Calories in Little Debbie Cosmic brownie

WeightWatchers Points are estimated by carbohydrates, fats, protein and fiber in product. They are not an affirmation of better quality or nutritional value of the product or its manufacturer. Only way to count for dieters. Less points are better.
Read more at Weight watchers diet review

Bad! More 25% of daily saturated fat!

For years Saturated fat was claimed to raise cholesterol levels and give us heart attacks. Today different studies refute this claim. They say, that replacing saturated fat with carbohydrates or refined starch or sugar is not changing the heart disease risk. Not processed carbs nor saturated fats are good for you. Only if you replace it with polyunsaturated fat, you'll get a reduction in heart disease risk. So try to have a balanced diet.

Salt (NaCl) is not excactly sodium (Na).
It is not right to use these terms as synonyms.
The FDA recommended limit of sodium is 2,300 mg per day (or even less - about 1500 mg while one is on low sodium diets).
This is much less than the weight of salt.
(5,750 mg per day or 3,750 mg for low sodium diet) and not so convenient to calculate.
Know how much sodium is in your salt - without a calculator:
1/4 tsp salt = 600 mg sodium
1/2 tsp salt = 1200 mg sodium
3/4 tsp salt = 1800 mg sodium
1 tsp salt = 2300 mg sodium

This volume includes both naturally occurring from ingredients and specially added sugars.
USDA tells us that last years each American consumed an average 130 pounds of caloric sweeteners per year!
That works out to 30 tsp of sugars per day approximately 480 extra calories!
Just to think: Eating just 200 more calories daily than your body requires for body functioning and exercise leads to a 20-pound weight gain in a year.

Consumption of food containing trans-fat has unequivocally been shown to increase the risk of heart disease by raising levels of LDL (bad cholesterol), and lowering levels of HDL (good cholesterol). Why do the nutrition labels on some products say that there are no trans fats, while Fooducate insists there are? Unfortunately there is an FDA loop hole here. If the amount of trans-fat in a product is less than half a gram per serving, manufacturers can round it down to 0. But even 0.49 grams of trans-fat is bad for you. And don't even get us started on the actual consumption versus the tiny serving size. So how do you know if a product does have trans fat in it? Look for "partially hydrogenated" oils and fats in the ingredient list. Sources: ----------- Mensink RPM, Katan MB. Effect of dietary trans fatty acids on high-density and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in healthy subjects. N Engl J Med 1990;323:439-45. Zock PL, Katan MB. Hydrogenation alternatives: effects of trans fatty acids and stearic acid versus linoleic acid on serum lipids and lipoproteins in humans. J Lipid Res l992;33:399-4l0. Judd JT, Clevidence BA, Muesing RA, Wittes J, Sunkin ME, Podczasy JJ. Dietary trans fatty acids: effects of plasma lipids and lipoproteins of healthy men and women. Am J Clin Nutr 1994;59:861-8. Lichtenstein AH, Ausman LM, Jalbert SM, Schaefer EJ. Effects of different forms of dietary hydrogenated fats on serum lipoprotein cholesterol levels. N Engl J Med 1999;340:1933–1940 Hu FB, Stampfer MJ, Manson JE, Rimm E, Colditz GA, Rosner BA, et al. Dietary fat intake and the risk of coronary heart disease in women. N Engl J Med. 1997;337:1491–9. Mozaffarian D, Katan MB, Ascherio A, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC. Trans fatty acids and cardiovascular disease. N Engl J Med. 2006;354:1601–1613.

