Food Blogger's 'Healthy' Recipe Contains More Sugar Than Disclosed, Less Shame Than Expected

A food blogger's recipe for "guilt-free, no added sugar brownies" has been found by a nutritional analysis to contain 48 grams of sugar per serving, distributed across four sweeteners that the blogger classifies as "natural" and therefore, in her framework, nonexistent. The recipe, posted by wellness food blogger Sage Nourish to her 890,000 followers, lists the following sweeteners: maple syrup (3 tablespoons), raw honey (2 tablespoons), coconut sugar (1/4 cup), and eight Medjool dates. Each of these ingredients is sugar. Together, they contribute 48 grams of sugar per brownie, which is approximately the same as a standard frosted brownie from a commercial bakery. "None of these are added sugar," Nourish explained in a comment response. "Added sugar is the refined white stuff. Maple syrup comes from a tree. Honey comes from bees. Dates come from a palm. These are natural sweeteners. They're completely different." Registered dietitian Dr. Fiona Glycemic reviewed the recipe and its nutritional claims. "Sucrose is sucrose regardless of whether it was produced by a sugarcane plant, a maple tree, a bee, or a date palm," she said. "Your pancreas does not check the provenance of the glucose molecule. It does not care that the sugar had a pleasant origin story." Dr. Glycemic noted that the recipe's 48 grams of sugar exceeds the American Heart Association's recommended daily limit of 36 grams for men and 25 grams for women, in a single brownie. Nourish responded to the analysis by posting a follow-up video in which she held a Medjool date in one hand and a packet of white sugar in the other and asked her audience, "Do these look the same to you?" The video received 1.2 million views and 400 comments from registered dietitians. The brownies, by multiple accounts, taste excellent. This fact has not been disputed by any party.