hfg SHOPPING
M
uesli bars have long
been a lunch box staple.
But with so much focus
on sugar, making a good choice
can be tricky. Here are four tips
to buying a low-sugar snack bar.
ŘKNOW YOUR SUGARS
Manufacturers use a variety of
sugars to bind the grains, seeds
and fruit in muesli bars together,
such as glucose
syrup or sugar
(sucrose). But
they might also
add sugar with
obscure names,
such as rice malt
syrup, invert
sugar or maltodextrose.
It can be hard to work out how
much added sugar is in a product,
so always check the ingredients
list, which is in order of quantity.
Pick snack bars with less than
10g sugar per bar (with fruit), or
less than 5g sugar (fruit-free).
ŘBE SAVVY ABOUT FRUIT
Some snack bars claim to have
‘no added sugar’, but this doesn’t
mean that they’re sugar free. TheCereal and muesli bars are an easy lunch box snack, but many are
loaded with sugar. Dietitian Brooke Longfi eld looks at the sweet facts.How much
sugar may come from dried fruit
(dates) or concentrated fruit juice.
Dried fruit provides the extra
benefi t of fi bre and adds natural
sweetness, so less added sugar
is needed. But it can stick to kids’
teeth and cause tooth decay, so
save sticky bars for a special treat.
ŘREAD LABELS CAREFULLY
Packs often use buzz words, such
as ‘natural’ and
‘gluten free’, but
these can mask
an unhealthy
product. The
ingredients list
will give you
the full picture.
ŘCHECK THE STARSThe
Health Star Rating (HSR) takes
into account sugar, saturated fat,
sodium, fibre and some vitamins
and minerals. The higher the HSR,
the healthier the product, but
only use it to compare products
within the same category.
We’ve compared the grams
of total sugar in kids’ snack bars
to teaspoons of sugar. Does your
favourite measure up?is in that snack bar?
Sugar in snack
bars can be
hiding behind
obscure names
28 healthyfoodguide.com.auNestle
Milo Snack Bars
with Milk
6.5g sugar per bar1½ tsp
SUGARKellogg’s
Nutri-Grain Bars
8.8g sugar per bar2 tsp
SUGAR