Once upon a time, there were no food colorings. Then folks figured out that food looks better and sells more when it can be enlivened through dyes. For most of food history, the dyes were from natural sources – beet juice for red, turmeric for yellow,etc… However, in the quest to increase color intensity and lower manufacturing costs, cheap artificial dyes were introduced to market. Unfortunately they pose a risk for hyperactivity in children, cancer, and allergic reactions. ----------- Sources: Feingold BF. Hyperkinesis and learning disabilities linked to artificial food flavors and colors. Am J Nurs 1975; 75-5: 797-803. Harley JP, Matthews CG, Eichman P. Synthetic Food Colors and Hyperactivity in Children: A double-blind challenge experiment. Pediatrics 1978; 62: 975-983. Kobylewski S, Jacobson M. Toxicology of food dyes. Int J Occup Env Heal 2012; 18-3: 220-246. McCann D, Barrett A, Cooper A, Crumpler D, Dalen L, Grimshaw K, Kitchin E, Lok K, Porteous L, Prince E, Sonuga-Garke E, OWarner J, Stevenson J. Food additives and hyperactive behavior in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the community: a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet 2007; 370: 1560-67. Schab DW, Trinh NT. Do artificial food colors promote hyperactivity in children with hyperactive syndromes? A meta-analysis of double-blind placebo-controlled trials. J Dev Behav Pediatr 2004; 25: 423-434. Sonuga-Barke EJS, Hollis C, Brandeis D, Konofal E, Cortese S, Lecendreux M, Daley D, Wong I, Ferrin M, Sergeant J, Holtmann M, Stevenson J, Danckaerts M, Van Der Oord S, Dopfner M, Dittmann R, Simonoff E, Zuddas A, Banaschewski T, Buitelaar J, Coghill D. Nonharmacological interventions for ADHA: Systematic review and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials of dietary and psychological treatments. Am J Psychiatry 2013; 170-3: 275-289. Stevens LJ, Kuczek T, Burgess JR, Hurt E, Arnold LE. Dietary sensitivities and ADHD symptoms: Thirty-five years of research. Clin Pediatr 2011; 50:279-293. Williams JI, Cram DM, Tausig FT, Webster E. Relative effects of drugs and diet on hyperactive behaviors: An experimental study. Pediatrics 1978; 61-6: 811-817.

* FoodPoints are calculated by Fooducate based on fats, carbs, fiber, and protein. They are not an endorsement or approval of the product or its manufacturer. The fewer points - the better.

TBHQ (tertiary butylhydroquinone) is an antioxidant used to keep oils from going rancid. It is a petroleum derivative. Yummy. The food industry pushed the FDA for years to get it approved as a preservative despite the fact that ingestion of large doses (a thirtieth of an ounce) can cause nausea, delirium, and ringing of the ears. (Anyone remember what Jack Nicholson had for lunch in “The Shining”?) TBHQ cannot exceed 0.02% of the oil and fat content in a food.

This product is highly processed. If you'll take a look at its ingredient list, you'll discover new words to add to your vocabulary. Many of theses ingredients are required to increase the shelf life of the product and improve the flavor that disappears when food is not fresh.

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a highly processed ingredient manufactured from surplus corn, and yielding a cheap replacement to table sugar. In the early 1980’s many food manufacturers started using it instead of sugar as a cost cutting measure. That’s about the same time obesity rates started to skyrocket in the US. Most scientists agree that HFCS is no better and no worse than plain sugar, though some newer studies seem to find the two affect the metabolism differently. Consumption of both should be drastically limited. ---- Sources: Bray GA, Nielsen SJ, Popkin BM. Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in beverages may play a role in the epidemic of obesity. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004;79(4):537-43. Berkey CS, Rockett HR, Field AE, Gillman MW, Colditz GA. Sugar-added beverages and adolescent weight change. Obes Res. 2004;12(5):778-88. Johnson RJ, Segal MS, Sautin Y, Nakagawa T, Feig DI, Kang DH, Gersch MS, Benner S, Sánchez-Lozada LG. Potential role of sugar (fructose) in the epidemic of hypertension, obesity and the metabolic syndrome, diabetes, kidney disease, and cardiovascular disease. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007;86(4):899-906. Schulze MB, Manson JE, Ludwig DS, Colditz GA, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC, Hu FB. Sugar-sweetened beverages, weight gain, and incidence of type 2 diabetes in young and middle-aged women. JAMA. 2004;292(8):927-34. Ludwig DS, Peterson KE, Gortmaker SL. Relation between consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and childhood obesity: a prospective, observational analysis. Lancet. 2001;357(9255):505-8. James J, Thomas P, Cavan D, Kerr D. Preventing childhood obesity by reducing consumption of carbonated drinks: cluster randomised controlled trial. BMJ. 2004;328(7450):1237.

