334 calories and 70 grams of sugar per 100 grams - For example, these are the nutritional values of our puffed apples. In comparison, 100 grams of milk chocolate have around 550 calories and 50 grams of sugar. Does it make a difference whether you have the snacks or the chocolate bar? Especially if you are trying to avoid sugar for the most part, wouldn't chocolate be the better choice? No. Find out in this article why our puffed snacks have such a high sugar content and are still a good choice for the sweet appetite in between.
Let's stay with the nutritional values: 100 grams of apple contain around 55 calories and 10 grams of sugar. So how can it be that the nutritional values of our puffed apples differ so much? It's actually quite logical: drying removes water from the fruit. The fruit loses weight, but the nutrients and sugar remain intact. Thus, dried fruit also has many advantages compared to fresh fruit. Due to the drying process, they have a longer shelf life and even small amounts contain many vitamins and nutrients. This is especially the case with the puffing process, as the fruits are gently dried here. You can find out more about this special process in this contribution. If you want to provide your body with short-term energy, a handful of puffed fruit is a good choice. With a chocolate bar, for example, you don't consume more sugar than with dried fruit, but it is industrial sugar and not fructose. In addition, they are empty calories that you are feeding your body, so they do not provide your body with nutrients. So dried fruits are a great idea for a sweet appetite.
However, here too it depends on the quantity: The body can only process 80 grams of fructose per day. With a pack of puffed apples you get 21 grams of fructose. Even if you eat the whole pack, this is still within limits, as long as you keep your fruit consumption in check throughout the day, and your body will thank you for the many good ingredients.
Conclusion: A single glance at the nutritional values is not enough. One should much more consider the total values. A product has a high sugar content: Is it fructose or industrial sugar? What other contents are listed? Are there sulphur, added sugar or other additives? And above all, what other nutrients does the product contain? Puffed snacks are a great source of vitamins and a healthy snack for the sweet tooth 😊
