I, myself is a big biscuit fan and all cookies seems irresistible to me. I fancy them, I eat them and crave them! But yes, this fact is also true that biscuits aren’t too healthy as they are made of flour (Maida), sugar, and edible oil being the main ingredients. A pack of biscuits with a cup of coffee is a good combination for my perfect evening. These biscuits, be it that glucose Britannia biscuits or the creamy oreo ones, that we lick off; they have been part of our life since long ago and people find this snack easy to pick up and keep munching on it whenever they like, ignoring the bad effects involved with the over-consumption. The problem with them are that they are so common that we find it everywhere, be it at tea time parties, boardroom meetings or anywhere else. They are considered unhealthy to munch on because they are made of wheat flour.
Let’s have a look at the constituents of biscuits. The wheat flour mentioned on the packages is generally refined wheat flour, which is not good for consumption because in the processing stage, the brown cover of the wheat that contains essential vitamins and necessary fiber is removed and the residue left is used for biscuit manufacturing and is proved to be unhealthy. In addition, biscuits have a high amount of sugar and thus, they are a source of high calorie content. Also, this high amount of sugar gives an energy spike but doesn’t fill us and has no food value and can even cause diabetes in long run and also prove bad for diabetic patients. Moreover, the other ingredient of biscuits, called hydrogenated oils which are added into the batter while making biscuits and are baked at very high temperature and this is what lead to the most dangerous kind of fats- trans fat. Trans fats are bad as they are known to increase the bad cholesterol and also increases the chance of heart diseases and diabetes. They are high in carbohydrates, so mostly they are recommended to be taken as 1 or 2 at a time, rather than munching on whole packets. Some care would be good if taken and pre-thought should be given rather than mindlessly falling prey to the taste of biscuits. Now, see through some of the key damages, these can do:
They are a source of weight gain: As, it is clear from above the main ingredients it contains, they have calories and carbohydrates and trans fat, all of which contributes to weight gain. It is important if you watch while you picking up one from the attractive plate of cookies. If you are dieting, it is highly advised to avoid the consumption of biscuits and better go for some replacement foods in place of it and satisfy your cravings and sweet tooth.
They do not have Fiber: Biscuits have very low fiber in them, due to which they aren’t regarded as a healthy choice. No matter how much appealing the advertisements are regarding the health aspects of biscuits, they aren’t a good choice and have no nutritional value. One should not depend one biscuit for fiber content, rather they should opt healthier choices from among fruits and veggies.
A biscuit is high in calories: Even the biscuits which are considered to be very light biscuits, like MARIE LITE also have calorie content of 56 calories in just 2 of its pieces. So, if this alone has this much calories, you can imagine how much other sweet and cream biscuits have.
They have no nutritional value and aren’t healthy snack replacements: The biscuits are unhealthy choice and have no food value as we can see above the ingredients of biscuit aren’t good for health and then there are artificial flavours which also add to its unhealthiness and all this when, together makes it unhealthy snack and shouldn’t be replaced for something like cornflakes or oatmeal with milk.
Well, the above listed harmful consequences of biscuits are worth noting. This information demands us to be more conscious about our biscuit intake and we must be mindful while its consumption. It is not that we should completely call off cookies and biscuits, but we should limit our cravings to eat them. And it will be good if we take them after or before some strenuous activities as it will burn off some calories and doesn’t do harm at that extent. Also, it will prove to better if we go for other replacement food like oatmeal or chiwda. Biscuits are a good snack and are tasty stuff, just as many other packaged and processed food products but they aren’t a healthy choice to rely on as they have no nutritional content and no food value. All this makes them really very unhealthy, no matter how easily available, low cost products they are. There are many cookies available with loads of varieties, ranging from dry fruits to chocolates to butter and many other, but we should be mindful while choosing them and eating them. Eat them, but don’t over eat them. Keep munching on biscuits; but in moderation. Take a break.
Healthy eating. Happy Life.
