Are pancakes healthy?
Pancakes are made from these main ingredients: eggs, butter, milk, and flour. Traditional pancakes, like the ones you order at your favorite diner, consist of mostly empty calories without many nutrients.
Pancakes, one of the most popular breakfast foods, are made from these main ingredients: eggs, butter, milk, and flour. But are pancakes healthy? If you love pancakes, you may wonder if you have to give them up to meet your healthy eating goals. The good news is you don't have to. However, you may need to make a few adjustments to include pancakes in your nutritious meal plan.
Traditional pancakes, like the ones you order at your favorite diner, consist of mostly empty calories without many nutrients. Understanding why most pancakes are unhealthy can help you determine how to make them healthier. The ingredients in a typical pancake breakfast contain the following:
Refined flour
Although flour is made from wheat, which contains many nutrients and fiber, white flour has been stripped of these healthy ingredients. Whole grains consist of three parts — the bran, the germ, and the endosperm. The bran is the fiber-rich outer covering, and the germ is the nutrient-packed core. The endosperm surrounds the germ and is an easily digestible carbohydrate. White flour has been stripped of both the bran and the germ, leaving only the nutrient-poor endosperm.
Because white flour is easy to digest, it can cause a spike in your blood sugar, negatively affecting your health. Eating a diet high in refined grains and low in whole grains is associated with many types of illness and diseases, including:
- Cardiovascular disease
- Cancer
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Asthma
- Ulcerative colitis
- Stroke
- Type 2 diabetes l>
- Cardiovascular disease
- Alzheimer's and other types of dementia
- Colon cancer
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Obesity
- Pancreatic cancer
- Liver and kidney disease
Added sugar
Most people pour a generous helping of syrup over their pancakes. Syrup is a concentrated source of added sugar. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 9 tablespoons of added sugar daily for men and 6 tablespoons for women and children over 2. Most adults consume 17 teaspoons of added sugar daily. Added sugar is primarily empty calories and can edge out healthier options in your diet. Additionally, eating a lot of high-sugar foods increases your risk of:
Saturated fat
People usually top pancakes with butter and frequently serve them with bacon on the side. Butter and bacon are both sources of saturated fat. Saturated fats are typically solid at room temperature. You should try not to eat more than 5% to 6% of your daily calories from saturated fat. Eating a diet high in saturated fat can increase your bad cholesterol and your risk of heart disease.
How to make pancakes healthier?
Although traditional pancakes aren't the most nutritious food, you can still work them into a healthy diet if you love them. Here are some tips for making healthy pancakes:
Change the flour
You don't have to make pancakes with refined white flour. You can replace some or all of the flour with whole wheat flour. You might want to start by replacing 1/2 of the white flour in a recipe with whole wheat flour and increase the ratio as you get used to the taste. The bran and fiber in whole wheat flour will help keep your blood sugar steady by slowing down the time it takes to digest the starch into glucose. A high-fiber diet can also keep your digestive system healthy, lower your cholesterol, and prevent small blood clots that can cause heart attacks and strokes.
You can also substitute almond flour for part of the flour in your pancake recipe. Almond flour is made of ground-up almonds. Almond flour contains heart-healthy unsaturated fats, fiber, and vitamin E. Nuts like almonds can help reduce insulin resistance, improve your gut health, and support your immune system function.
Use healthy add-ons
Substituting yogurt for some of the liquid in your pancakes can increase the protein content and provide calcium, phosphorus, and B vitamins. Use low-fat or fat-free yogurt to cut down on saturated fat. You can also use plant-based yogurt to reduce animal products in your diet.
Skip the syrup
Eliminating the added sugar in syrup will go a long way toward making your pancakes healthier. Use fruits instead to replace the sweet taste. Berries, in particular, are full of health benefits and natural sugars. Berries are one of the healthiest foods you can eat. People who regularly eat berries tend to live longer. This is probably because of the disease-fighting nutrients in berries. Eating berries has been associated with a decreased risk of:
- Type 2 diabetes
- Heart attack
- Dementia
Whether you mix berries into your batter or mound them on top of your pancakes, they'll make them tastier and reduce your risks of many age-related diseases.
Choose nutritious toppings
Instead of whip cream and other sugary toppings, put nuts and fruits on your pancakes. Nuts are high in unsaturated fat, including omega-3 fatty acids. Regularly eating nuts can help:
- Reduce inflammation
- Make your arteries healthier
- Lower your risk of blood clots
- Lower your risk of high blood pressure
- Lower your bad cholesterol
- Decrease your risk of dying from heart disease
Enjoy in moderation
There's no doubt that healthy pancakes taste different than the sugar-filled ones you may be used to. If you can bear to give up your traditional pancakes, you can still enjoy them as part of a healthy eating plan. Most experts don't recommend cutting out all sugar, saturated fat, and refined grains from your diet. They just recommend cutting down on how often you consume them. If you plan for it, you can occasionally splurge on traditional pancakes.
Some tips for eating in moderation include:
- Reduce your portion size — instead of a stack of pancakes, eat two or three small ones.
- Split your order of pancakes with a friend if you're eating out.
- Focus on enjoying your pancakes by eliminating distractions.
- Stop eating when you feel full.
- Eat slowly.
- Drink water with your meal.
Medically Reviewed on 2/14/2023
References
SOURCES:
The American Heart Association: "How Too Much Added Sugar Affects Your Health Infographic," "Saturated Fat."
Cornell University: "Nuts About Almond Flour," "What is Eating in Moderation?"
The Nutrition Source: "Berries are among the healthiest foods you can eat," "Nuts for the Heart," "Yogurt," "Whole grains."
