They're Belivta's new "breakfast biscuits" and they're being marketed as a great accompaniment to breakfast as they apparently provide, "sustained energy".
If you're a regular reader here I'm guessing you'll know what "sustained energy" is usually a euphemism for. Sugar.
Eat a 4 pack and you'll be packing in just over 3 teaspoons of "energy" with a smattering of fibre and protein. Sugar wise it's the same amount you'd get if you ate a 4 pack of Oreos.
And of course you'll be buying into the notion that health and nutrition short cuts exist.
Now I wasn't at all surprised to learn that Kraft was using slick marketing to try to not only sell cookies for breakfast but to suggest they're healthful. I was however surprised to find a video featuring registered dietitian and author of The Sonoma Diet Dr. Connie Guttersen telling viewers that yes indeed,
"Belivita is perfect for your on the go lifestyle because it's convenient and nutritious."
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But NO high fructose corn syrup or trans fats!!!!! So you KNOW they're healthy!!!!!
ReplyDeleteNo arsenic or cat kibble either! Perfect!
DeleteThank you for this article. I analysed these biscuits on my website and I explain why it's not a good choice!
ReplyDeletehttp://alexandraleduc.com/blogue/2012/10/24/belvita-biscuit-dejeuner-vraiment-un-bon-dejeuner/
Brits just get regular ads for (emphasis mine) New Nutri-Grain Breakfast Biscuits, they look like a biscuit, taste like a biscuit but with all the good stuff of a Kellogg's cereal.
ReplyDeleteNutritious? Good stuff? Meh!
I imagine some marketing guy thinking he's a genius for inventing a whole new breakfast product sector!! People want an excuse to eat cookies for breakfast and now they can! I tried a sample in the grocery store and the promo person was pitching the "sustained energy" schtick. She told me it "timed-release." Ohhhh, timed release food. Reminded me of the "tiny time capsules" of Contac cold medicine. Remember those ads? It's all just marketing!! Give the people what they want to buy and they want to buy COOKIES FOR BREAKFAST!!!
ReplyDeleteDo you really wonder that an "expert" will stand up and say it's healthy? After all, Dr. Oz made an entire career out of that.
ReplyDeleteAs an RD, I would never recommend this product to my clients and am confident that none of my colleagues would either. This dietitian is an insult to our profession.
ReplyDeleteAs a dietetic student, watching this video makes me sad. But keep in mind, all the dietitians I have volunteered with would never recommend something like this.
ReplyDeleteHow disreputable.
ReplyDeletePerhaps, like Dracula, she has no mirrors in her house; for, how could she stand to look at herself in one, after launching in public this packet of fibs.
Considering many (probably most) people have croissant, sugary cereals, white bread with jam or Nutella, commercial muffin or nothing at all for breakfast, this could be a good compromise, a first step to a healthier option. However, I recognize this RD is a bit too enthusiastic about this product..Doesn't she have a ethic code to follow or something?
ReplyDeleteI'm an Aussie dietitian who was sent samples of Bel_Vita when they launched in 2012. I didn’t write them up on my blog as eating “biscuits” for breakfast isn’t something I want to recommend! Even a healthier low GI version.
ReplyDeleteI’ve seen the Kraft research and they can back up what they claim. They have created a special process that doesn’t fully gelatinise the starch during baking so they can claim low GI - hence the next follow-on claim is that they give up sustained energy. Don’t know how you “fill” a biscuit with energy but that’s the marketers carrying on!
Having a tradition of Weet-Bix and porridge oats, most Aussies didn’t “get” that whole breakfast biscuit concept.
But I gather the Europeans embraced Bel-Vitas with enthusiasm as they’re used to dunking dry bread/toastie things into their morning coffee. That was all our French mother ate when we stayed with them in Lyon a few years ago. Don’t know how she skied the whole morning on dry toast and black coffee!
So I had to ask myself: are 4 Bel-Vita’s BETTER THAN a muesli bar or a muffin? Those grab-and-go fast alternatives that you eat on the way to work or college? Yes a 4-pack of Bel-Vita’s ARE healthier than most muesli bars (which are horrible sweet things) and much better than a blueberry or choc-chip muffin.
And Kraft are very clever as they always promote the biscuits with milk or yoghurt which helps boost their nutrition story in many ways eg lowers GI, improves protein, calcium, riboflavin, good for kids!
I don't work for Kraft – merely pointing out the science behind the biscuits. Another case of where food technologists can create a product that ticks all the nutrition boxes yet our intuition whispers something is not quite right!
Ditto for most light foods, low-carb cakes and low-fat cheeses.
Keep up the good work. Catherine
Thanks to Alexandra Leduc, Dt. P., for her careful analysis of these biscuits and for her recommendations listed on her own blog. For the convenience of any reader not so keen to do a Copy and subsequent Paste in a browser's address bar to get to Alexandra's blog page, here is her URL coded directly so that one has merely to click on the link:
ReplyDeletehttp://alexandraleduc.com/blogue/2012/10/24/belvita-biscuit-dejeuner-vraiment-un-bon-dejeuner/
Isn't this what professional dieticians are supposed to be for, rather than serving the guys with the bulging wallets by touting their commercial products to trusting folk? Thank you kindly, Alexandra!
This was a very interesting post. Especially Catherine's response. As a long time weight watcher, I was curious so I tried a box when they were on sale. I wasn't impressed. The flavor is good, but there are too many calories in a serving, and a few hours later I was hungry again. A bowl of oatmeal and berries sticks a whole lot longer, as does a container of quality yogurt with some added nuts and fruit.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather eat the Oreo cookies.
ReplyDeleteThere was a study where some people had a piece of chocolate cake for breakfast and some had a regular breakfast and the people who had chocolate cake lost more weight. So having cookies for breakfast may not necessarily be a horrible thing. However, when people eat chocolate cake for breakfast, they aren't fooling themselves that they are eating something healthy.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I have a protein shake for breakfast most days and that works for me. I won't be switching to cookies any time soon and, if I did, I'd pick something I thought was delicious, not something parading as healthy diet food. It's the dishonesty that gets to me more than the nutritional content.