Fiber and Goldfish

My girls love Goldfish.  I can see their weddings now...crystal bowls of Goldfish on every table!  I buy Goldfish for an occasional snack, but I am faced with the choice--regular cheddar or "made with whole grain"?  Of course, Goldfish are not the only "made with whole grain" product, as walk down any grocery aisle will prove, but does it matter?  Is "made with whole grain" something to pay attention to or simply a marketing ploy?

What is Whole Grain?

Grains include wheat, corn, rice, rye, oats, barley, millet and more.  Whole grains have three components: endosperm, germ, and bran.  When the Little Red Hen (or anyone else) grinds the wheat to make the bread, she has two choices.  If the wheat seeds are simply ground, the resulting flour contains all three components and is whole grain flour (whole wheat flour).  If the Hen grinds the seeds and removes the chaff--aka the germ and the bran--the result is white flour.  However, the germ and the bran are the main source of fiber in grains, thus white flour has very little fiber.  Additionally, the resulting white flour is missing many important nutrients due to the loss of the germ and bran.  To counterbalance some of this nutrient loss, in the United States and other countries, flour makers are required to add back specific nutrients.  In the US, flour makers add several vitamins (niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, and folic acid) and iron to white flour.  On labels, you will see this addition often labeled as "enriched flour".  But don't be fooled  It isn't the manufacturer trying to help you out, it is Uncle Sam telling the miller what to do.

What is Fiber?

Let's back up to looking at carbohydrates again.  Carbohydrates (CHO) can be simple or complex.  The simple CHO are the sugars (mono- and disaccharides).  The complex polysaccharides include starches and fiber.  Plants store energy as starches.  Starches are composed of long chains of glucose molecules.  Grains are the biggest source of starches.  Fiber provides structure to plant foods (fruit, vegetables, grains, legumes) and are also composed of long chains of glucose molecules.  The difference, however, is that our bodies do not have the capacity to break the bonds holding fiber's glucose molecules together. 

There are several kinds of fibers:

Soluble Fibers--found in oats, barley, legumes and citrus fruits, this kind of fiber is associated with the prevention of heart disease and diabetes.  Basically, this fiber increases elimination of bile acids, forcing the liver to use up cholesterol to create more bile acids.  The result?  A decrease in cholesterol levels.

Fermentable Fibers--these fibers are fermented by bacteria in the colon.  The bacteria create short chain fatty acids.  These fatty acids serve as an energy source for the cells of the colon.

Insoluble Fibers--found in the bran of whole grains and vegetables, these fibers help prevent constipation and help maintain healthy bowel movements in a variety of ways.

Why is Fiber important?

Beyond the disease prevention and bowel health, fiber helps provide a feeling of fullness since it is not digested in the stomach and lingers there.  Fiber slows absorption, leading to smaller increases in blood sugar post-meal.  As mentioned in a previous post on sugar, glycemic index is measure of the blood glucose response.  White bread has a GI of 70 to 90, whereas whole wheat bread has a GI of 50 (remember, lower is better).

How much Fiber?

Currently, Americans consume about 15 to 19 grams per day of fiber, with the recommendations for adults under the age of 50 to be 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men.  Clearly, most of us are not getting enough!  (If you want to calculate your exact need, use 11.5 grams per 1000 calories--so a 2,000 calorie diet needs about 23 grams of fiber per day).  

Beyond fish: bunnies and cows

To achieve a higher fiber intake and meet the recommended fiber intake, the recipe is simple:  eat the suggested amount of fruits and vegetables, enjoy legumes regularly, and eat whole grains.  

Rather than trying to keep track of my daily fiber intake (because, really, who has time for that?), I find MyPlate's recommendation helpful when it comes to eating whole grains.  MyPlate suggests to make at least half of your grains whole grains.  To me, this is easy.  If we eat white bread or a fiber-less cereal for breakfast, I make sure the girls have whole grain bread for lunch. 

Shopping for Fiber

With fiber, it is critical to read the labels.  First, check the nutrition facts panel to read the amount of fiber, listed in grams.  This is important because often the front-of-package labeling would lead you to believe the food is a fiber-packed powerhouse, but reality is quite different.  Next, read the ingredients label.  Whole grain flours are better than enriched wheat flours, as the whole grain flours contain the bran and germ, offering fiber and other key nutrients.  Some high fiber breads and other grain products may have added fiber (termed functional fiber).  Examples of functional fiber include cellulose, guar gum, pectin, and psyllium.  The science is not settled on this issue, but at least one study found that colon cancer reduction was the result of eating dietary fiber, not functional fiber.

So What About the Goldfish?

