Too Good to Be Food: Special K Blueberry Crisps

Fructose and dextrose are both naturally occurring sugars The first ingredient in enriched flour is wheat, which may have you thinking however positive thoughts. However, don't let it fool you -- wheat has the same nutritional profile as white flour. It is whole-grain flour that differs. Niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2) and folic acid enrich the flour, but more nutrients are stripped from the whole-grain flour than is replaced by the addition of these five vitamins.

The second ingredient is sugar. Well, you probably know how I feel about that. At least it's not an artificial sweetener, but it is a "fruit" crisp? Where is my fruit? Glycerol is up next and is similar to sugar in caloric content, but has a lower glycemic index and is used for sweetness, as a humectant and for consistency. I am neutral here. Overall fat content is two grams, saturated fat 1 gram and trans fat 0 grams, so this is certainly not alarming. The next ingredient is TBHQ (tertiary butylhydroquinone), which is used for freshness of fats and, according to the FDA, can cause "nausea, vomiting, ringing in the ears, delirium, a sense of suffocation and collapse." All of a sudden those fats don't seem quite as innocent anymore.

Fructose and dextrose are both naturally occurring sugars -- again similar to sugar. At least they are not artificial, but again, where is my fruit? Maltodextrin follows; it is made from starch and is often however added to up the fiber content of a food, but there is less than 1 gram here!