Hide and Seek is one of the popular chocolate-based biscuits manufactured and marketed by Parle Foods. It was first launched in 1996 and has become a popular choice among biscuit lovers in India.
It comes in more than 10 different flavors, and the company claims it has no added preservatives or artificial flavors.
While the biscuit tastes delicious and sounds healthy, is Hide and Seek biscuit really good for your health?
Short answer: Hide and seek biscuit is not good for health as it is made from Refined wheat flour(low in nutrition), is extremely high in sugar, empty calories and saturated fat.
Keep reading to learn more about why Hide and Seek biscuits are not good for you.
Also read: Is Oreo Biscuit Good For Health? Find Out The Truth!
Nutritional value of Hide and Seek biscuit
A 100g serving of Hide and Seek biscuit(Chocolate) contain:
- Calories: 479
- Carbohydrates: 73.4g
- Sugar: 32.3g
- Protein: 5.9g
- Fat(total): 18g
- Saturated fat: 9.4g
Ingredients in Hide and Seek biscuit
Hide and seek biscuit is available in many flavors, and each can differ in terms of ingredients. However, some of the common ingredients that you can find in many of the flavors include:
- Refined wheat flour(maida)
- Sugar
- Refined palm oil
- Cocoa solids
- Cocoa butter
- Dextrose
- Artificial flavors(Chocolate & vanilla)
- Invert sugar syrup
- Raising agents[503(ii),500(ii)]
- Iodised salt
- Emulsifiers
- Natural food color(150d)
6 Reasons Hide and Seek biscuit is not good for health
Made from refined wheat flour
The Hide and Seek biscuit is made from refined wheat flour(maida), which is not healthy as it is made from the endosperm part of the wheat grain, which mainly consists of only starch.
In addition, to make maida, the wheat flour has to undergo a heavy refining process which removes most of the essential nutrients.
Years of studies have shown that excessive consumption of maida-based foods has been associated with an increased risk of weight gain, obesity, diabetes and high cholesterol.
High in sugar
One of the main reasons that make Hide and Seek biscuit bad for your health is its high sugar content.
A 100g serving contains 32.3g of sugar, equivalent to 8 teaspoons. Even a small 10rs packet of Hide and Seek biscuit contains 11g of sugar, which is 36% of the daily recommended sugar limit for adults and 46% for children.
Not only that, but the biscuits are also loaded with other types of sugar, like invert sugar syrup and dextrose, making them even more sugary and more addictive.
Eating sugary foods like Hide and Seek biscuits in excess can lead to serious health issues, such as weight gain, obesity, tooth decay, diabetes, behavior problems in children and heart disease.
Here is the table showing the sugar content in some of the common flavors of Hide and Seek biscuit.
| Hide and Seek flavor | Sugar |
|---|---|
| Chocolate chip cookie | 32.3g |
| Creme Sandwich Vanilla | 39.5g |
| Creme Sandwich Orange | 39.5g |
| Chocolate & Almonds | 28.9g |
| Black Bourbon Choco | 42.8g |
| Caffe mocha | 32g |
Not good for the heart
The addition of ingredients like Cocoa butter and refined palm oil makes Hide and Seek biscuit high in saturated fat, which is not good for your heart.
A 100g serving of the Hide and Seek biscuit(Chocolate) contains 9.4g saturated fat, which exceeds 70% of the daily limit recommended by the American Heart Association.
Although recent studies have shown that saturated fats are not associated with a higher risk of heart disease, it has also been noted that saturated fat from specific foods, mainly processed foods, may impact heart health negatively[1].
Not good for diabetics
Hide and Seek biscuit, due to its high sugar content and use of ingredients like refined wheat flour, invert sugar syrup and dextrose, is not ideal for people with diabetes.
Consuming it can cause a spike in your blood sugar levels and may worsen your diabetes.
Also read: 8 Best Sugar-Free Biscuits In India That You Must Try
Use of artificial flavors
Hide and Seek claims that its biscuit is free from artificial flavors. However, this statement is just misleading.
If you look at the ingredients label, it can be seen that the biscuit contains artificial flavoring substances such as chocolate and vanilla.
While artificial flavors are not always bad but they are not authentic and may result in unexpected health issues in some individuals in the long run.
Not an ideal choice for children
Hide and Seek biscuit is not an ideal choice for children as it is maida based and extremely high in sugar, which can contribute to many health problems such as tooth decay.
In addition, some evidence suggests children who consume excessive sugar may have mood problems and be aggressive.
It is important for parents to watch and control the intake of sugar in their children’s diet.
Is Hide and Seek biscuit good for weight loss?
Hide and Seek biscuit is not good for weight loss as it is made from refined wheat flour and is high in calories and sugar.
While it may be okay to have it occasionally as a treat, regularly consuming it as part of your diet will not help in weight loss and could hinder weight loss efforts.
Final words
In conclusion, while eating Hide and seek biscuit may be tempting, it is not good for your health. It is made with nutritionless flour, is high in sugar and saturated fat and is a significant source of empty calories.
If consumed regularly or significantly, it might lead you to chronic health issues in the future.
However, if you wish to, you can eat it occasionally as a treat, but it is not your regular biscuit.
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