Is Granola Healthy? Debunking a Health Food

Is Granola Healthy? Debunking a Health Food

 

Granola is a perfect example of a supposed “health food”. But what is exactly is a health food? And is granola healthy, really?

Starting with the first question, the obvious answer is that “health food” is “healthy” food – food that enhances health. The nutritionists

I’ve spoken to all agree that for a food to be considered “healthy”, it

should be dense with nutrients (vitamins, minerals, protein, fiber, to

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name a few) while not highly caloric, highly processed or high in

anything that science has told us may harm our health (GMO’s, artificial

food colorings, any of the Scary Seven™.

So is granola healthy?

Certainly,

granola has a wonderful reputation as a “health” food. Just the term

“granola”, itself, is synonymous with a natural, earthy lifestyle. But

let’s examine if granola has earned its reputation as a health food or

if it has somehow managed to fool us with its oats and its crunch.

Read more about The Scary Seven

At

its best, granola made of organic oats, grains and honey or some other

natural sweetener that is not made of “sugar”. At worst, it’s nothing

more than a candy bar that has the audacity to congratulate us for

eating it: Kudos.

Hopefully you’ve already figured out that granola or not, Kudos http://www.kudosbar.com

is not a health food. And maybe you already are a savvy shopper,

thoughtfully selecting organic, minimally processed foods and attempting

to maximize the nutrition you take in with your calories. Yet maybe as

you wheel your shopping cart past the vast array of natural and organic

granolas offerings, you’re still thinking, “granola is healthy, so I

should be eating it.”  Never mind that you may not particularly like

granola.

Well, stop. Pull over that cart and consider this:

Granola may not be any more a “health food” than Kellogg’s Froot Loops?

In fact, Froot Loops may be just slightly more of a “health food”.

According to the published nutrition on Froot Loops, for 110 calories,

you get a full cup of cereal that includes 12 grams of sugar and 3 grams

of fiber plus an assortment of vitamins and minerals in significant

amounts

Now, compare that to what you get from a serving of Back to Nature Organic Cherry Vanilla Granola:

For twice as many calories (200), you get only a ¼ cup of cereal, but

that tiny serving packs the same 12 grams of sugar as a cup of Froot

Loops. You get a mere 2 more grams of fiber, but you get almost no

vitamins and minerals (other than scant amounts of vitamin C, iron an

phosphorus.

Read more about added sugar

Where

does that leave you?  Well, if you don’t like granola, don’t feel any

pressure to eat it ever. If you do like granola, consider it to be a

treat, and then have it only in the very tiny portion indicated on the

package as one serving. And if you’re looking for a healthier breakfast

that actually tastes as decadent as you might wish granola did, check

out this recipe for wholegrain French toast [link to my article on

French toast.

Photo Credit: Average Jane

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Lauren Cahn has written extensively about yoga, health and wellness since 2004, when she earned her first yoga teaching certification from Cyndi Lee’s Om Yoga Center (NYC).