What Carbohydrates Mean in Individual Diets
The number of food choices that are available to the consumer has generally increased in the market and thus we now face a spectrum of food items that may cater to our taste and preference. There is also now a wider range of fruits and vegetables in the grocery that may help us design our diets and control the amount of carbohydrates we consume. Fruits and vegetables from various countries are also available in groceries, allowing the consumer to enjoy these exotic items. Fruits and vegetables may also be processed into shakes and purees, which are equally enjoyable as eating it plain. Food manufacturers have also incorporated fiber into certain products, including bread, cereal, and crackers, which may help in digestion. Other food items are supplemented with vitamins and minerals that may possibly be equivalent to consuming fruits and vegetables in our daily diets. For example, certain orange juice brands are supplemented with vitamin D.
Despite this change in the features and content of our current food choices, it appears that particular food products in the market may still pose a negative impact of out diets and the amount of carbohydrates that we consume on a daily basis. According to a recent medical report published in the journal Appetite, breakfast cereals have maintained their high sugar content in the past decade and these carbohydrates may pose a threat to the general health of the consuming public.
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The Australian research study was fueled by the need to continuously monitor the nutritional content of various food items that are being sold in the groceries. The researchers thus embarked on a survey in which they collected the information presented in the product labels of food items during two collection periods, namely in 2004 and in 2010. It is important to understand that product labels are designed to allow the consumer to determine the amount of specific components that are present in the food item, including carbohydrates, fats, salts, and protein, to name a few. After collecting this information for both years, the information per food category was then compared and analyzed.
The results of the study showed that breakfast cereals did not improve in terms of the amount of carbohydrates from 2004 to 2010. In the year 2004, breakfast cereals were determined to contain high amounts of sugar and thus may affect the health when consumed in regular diets. Reviewing the information in the product labels of these breakfast cereals in 2010 showed that the amount of carbohydrates still remained the same, thus indicating that this particular food item did not improve in terms of nutritional content in the last six years.
Sugar content analysis has shown that the amount of carbohydrates in these breakfast cereals is significantly higher than that in bread and thus for the consumer, this may be quite deceiving. For consumers who are concerned with their health and diets, they would often prefer to have cereal for breakfast, based on the notion that this food item contains high amount of fiber that will help in digestion, similar to the effect when consuming fruits and vegetables. The consumer may also think that there may be less sugar in breakfast cereals as compared to having two slices of bread or a muffin for breakfast. The information presented in this recent medical report thus shows that certain food items in the market may not be healthy enough to include in our regular diets because of its high levels of carbohydrates. It may thus be healthier to consume fruits and vegetables than certain brands of breakfast cereals.