Around 758,012 boxes of JELL-O are sold every day in America, making it one of the country's most popular desserts. JELL-O has been a mainstay for consumers since 1897, when the brand first hit the shelves. If you're concerned about the essential nutrients imparted by the foods you eat, the vitamins and minerals in JELL-O won't probably won't impress you. This jiggly dessert is best eaten for fun, not nutrition.
JELL-O Basics
JELL-O is essentially gelatin, or processed collagen, that's been sweetened with added sugar, flavored and coloring, according to "Chemical & Engineering News" writer Corinne Marasco. Gelatin gives the desert its characteristic wiggle and is made primarily from pork skin and the bones and hides of cattle. Marasco reports that the ingredients in a box of strawberry-flavored JELL-O include sugar, gelatin, adipic acid, artificial flavor, disodium phosphate, sodium citrate, fumaric acid and a red food additive to give the dessert its bright color. Sugar's place as first on the ingredients list indicates its dominance in this dessert; most of the calories you get from JELL-O come from carbohydrates in the form of added sugar.
Nutrition Facts
A 1/2 cup serving of prepared strawberry JELL-O has 80 calories. JELL-O has no fat or cholesterol and contains only 90 mg of sodium, or 3 percent of your daily value, or DV, based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Fat, cholesterol and sodium are nutrients you should restrict in your diet. A serving of JELL-O gives you 19 g total carbohydrates, all of which come from added sugar. You also get 2 g protein, or 4 percent of your DV. A serving of JELL-O derives more than 90 percent of its calories from carbohydrates and almost 10 percent from protein.
Vitamins and Minerals
Flavored gelatin gives you around 4 percent of your DV for the mineral phosphorus. Otherwise, it provides you no other essential vitamins and minerals. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, most Americans eat diets deficient in vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron, as well as dietary fiber. JELL-O offers you none of these nutrients.
Options
Add fruit to flavored gelatin to make your dessert more healthful. Fruit is an excellent source of dietary fiber and other vitamins and minerals, enhancing JELL-O's nutritional value. Berries and crushed pineapple are good sources of vitamin C. Shredded carrots are high in vitamin A. A cup of sliced strawberries adds 50 additional calories to a box of prepared JELL-O. These choices add very few calories to flavored gelatin.
References
- KraftBrands.com: JELL-O History
- NutrientFacts.com: Gelatin
- "Chemical & Engineering News"; What's That Stuff?; C. Marasco; May 2003
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Label
- Livestrong.Com: Jello Strawberry Gelatin Mix - 3 Oz
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Berries
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