Homemade caramel is made by melting sugar in a saucepan. Brown coloring in sodas and some other products is not the same thing. Industrial caramel coloring is made by reacting sugars with ammonia and sulfites under high pressure and temperatures. The chemical reactions create 4-methylimidazole, which in government-conducted studies caused lung, liver, or thyroid cancer or leukemia in laboratory mice or rats. This is why California recently required foods containing caramel color to be labeled as potential cancer-causing agents. But you won't see this warning label any time soon - manufacturers simply reduced the use of caramel color enough that the labeling requirements no longer applied. Caramel color varies slightly between products - when in beer, sauces or baked goods it has just ammonia and when used in soft drinks, it has both sulfites and ammonia. Neither one is a "good" option. Bottom line: Choose something else, less controversial.

Companies add artificial flavors to products to make them taste better. They are created in a lab and the formulations are guarded as trade secrets. Flavorings can compensate for flavor loss during processing, substitute for ingredients, lower production costs and increase shelf stability. Artificial flavorings are cheaper to source than natural flavors and are perceived as "worse" than natural flavors. They are more stable (and usually less chemically complex) than natural flavors. Artificial flavors are not necessarily bad for you from a health perspective. however, people with food sensitivities or allergies may want to avoid artificial flavors if they are unnamed. You can always contact the manufacturer for more information.

Companies add flavorings to make products taste better. They are created in a lab and the formulations are guarded as trade secrets. Flavorings can compensate for flavor loss during processing, substitute for ingredients, lower production costs and increase shelf stability. Natural flavorings are more expensive to source than artificial flavors, but tend to be better received by consumers. People sensitive to MSG, vegans, vegetarians and those with allergies should pay special attention to the phrase "natural flavorings" since glutamates, animal products or allergens may be the source of natural flavors. You can always contact the manufacturer for more information.

Corn syrup is often used as a sweetener in processed food. It is NOT THE SAME as high fructose corn syrup. Don't be fooled when looking up the amount of sugar a product contains if corn syrup is listed as an ingredient. This is because corn syrup contains 50% sugar, and 50% of another form of carbohydrate known as ""oligosaccharides"", which is pretty close to sugar. If a product has less sugar than you think it should, but contains corn syrup in the ingredient list, you'll know that the missing carbs are those oligosaccharides, not much better.

Lecithins are oily substances that occur naturally in plants (soybeans) and animals (egg yolks). Soy lecithin possesses emulsification properties. This means it can keep a candy bar “together” by making sure that the cocoa and the cocoa butter don’t separate. It is also used in bakery items to keep the dough from sticking and to improve its ability to rise.

Carnauba wax is a natural wax sourced from the leaves of Brazilian trees called Copernicia prunifera. That’s why it is sometimes it’s called Brazil wax. The wax is obtained by beating the leaves until the wax flakes off. It is then refined and bleached. Carnauba wax holds some interesting properties. It is not toxic. It has a very high melting point (178 degrees Farenheit). It is very durable. Thus, it is used in endless applications: shoe polish, dental floss, candy, floor polish, auto wax, and more.

This product contains sodium aluminum phosphate. Food manufacturers will tell you that this additive is not a problem. And yes, normally, people will have some amount of aluminum in their body by means of inhalation, ingestion or dermal contact. The Department of Health and Human services says most this aluminum will leave your body quickly through feces, and the small amount that enters your bloodstream will leave via urine, but . . . they also say that excess aluminum can cause problems. Some research has implicated aluminum with Alzheimer's and research both supports and refutes this. Doctors blame aluminum of exacerbating the effects of kidney disease and causing bone or brain diseases. Bottom line: There's no tangible benefit of consuming products with sodium aluminum phosphate. To err on the side of safety, particularly with products you consume everyday, choose ones without added aluminum.