Tim Horton’s: they’re everywhere in Canada and have now started to expand in the US. An easy morning grab-and-go option (or a convenient mid-afternoon snack attack remedy), this chain of coffee shops has become ubiquitous in Canadian culture.
The ‘always fresh’ giant has a wide array of goodies, some obviously not great for us (donuts, cookies, timbits), and some whose health factor is a little harder to figure out. In fact, the menu features a “healthier options” section, made up of yogurt + berries, bagels, and muffins.
But how healthy are these, really?
Today, we tackle one of Tim’s biggest sellers – and one of the more deceptively unhealthy items on the menu – the blueberry muffin.
Tim Horton’s Blueberry Muffins Undressed – Do they look good naked?
So what’s in it?
According to the nutrition calculator on the company’s website, one blueberry muffin contains:
330 calories
460g of sodium
25g of sugar (which is the equivalent of 5 teaspoons)
Although Tim Horton’s doesn’t list their ingredients on their website, they have a customer service line where a cheerful representative will read you a list of exactly what’s in your favourite products. I called to inquire about the blueberry muffins, and here’s what I found they contain:
Enriched wheat flour (niacin, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, reduced iron)
Sugar
Blueberries
Water
Soybean oil and/or canola oil
High fructose corn syrup
Dried liquid eggs
Levening (sodium bicarbonate, sodium aluminum phosphate)
Modified corn starch
Monodiglycerides
Corn syrup solids
Natural and artificial flavours
Sodium benzoate
Soy lecithin
Let’s break this down.
A look at the Enriched Flour
As any devoted reader of The Naked Label knows, refined, enriched flours aren’t real food. Synthetic vitamins and minerals aren’t the same as the real thing, and the body doesn’t absorb them in the same way. Plus, refined, milled grain delivers an instant shock of sugar to the bloodstream and can create blood sugar irregularities if consumed in excess. This type of sugar in the bloodstream often converts to fat and stores as such, usually in those places we don’t want it.
Holy moly that’s a lot of sugar!
Sugar and high fructose corn syrup are the second and sixth ingredients on the list (no wonder that sugar count is so high!). Corn syrup solids also appear towards the end of the list. Sugar has been linked to all kinds of health problems, from diabetes to cancer to immune suppression. Swapping refined white sugar – including HFCS – out for natural sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, dates, or molasses can lessen the stress placed on the body, as these natural alternatives also break down more slowly in the system, preventing that spike-and-crash we experience with the white stuff.
What about Corn Starch?
Modified corn starch is likely genetically modified, and as a simple sugar, doesn’t provide a ton of nutrition to the body. The ‘modification’ comes from a chemical or enzymatic process that changes the nature of the starch: it’s not the same as eating a kernel of corn, as the starch produced is tougher to break down. This is not a real food.
What’s the deal with Soybean and Canola oil?
Soybean oil and canola oil are highly refined derivatives of plants, often used in commercial baking to extend shelf life and provide an unusually moist texture to goodies. While the representative was unable to tell me if the oil used in these muffins was hydrogenated or not, the nutrition calculator on the website indicates there’s 0.2g of trans fat per muffin (and it likely comes from these ingredients). While some trans fats occur in animal products, most found in commercial products come from a man-made process: oil is infused with hydrogen, rendering it solid at room temperature. The resulting substance is difficult for the body to break down or use and it can hang out in the body for years, causing arterial blockage and toxic overload. A better option – in cooking and baking in general – would be non-hydrogenated unsaturated oils: olive oil, pumpkinseed oil, or sunflower oil. Or a saturated oil that is made of medium-chain fatty acids (which converts easily to energy in the body) such as coconut oil.
What are monodiglycerides?
Monodiglycerides is an artificially created substance that improves the crumb texture of baked goods. It’s essentially a fatty acid that acts as an emulsifier for other ingredients (usually to hold oil and water together). Monodiglycerides can come from cows, pigs, or plants, or can be synthetically created from non-foods. Most companies, like Tim Horton’s, won’t disclose where theirs come from; best to avoid if you’re following a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle, and best to avoid in general if you’re trying to eat real food and not chemicals.
How about the natural and artificial flavor?
Natural and Artificial Flavor – this could include anything from mink oil (extracted from the animal), soaked charred sawdust, to extracts of crude oil or tar that – to our senses – taste or smell the same as a ‘natural substance’. While anything labeled ‘natural flavorant’ must be derived from something commonly considered edible, artificial ingredients don’t have to come from a food source.
Sodium Benzoate undressed
Sodium Benzoate is a chemical preservative commonly found in processed foods and drinks, especially those with high acid content. In these conditions, sodium benzoate inhibits growth of bacteria, mold and yeast, extending a product’s shelf life. While benzoic acid is found naturally in low levels in some whole foods like cranberries, the sodium benzoate listed on a product’s nutrition label is typically synthesized in a lab. Introducing any ingredient whose purpose is to starve bacteria and create an inhospitable environment isn’t going to be ideal when introduced to the human body. I like to use a simple rule when it comes to these kinds of ingredients: if it wouldn’t help a single-celled organism to survive, it probably won’t be great for my cells.
Soy lecithin
Soy lecithin is the final ingredient on the list. Like monodiglycerides, it’s an emulsifier, and acts to create even product texture. Lecithin is extracted from soy using a chemical solvent (usually hexane), which allows the lecithin to separate from the rest of the oil when it’s mixed with water. The dried product we might see in the bulk food section, protein powders, or in baking, is the end product following drying and bleaching. Because lecithin is not a substance the body naturally encounters in isolation, it can cause confusion and imbalance within the system. Our bodies are unable to identify the strange substance and can create relative deficiencies in other nutrients as it searches for the pieces it’s missing. This can mean an increase in cravings, too. Also, since there is no regulation on the amount of hexane that can be present in a food product, we run the risk of ingesting residual noxious compounds leftover from the extraction process.
So what can we do instead?
Baking at home – and knowing just what’s going into your muffins – is always a better option than purchasing something pre-made. Avoid preservatives, synthetic emulsifiers, artificial flavours, and trans fats by selecting ingredients you can purchase individually: real eggs instead of dried liquid ones, non-hydrogenated oils, and organic produce and natural sweeteners where possible.
This recipe from Meg at the Gluten Free Vegan is a great option! Instead of white sugar and corn syrup, she uses coconut sugar (much easier on the bloodstream and on the body’s insulin regulation), and in place of refined wheat flour, we see sorghum and brown rice flours. While these might not last weeks in a display case, they will keep well in the fridge or freezer, perfect to pair with your morning coffee and just as quick if you’ve planned ahead and made a large batch.
Plus here are some other delicious muffin recipes from The Naked Label:
Heavenly Coconut Blueberry Muffins
Banana Oatmeal Muffins
Paleo Pumpkin Pie Muffins
Gluten-Free Apple Cinnamon Raisin Muffins
Paleo Good Morning Muffins
Knowing what’s in your food – and just where it came from – can be a powerful step towards wellness, and your own personal brand of ‘always fresh’. I would love to hear from you. Let me know what you though of this article in the comment section below. Also, please help me spread the word by using the social buttons below. We need to get the word out about what Tim Hortons is putting in their muffins!
At The Naked Label we love Amy’s tell-it-like-it-is approach to holistic nutrition! Why hide the goods? You’ll want to check out her site for even more HOT info that she’s cookin’ up on the daily. Click Here to check out Amy’s site.
“Image courtesy of Paul / FreeDigitalPhotos.net”.
