With so many foods marketed as ‘healthy choices’, many forget to read the nutritional breakdown of their favourite snacks.
And as a result, some are unaware that ‘healthy’ options often have just as many if not more calories, fats and carbs than their preferred foods.
So to help people understand these breakdowns, Australian nutritionist and personal trainer, Sophie Guidolin, 28, shared a series of visual food comparisons.
‘Rather than giving you an alternative or “better” choice, I have simply been showcasing how different foods have different breakdowns, and showing what makes up each food,’ the THE BOD founder wrote on her website.
To help people understand nutritional breakdowns, Australian nutritionist and personal trainer, Sophie Guidolin (pictured), 28, shared a series of visual food comparisons
‘A lot of people have been shocked or amazed, and it has really helped provide a better visual understanding and talking point.’
One of the most simple yet surprising comparisons was a photo of a 100 gram block of dark chocolate next to a 100 gram block of milk chocolate.
The dark chocolate had 36.2 grams of fat and 546 calories while the milk had less calories at 526 and just 27.7 grams of fat.
‘Remember, these are different visual comparisons to showcase how either marketing, myths or misconceptions can often effect the reality of what our foods are often made up of – not necessarily a “better” option or an alternative,’ Sophie explained.
One of the most simple yet surprising comparisons was a photo of a 100 gram block of dark chocolate next to a 100 gram block of milk chocolate
‘Whilst dark chocolate typically contains more vitamins & minerals, 99% of people we asked thought dark chocolate had a lot less calories compared to milk chocolate,’ she said
‘Whilst dark chocolate typically contains more vitamins & minerals, 99% of people we asked thought dark chocolate had a lot less calories compared to milk chocolate.
‘As you can see, (whilst not by much) dark chocolate is actually higher in overall calories. My goal with these is to just get you thinking, talking and looking at labels.’
She also shared a snap of a Paddle Pop chocolate ice cream next to a ‘healthy choice’ Skinny Cow ice cream – the Paddle Pop significantly lower in calories.
‘Here is a little visual to show you just how in some cases marketing can trick you into thinking an item may be a “better” option for you,’ Sophie wrote.
‘Here is a little visual to show you just how in some cases marketing can trick you into thinking an item may be a “better” option for you,’ Sophie wrote
‘Did you know that macadamias contain carbohydrates? Or that when analysing 100g servings – they contain the same carbohydrates as Apple?’ Sophie wrote
‘On the left you have a skinny cow ice cream, whilst incredibly delicious, a standard full fat chocolate paddle pop is actually significantly LOWER in overall calories without being marketed as a ‘better choice’.’
Sophie also shared a photo of different foods that contained carbs, including lolly snakes, sweet potato, honey and macadamias.
‘Most people think of bread, pasta and pizza when it comes to ‘carbohydrates’- but there are carbs in so many different foods,’ Sophie wrote.
‘For example, did you know that macadamias contain carbohydrates? Or that when analysing 100g servings – they contain the same carbohydrates as Apple?’
‘To put it in perspective the difference in carbs between the large banana and the small banana is around the same carbs as a piece of bread,’ Sophie wrote
Sophie also shared a snap of three different bananas – all varying in sizes – to show the difference in carbs for each one.
‘A banana is a banana right? Remember that serves and weights can play a big role in the breakdown of the food you’re eating and potentially the difference between you reaching your goals or potentially slowing you down,’ she wrote.
‘Always weigh your food raw, without the skin rather than relying on serving sizes, guesstamations or things like “medium banana” etc which as per above can mean a big difference overall.
‘To put it in perspective the difference in carbs between the large banana and the small banana is around the same carbs as a piece of bread.’
‘For the same serving size of 15g peanut butter was actually higher in total calories and double the fat! Does that surprise you?’ She said of the above
She also shared comparisons between an avocado and macadamia nuts and Peanut Butter and hazelnut spread.
‘If I had a dollar for every time someone said to me that for their snack, they would have a handful of nuts a few times a day I would be quite a wealthy young lady,’ Sophie said.
‘Whilst nuts ARE an amazing snack – as nuts contain so many essential vitamins and minerals and essential fats – however as you can see, they’re super high in calories and very nutrient dense.
‘Typically, people associate ‘essential fats’ with avocado – tick. Avocado IS high in essential fats, however when compared with the same quantity to macadamia nuts- it is ALOT lower in calories (for the same quantity).’
‘Rather than giving you an alternative or “better” choice, I have simply been showcasing how different foods have different breakdowns, and showing what makes up each food,’ the THE BOD founder said
‘A lot of people have been shocked or amazed, and it has really helped provide a better visual understanding and talking point,’ Sophie said
With the spreads, Peanut Butter had more fat, but was lower in calories overall.
‘Typically, if I asked you what had more calories peanut butter or hazelnut spread (think nutella). What would you think?’ She wrote.
‘Well, for the same serving size of 15g peanut butter was actually higher in total calories and double the fat! Does that surprise you?’
Sophie shares her fitness tips and advice on her Instagram page and website and is the founder of fitness and nutrition program, THE BOD.