Regular Goldfish, Whole Grain Goldfish
Cheez-It
Annie's Bunnies, Horizon Cows

To help me better understand the situation, I decided to do a quick comparison of Goldfish and a few other cheese crackers (with Triscuits added as a simple, whole wheat cracker).  All of the values in the table are for a 30 gram serving (or about 55 fish). 

	Goldfish	Whole Grain Goldfish	Horizon Cheddar Snack Crackers	Annie's Cheddar Bunnies	Cheez-It (original)	Triscuit
Calories	140	140	120	140	150	129
Total fat	5 g	5 g	6 g	6 g	8 g	3.75 g
Saturated fat	1 g	1 g	1 g	0.5 g	2 g	0.53 g
Sodium	250 mg	250 mg	270 mg	250 mg	230 mg	171 mg
Total Carbs	20 g	20 g	16 g	19 g	17 g	21 g
Fiber	Less than 1 g	2 g	Less than 1 g	0 g	Less than 1 g	3.2 g
Sugars	0 g	0 g	1 g	1 g	0 g	0 g
Protein	3 g	3 g	2 g	3 g	3 g	3.2 g

Not surprisingly, the whole grain Goldfish and the Triscuits have the most fiber, highlighted in red.  But, does that really make the whole grain Goldfish better?  A quick look at the ingredients.  For simplicity's sake, I just listed the first four or five ingredients (or three in the case of the Triscuits).  

Goldfish	Whole Grain Goldfish	Horizon Cheddar Snack Crackers	Annie's Cheddar Bunnies	Cheez-It (original)	Triscuit
Enriched wheat flour	Whole wheat flour	Wheat flour	Wheat flour	Enriched wheat flour	Whole grain wheat
Cheddar cheese	Enriched wheat flour	Sunflower oil	Sunflower oil	Vegetable oil	Soybean oil
Vegetable Oils	Cheddar cheese	Cheddar cheese	Salt	Cheese	Salt
Salt	Vegetable Oils	Cane sugar	Cheddar cheese	Salt	No more
More	Salt	More	More	More

Not surprisingly, the fiber content of the whole grain Goldfish is reflected in the ingredient list, as the first ingredient is whole wheat flour.  But for all of the crackers, the list goes on (with even added sugar in the case of the Horizon crackers!).  For the Horizon and Annie's products, the ingredients are organic, just not noted in my table.

Whole Grain or Not?

To answer my whole grain Goldfish question, I am going to turn to Marion Nestle.  In her book What To Eat, she lumps Goldfish together with Cheez-Its in her chapter on snack foods.  Both are junk foods that are "of low nutritional value relative to their calories" (page 357).  At the end of her snack food chapter, her advice is this:

If you love junk food, by all means eat and enjoy it--just not too much at a time, not too often, and without kidding yourself that it is good for you.

I added the bold because I think that is the answer to the whole grain vs regular Goldfish question.  Neither are good for you (and the bunnies, cows, and squares are not any better).  A little whole grain doesn't make Goldfish healthy.  All the crackers are nutritionally poor, despite what Pepperidge Farm's marketing would have you believe.  The answer is to eat the snack cracker you enjoy, just not every day or in large amounts.

To return to the MyPlate recommendation, I think the advice should be:

Make at least half of your grains quality whole grains.

Eat the Goldfish, even the whole grain ones, just don't count them toward your whole grain intake. 

The Best Cracker  

Sometimes I wonder if my girls' Goldfish love is really based on taste or just brand recognition.   Since the idea is to only eat junk food one really enjoys, it seemed like a good question to answer.  I decided to do a little blind taste test with my girls and two of their friends.  The various cheese snack crackers were crushed to help disguise the fish, bunnies, squares, and cows.  Interestingly, there was no clear winner!  But the regular Goldfish scored at or near the top, whereas the whole grain Goldfish were at the middle or bottom. 

My take-home?  Better to buy the regular Goldfish and truly enjoy the experience--rather than have a less satisfying snack with whole grain fish that make you long for the real thing.  And eat some true whole grains at other meals and snacks. 

Recipe for an Afternoon Snack 

11 gram package
(about 22 fish)


While the Goldifish serving size, according to the package, is 30 grams (55 fish), I find my girls are satisfied with less.  And then I can pair a few fish with an apple or a few clementines for an afternoon snack.  I love the little Halloween packages, but it makes small portions simple.  But if you want to make your own, 1/4 cup is about 25 Goldfish and 1/3 cup is 32 fish.


References
All quotes and sources are linked in the above text.  General nutrition information came from Whitney and Rolfes' Understanding Nutrition, 13th ed. and from Nutrition for Sport and Exercise, 2nd ed. by Dunford and Doyle.