Training & Nutrition - The most un healthy sweets

So I was in Russian store the other day and bought some Halva. When I was a kid it used to be one of my favorite sweets. Still is actually. Anyway just out of curiosity I decided to look up calories for it, it's not printed on the box. Only source I found had it at 469 calories in 100g! Now I am not sure if it reffers to the same one I bought, since there are different variations of it based on culture. Russian one uses dried sun flower seeds. Still this was very shocking to me. I knew it wasn't exactly healthy, but damn! :( This is a very very sad news, because it tastes soooo goood. It is also more addictive then chocolate! I guess now I have to restrain myself from buying it, not that I bought it very often anyway.
P.S. If anyone has a link to how many calories are in halva made out of sun flower seeds, please post!

Probably less unhealthy than many other sweets, but definitely calorie-dense. those two things aren't always the same.

I'm not sure of the definition of a sweet, but whether a sugar is unhealthy would be a funtion of the quantity, the rest of the diet and one's activity level. The exception for me is high fructose corn syrup which I avoid.

Al

Probably less unhealthy than many other sweets, but definitely calorie-dense. those two things aren't always the same.
Umm not really. I don't think many other sweets also have 22g of fat.
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c21PW.html

Don't know how these rank, but....

http://www.radioblogger.com/images/snoballs-glove.JPG

Hard to tell without nutrition facts.
Another thing with Halva is that with other sweets 100g is a descent ammount, but with halvah it's just a small appetizer. Like dark chocolate for example. After 3 pieces, 28g, it's more then enough for me. When you eat Halvah 100g is nothing! So if you are not careful you can easily consume 1k+ calories!

Don't know how these rank, but....

http://www.radioblogger.com/images/snoballs-glove.JPG

What about fried lotus-or-bean-paste/sesame balls? Can eat those till the cows come home. Best case, in my own mental accounting I treat each as about the same as a donut, but I haven't seen any data.

picture here (http://z.about.com/d/chinesefood/1/0/C/1/sesameball.gif) (not a ton of bytes but very wide in pixels)

i effin love halva the fats are unsaturated and if you get the honey sweetened one its not that bad imho no trans fats/hfcs in it

The sunflower-seed halva is a little more mellow than the sesame, hence it is very easy to eat a lot :)

Maybe you could try burning it in a calorimeter? The stuff is positively saturated with fuel oil.

What about fried lotus-or-bean-paste/sesame balls? Can eat those till the cows come home.

+1,000,000

The sunflower-seed halva is a little more mellow than the sesame, hence it is very easy to eat a lot :)

Maybe you could try burning it in a calorimeter? The stuff is positively saturated with fuel oil.

lol, probably.

i effin love halva the fats are unsaturated and if you get the honey sweetened one its not that bad imho no trans fats/hfcs in it

Yeah, but in the end calories are calories. At least with sun flower one, it's very easy to consume 1k worth of calories as just a "snack".

It's got alot of calories, but also fiber, protein, calcium and potassium - it's not just empty calories. I like the ones layered with dark chocolate - you know, layers of anti-oxidants!

Calories 469
(Kilojoules 1960)
% DV**
Total Fat 21.5 g 33%
Sat. Fat 4.1 g 21%
Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
Sodium 195 mg 8%
Total Carbs. 60.5 g 20%
Dietary Fiber 4.5 g 18%
Sugars -
Protein 12.5 g
Calcium 33 mg
Potassium 187 m

It's funny that halava came up as a thread about most unhealthy, because it's sounding like a terrific food to bring on long distance rides and one that I never thought of before. I'm always trying to figure out how to make sure I've got enough food energy along in my small bag if there are long breaks between food stops. Halava even has good amounts of some key electrolytes. Except for the high fat, the nutritional info wold look like a great sport drink, only it's from real food, not from chemicals.

It's funny that halava came up as a thread about most unhealthy, because it's sounding like a terrific food to bring on long distance rides and one that I never thought of before. I'm always trying to figure out how to make sure I've got enough food energy along in my small bag if there are long breaks between food stops. Halava even has good amounts of some key electrolytes. Except for the high fat, the nutritional info wold look like a great sport drink, only it's from real food, not from chemicals.The halva I get is made from sesame. But anyway, this is a great idea! I'll bring some on my next brevet.

I am not saying it's empty calories, it's just it's so easy to blow past your caloric goal intake for the day with it. Plus it's really high in fat. Even if some of it is a "good" fat. I guess if it's part of the balanced meal plan it's not that bad. For example as someone mentioned a snack for a long ride. Usually it's not the case thought. Most people eat it after dinner with some tea as a desert. Most dinners, in this county at least, are already have way to many calories, this just brings it over the top even more. Specially since it's so dense in calories.

It's got alot of calories, but also fiber, protein, calcium and potassium - it's not just empty calories. I like the ones layered with dark chocolate - you know, layers of anti-oxidants!

Calories 469
(Kilojoules 1960)
% DV**
Total Fat 21.5 g 33%
Sat. Fat 4.1 g 21%
Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
Sodium 195 mg 8%
Total Carbs. 60.5 g 20%
Dietary Fiber 4.5 g 18%
Sugars -
Protein 12.5 g
Calcium 33 mg
Potassium 187 m

The halva I get is made from sesame. But anyway, this is a great idea! I'll bring some on my next brevet.

You know I tried sesame halva, and I like the one with sun flower seeds more. It has rougher texture, and not as sweet. Personally I wouldn't eat it during a ride, because I hate to have sticky fingers. :)

I've got a bunch of centuries coming up in September, and a chunk of halvah in the fridge (layered with chocolate!) I'm not sure if it's better for the night before or the night after the centuries, but I'm saving it for then. Guess if I'm doing a bunch of centuries in one month, I can eat whatever I want whenever I want! :)

Sounds like this halvah would make the perfect energy-bar!!! :)

It's a lot cheaper than energy bars. A 400g tub cost $3.69 in the regular supermarket's imported food section and contains 2100 calories.

I paid more to get a "gift box" (?) of individual packets. Teeny tiny packets, 125 cal each.

Google pulled up this 2007 discussion thread when I was searching for more information on halvah. It's an old favorite treat, but the high calories means I normally avoid buying it.

Yes, calories for the delicious treat are high: 380 calories for a 3" x 1" x 1" section, with 210 of those calories from fat. The breakdown is 25g fat (5g saturated; 0g trans fat), 5g protein, 20g carb (3g fiber, 19g sugar), and 95mg sodium.


Although the sesame seed base does have healthy omega 9, antioxident, anti-cancer benefits, the high sugar, fat, and calories of halvah need to be watched. For every day health benefits, probably better to include actual sesame seeds on salads, cereals, or nut mixes, and save the halvah for special 'dessert' occasions.