6 Pumpkin Foods To Stay Away From Right Now – Don’t Eat This
‘Pumpkins, cozy sweaters and it’s autumn. Grab your Pumpkin Spice Latte and enjoy the fresh, crisp, autumn air.
Grocery store shelves are filling with everything from pumpkin toaster pastries to pumpkin ice cream. While pumpkins have good nutritional value because they are a vegetable, these foods are mostly indulgent. And some are worse than others.
we consulted emily fevora registered dietitian in Long Island Jewish Forest Hills, part of Northwell Health in New York, and Dr. Annelie Vogt von Hesselholt, DCN, RD, CSOThe founder of Dietitian Doctor on the Worst Pumpkin Foods You Should Avoid.
per 1/10 package: 160 calories, 2 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 340 mg sodium, 35 g carbs (1 g fiber, 18 g sugar), 2 g protein
This fall baking hack sure sounds good, but you’ll want to avoid this pre-mixed cake mix. Fever explains that a serving has a tablespoon of sugar, little fiber, and a high amount of sodium. And it does not include other ingredients that you need to add to make the cake (oil and eggs). With the addition of those ingredients, she explains, “the saturated fat adds up to 16% of the total daily value!”
Another related factor? Although the nutrition facts don’t spell out ‘trans fats,’ this product actually contains partially hydrogenated oils, Feivover says, which are trans-fats and increase our risk for bad cholesterol and heart health.
Vogt agrees, “contains many processed ingredients such as partially hydrogenated oils, propylene glycol monoesters, mono and diglycerides, artificial flavors, sodium stearate, polysorbate 60, Yellow 5, Red 40 and TBHQ.”
She explains that these ingredients are considered safe by the FDA, but “long-term use can be potentially harmful to your health.”
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per 2 pastries: 380 calories, 10 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 340 mg sodium, 68 g carbs (1 g fiber, 27 g sugar), 4 g protein
Pop-Tarts are convenient and easy to make, but the ingredients are relatable. Two pumpkin pie pastries contain about two tablespoons of sugar, as well as a ton of salt and saturated fat, Fever says.
“This is another highly processed product that is low in calories, sodium, total carbohydrates, and added sugars, and fiber,” says Vogt.
Take a closer look at the ingredients list. “According to the ingredient list, sugar is found in five different varieties, including corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, dextrose, and molasses,” Vogt explains.
According to the American Heart Association (AHA), the recommended daily sugar intake is 6 to 9 teaspoons. One serving of these Pop-Tarts pushes you to the limit.
But, wait, there’s more. “This includes synthetic processed antioxidants such as TBHQ, synthetic, processed coloring agents, such as caramel color, yellow 5 and 6, red 40, and blue 1, and bioengineered ingredients,” Vogt explains.
per 2/3 cup: 350 calories, 20 g fat (10 g saturated fat, 0.5 g trans fat), 80 mg cholesterol, 190 mg sodium, 40 g carbs (0 g fiber, 34 g sugar), 5 g protein
Ben & Jerry’s Pumpkin Cheesecake Ice Cream is basically a pint of sugar. Fever notes that this pint contains about 2.5 tablespoons of sugar in one serving—the label says this one pint has 3 servings. Plus, “with just one serving size, 50% of the recommended saturated fat allocation for the day is met. No surprises since cream is the first ingredient. Now think how easy it is to eliminate one container; One would consume no more than half a cup of sugar and 30 grams of saturated fat (150% of the Recommended Daily Value,” explains Fever.
Vogt agrees, noting the ridiculous amount of sugar it contains, according to the AHA, contains 27% of your daily value for cholesterol and 97% of your daily value for added sugars.
“Compared to frozen yogurt, it provides twice the calories and added sugars, six times the total fat content, fix cholesterol, and four times the saturated fat amount,” Vogt says.
per 2 pastries: 400 calories, 8 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 250 mg sodium, 76 g carbs (2 g fiber, 36 g sugar), 6 g protein
Nature’s Path Toaster Pastry offers a good lesson in how some labels can be deceiving. As Vogt explains, it is “an organic product marketed as a natural, healthy food.” The packaging also states that there are no artificial flavors or synthetic colors, but is it healthy?
“Don’t let the organic label fool you because this ‘organic’ version of the popular traditional competitor has 9 grams more sugar!” Fever warns.
“Because it’s high in calories, fat, sodium, carbohydrates, and added sugars, and low in fiber, you should probably think twice before eating one,” Vogt advises. She also states that one serving provides you with 400 calories, 20% of your Daily Value of saturated fat, 11% of your Daily Value of sodium, 28% of your Daily Value of carbohydrates and more than 100% of your Recommended Value. added sugar.
per 2 cookies: 170 calories, 8 g fat (4.5 g saturated fat), 105 mg sodium, 23 g carbs (0 g fiber, 14 g sugar), 1 g protein
Favorite Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies of the Day are loaded with sugar and nothing more nutritional.
“The first ingredient is sugar, which informs the consumer that the biggest make-up of this product is actually sugar – 26% of our daily value. The food contains no fiber and has a third and fourth ingredient high in saturated fat with oil Fever says.
per 1 cup: 150 calories, 1.5 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 260 mg sodium, 34 g carbs (3 g fiber, 11 g sugar), 3 g protein
Special K Pumpkin Spice Cereal may seem like a healthy item because it contains extra vitamins and minerals, but it’s not worth it. Vogt tells us why.
“This processed product is high in calories, sodium, carbohydrates and added sugars and is a less-than-desirable start to the day. It has cheap types of added fats such as processed hydrogenated oils and a variety of added sugars such as syrup, dextrose, honey, molasses, and artificial flavors and preservatives,” Vogt explains.
She says that cereal alone (not including milk and added sweeteners) provides 11% of the daily value for sodium, 12% of carbohydrates and 37% of added sugars.
“In comparison, regular old-fashioned oat flakes have no sodium or added sugar and as much fiber and protein and are a much better option. To make this cereal more festive, you can add spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger,” Vogt advises.
