12 Responses to “The World Wants You to Be Stupid: Nutella”

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  1. avishp

    That’s awesome. I’m kind of shocked they don’t exist already…

  2. Soraya

    This is exactly what I have been saying! Haha. Seriously, Nutella healthy? Come on! People really do fool themselves. I too would be amazed to hear how on the commercial they try to make people believe it’s healthy. I know I wouldn’t be sending off my kids with Nutella for breakfast. Even if it is on whole grain toast…

  3. avishp

    Thanks Soraya – the first time I saw the commercial I was pretty stunned. I was watching an ad for chocolate spread and it was going on about all the healthy ingredients in it. Crazy!

  4. Taylor

    I think America is trying to merge into some of the Europe cultural items. Tons of exchange students who come here from Germany eat nutella everyday. It started in Europe and is extremely popular there. However, if you look at the imported nutella (in the glass jars) it is more expensive then the American plastic jar…like $10? And the European nutella does not list the oil in it.

    None the less…it would be nice if companies would step up and start using real ingredients. I like the taste of nutella, but i’m not big on artificial flavorings either…

    I also found that exchange students coming here that I know, have to mix our store-bought juice with water, because back home they do not have juice “concentrates”.
    Thanks for the article!

  5. Yummy!

    I also enjoy Nutella once in a while but it is an awful replacement for peanut butter. First, like the author of the article said, Nutella is all sugar. About 26 grams of sugar in two tablespoons. Not to mention, I dislike the sugary and bad aftertaste. It is also expensive.

    Personally, I do not find it a healthy option. There are pros and cons for Nutella and peanut butter in the nutrition facts, but because Nutella is mainly sugar, I rather sacrifice sugar for healthy fats from peanut butter.

    Notice in the commercials they mention Nutella spread on multigrain toast or whole wheat waffles. If it weren’t for the whole grain input, the product could not be considered “healthy” and the commercial would probably not be aired.

    So they basically trick you into thinking Nutella is healthy…. as long as it is on multigrain bread or whole wheat toast.

  6. avishp

    Thanks for the comment. It is amazing how many food products in their commercials say they are healthy “as part of a healthy breakfast” or “as part of a balanced meal” and then they show their product along with a table of fruit, veggies, and lean proteins. Really, I could create a product that is nothing but a bowl of sugar, and say it’s “healthy when consumed with a full day’s serving of spinach.” it’s crazy.

    What’s sad is how many people probably don’t take the time to think it through and just take the commercial at face value…

  7. uhrsker

    I get really frustrated whenever I see this commercial. What kid in their right mind would want to eat multigrain toast for breakfast? I’m 42 years old and wouldn’t eat multigrain toast for breakfast. Especially 1 slice of it. If the kids were “normal” kids, they would be screaming for the sugar bombed cereals we got when we were kids.

  8. anna

    Come on.
    Nutella comes from Italy. Only 8-9% of italians are obese. 30% of American are obese.
    Every single Italian child eats nutella (at breakfast and/or as a snack at 4pm).
    So, Nutella is not the main problem.

  9. Avish

    Thanks for the comment. I don’t think Nutella itself is the problem. I am a firm believer that people need to take responsibility for their own actions, and eating some delicious sweet hazelnut spread is fine in moderation.

    However, I do have an issue with Nutella advertising itself as “healthy,” when it is not. In fact, the US Courts agreed with me and Nutella was found guilty of False Advertising in a class action lawsuit: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2012/04/nutella-consumer-class-action-settlement/

    The point of my post is not that Nutella is the problem, but that we as consumers must think and do our own research and not just buy into what an advertiser tells us to be true.

    Thanks again for stopping by and commenting!

  10. Kalin Combs

    I was reading through this post… And I had a couple of comments about it. First of all, a little but of sugar isn’t that bad for you. If it was, fruit would be considered unhealthy. According to the American Heart Association, women are okay to consume 25 grams of sugar a day, and men, 37.5. I try to stay around 20-25. And at least it isnt made with artificial sweeteners–things like Splenda, Sweet ‘N Low, or high fructose corn syrup–which make even sugar look good as far as “healthyness” goes. Also, a little bit of oil isn’t that bad for you either. There are heart healthy fats in oil that are actually good for you (in moderation, of course). There was also a part of the post that confused me. You wrote that the commercial said that Nutella included hazelnuts, skim milk, & cocoa in the ingredients, but when you look on the box, it shows that it includes more than just that. However, I don’t find this misleading at all, because it never said that those were the only ingredients. And like you said, if Nutella was made using only those ingredients, it wouldn’t be very good, so it was pretty clear to me that those weren’t the only ingredients. Also, they never said that it didnt include artificial ingredients, so I don’t understan why that was a surprise either. Also, being at the bottom of the ingredients list, there can’t be that much in it. Anyway, my point is that if you stick to small servings, a little bit of Nutella a day isn’t going to make your children obese–not even close. Some ingredients, like hazelnuts & skim milk are actually healthy. And cocoa, as a matter of fact, is considered a superfood. So no, not all of the ingredients in Nutella are healthy, but there are healthy aspects of Nutella, and those unhealthy parts, in moderation, aren’t going to kill you.

  11. Avish

    Hi Kalin, thanks for stopping by and commenting. I agree that unhealthy stuff can be fine in moderation. My issue is that the commercial really was touting Nutella as a health food.

    This post is from a few years ago, and I see the video is no longer available, so maybe it’s not clear how the ad was espousing Nutella as a health food. In fact, Nutella was sued for false advertising and settled the class action suit in 2012 for $3.05 Million.

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