit of added sugar consumption to 25 grams (about 6 teaspoons) per day for women and 36 grams (9 teaspoons) per day for men is recommended by the American Heart Association. “Acai bowls can have 50 grams of sugar [the equivalent of 192 calories], or double what the American Heart Association recommends for women for an entire day,” said Ilana Muhlstein, a registered dietitian nutritionist.
Even worse, Adding the natural sugars of the fruit toppings, according to the website, people can be “dangerously close to consuming anywhere from 21-62 grams of sugar per serving and approximately 1,000 calories per acai bowl.” That’s more calories than many people should consume in an entire meal, let alone a supposedly healthy snack.
Veggie Chips: The Processed Pretender
Don’t let the name fool you – veggie chips are often just as processed and unhealthy as regular potato chips. While veggie chips are often branded as a wholesome alternative to potato chips (which are, if you think about it, a veggie chip themselves), they’re generally prepared the same way: fried in oil, then coated in salty seasoning mixes. Some veggie chips go through an extra round of processing and are made from a composite of different flours, starches, and vegetable powders before being shaped into chip form.
The sodium content is particularly concerning. Salt tends to be the most concerning ingredient in veggie chips and straws, due to the sheer amount that often makes its way into these snacks. Some portions of veggie chips can have almost 15% of your daily value for sodium in just a few bites. Many veggie chips actually contain more sodium than regular potato chips, making them a poor choice for heart health.
Take Garden Veggie Sea Salt Wavy Chips as an example. Rather than being mixed root veggie chips, these chips are made from an amalgamation of potato flour, potato starch, spinach and beetroot powder, and tomato paste, as well as sugar, fat, and salt. These concentrated ingredients are completely devoid of the fiber that was once in the original vegetables, which means these chips will undoubtedly leave you hungry.
Veggie Straws: The Misleading Marketing Marvel
Veggie straws might look colorful and vegetable-filled, but they’re nutritionally bankrupt. Veggie straws are comparable in total fats and sugars to potato chips, tortilla chips, and sweet potato chips, and they’re the highest in sodium. In short, veggie straws aren’t a healthy snack. Despite their veggie-derived appearance, they’re essentially processed potato products with a tiny amount of vegetable powder for coloring.
The nutritional profile is disappointing. In fact, they’re the highest in sodium and exceed the USDA’s FNS sodium limit for Smart Snacks. Veggie straws are the only snack that had 0 grams of fiber and less than 1 gram of protein per serving. This means they provide virtually no nutritional value while delivering excessive amounts of sodium that can contribute to high blood pressure.
What’s particularly troubling is that In many cases, Veggie Straws contain more sodium than traditional potato chips. For example, a one-ounce serving of Sea Salt Veggie Straws contains 220 milligrams of sodium, while Sour Cream & Onion Veggie Straws contain 370 milligrams of sodium per one-ounce serving. Compare that to Lay’s Classic Potato Chips, which contain 210 milligrams of sodium per one-ounce serving.
Smoothies: The Liquid Calorie Trap
While smoothies can be healthy when made properly, most commercial versions are calorie-dense drinks that spike your blood sugar without providing lasting satiety. A registered and licensed dietitian nutritionist, Sarah B. Krueger, said much like the acai bowl, “smoothies enjoy a ‘health halo’ that can be misleading.” She said, “It’s very likely that you are getting more calories and sugar when you drink a smoothie than when eating whole fruits or vegetables.”
The problem with smoothies is that they concentrate multiple servings of fruit into a single drink, removing the fiber that would normally help slow sugar absorption. When you drink a smoothie containing banana, mango, pineapple, and apple juice, you’re consuming the equivalent of several pieces of fruit in liquid form. This causes rapid blood sugar spikes followed by crashes that leave you hungry again within an hour or two.
Commercial smoothies often contain added sugars, sweetened yogurt, and fruit juices rather than whole fruits. A typical store-bought smoothie can contain anywhere from 300 to 600 calories and 40 to 80 grams of sugar. That’s more sugar than you’d find in a can of soda, making these “healthy” drinks a poor choice for sustained energy and weight management.
Protein Bars: The Candy Bar in Disguise
Many protein bars are nutritional wolves in sheep’s clothing, containing as much sugar and calories as candy bars while providing minimal nutritional benefit. But despite their health halo, many granola bars are full of added sugar, coated in chocolate and dressed up with a little protein powder—making them nothing more than a glorified candy bar. “I’ve seen bars with as much as 25 grams of added sugar, which is ludicrous,” says Andy Bellatti, a registered dietitian and strategic director of Dietitians for Professional Integrity.
The protein content in many bars is often artificially inflated with cheap protein powders, while the rest of the bar is filled with sugar, corn syrup, and processed ingredients. Some popular protein bars contain more sugar than protein, defeating the purpose of choosing them as a healthy snack option. The high sugar content can actually work against your fitness goals by causing blood sugar spikes and crashes.
When examining protein bars, look beyond the marketing claims on the front of the package. Many bars that advertise high protein content also contain 15 to 20 grams of sugar, artificial flavors, and preservatives. A better approach is to choose bars with minimal ingredients, where you can pronounce every item on the list, and where protein comes from whole food sources rather than isolated powders.
Flavored Yogurt: The Dessert Masquerading as Health Food
Flavored yogurt, especially the fruit-on-the-bottom varieties, often contains shocking amounts of added sugar that rival desserts. A single cup of flavored yogurt can contain 20 to 30 grams of sugar, much of which comes from added sweeteners rather than natural fruit sugars. This transforms what should be a healthy, protein-rich snack into a sugar-laden treat that can spike blood glucose levels.
The fruit components in flavored yogurts are often more syrup than actual fruit, containing high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, and food coloring. Many brands add thickeners, stabilizers, and preservatives to achieve the desired texture and shelf life. These additives provide no nutritional value while potentially causing digestive issues in sensitive individuals.
Low-fat flavored yogurts are particularly problematic because manufacturers often compensate for the removed fat by adding extra sugar to maintain palatability. This creates a product that’s higher in sugar than full-fat varieties while being less satisfying, leading to overconsumption. The lack of fat also means reduced absorption of fat-soluble vitamins that might be present in the yogurt.
Plain Greek yogurt with fresh fruit is a much better choice, providing more protein, probiotics, and nutrients without the excessive sugar load. You can control the sweetness by adding a small amount of honey or maple syrup if needed, but you’ll likely find that fresh berries provide plenty of natural sweetness without the blood sugar roller coaster.
