What's Really In A Twinkie?

James Colquhoun JAMES COLQUHOUN

Ever wondered what’s actually in a Twinkie? It’s a wonder it’s sold as food at all! Find out why it’s the poster child for Frankenfoods below and the key reasons why we’d never touch a Twinkie!

  • A single Twinkie contains 37 ingredients, but only 5 of them are ‘recognizable’. Flour. Egg. Water. Sugar. Salt. 
  • Twinkies’ ingredients are manufactured with fourteen of the top twenty chemicals made in the U.S.
  • Wholefood ingredients have been replaced by chemical concoctions. For example, less egg has been used, as they’ve been replaced by monoglycerides and diglycerides - chemicals to bind fats and water-based ingredients, and extend the shelf life of the product.
  • It contains harmful ingredients that contribute significant risk to chronic disease including high fructose corn syrup (and 4 other types of sugar!) Yep there’s 5 types of nasty sugar in a Twinkie! 
  • The unhealthiest kind of fats are lurking in there - hydrogenated vegetable fats (trans fats) which are simply awful for your health! 
  • The vitamins, artificial colors, and flavorings come from petroleum.
  • The cream center contains absolutely no cream! Instead, it’s full of shortening - a cheap fat. 
  • It also contains a small amount of sodium stearate - one of the most common ingredients found in soap! No thank you!
  • So many of the ingredients come from overseas including China, where there are hardly any regulations placed on their use. Scary!


Just take a look at the ingredients list:


That box of creamy sponge cake might look innocent, but they're anything but!

 

 

 

James Colquhoun

BY JAMES COLQUHOUN

James Colquhoun is the filmmaker behind Food Matters, Hungry For Change, and Transcendence Seasons 1 & 2 and founder of Food Matters and FMTV. Along with Laurentine ten Bosch, James founded the Food Matters community following the release of the 2008 documentary, giving people the tools (films, books, articles, and guided programs) to take charge of their own health. From here, FMTV was born! It was designed as a place where you can access vital information by watching all of your favorite inspiring documentaries, expert interviews, & recipe videos in one place, and in early 2020 FMTV found it's new home on Gaia.