Krispy Kreme Whole Wheat doughnuts

Product: Krispy Kreme Whole Wheat Glazed Doughnut

Price: 99 cents each (48g)

Manufacturer: Krispy Kreme, krispykreme.com

The Position: This sweet treat is an alternative for health conscious consumers with the benefits of 100 per cent whole wheat and only 180 calories, according to Stan Parker, senior vice-president of marketing.

Doughnut ingredients: Whole wheat flour, dextrose, vegetable shortening (partially hydrogenated soybean and/or cottonseed oil), water, corn syrup solids.

Nutritional breakdown: 1 doughnut (48g), 180 calories; 19g carb (10g sugar, 2g fibre); 11g fat (3g saturated, 3.5g trans); 2g protein.

Analysis: You're probably thinking one of two things: could there really be a healthy alternative to the typical doughnut, or who do they think they're fooling? Well as the saying goes, if it's too good to be true, then it probably is, and in this case the new Krispy Kreme whole-wheat doughnut fails to deliver.

Krispy Kreme has jumped on the whole grain bandwagon with the reformulation of existing products to include whole grains. The new doughnut for the "health conscious consumer" has a whole 20 calories fewer than the original version. Both the original and the new version provide 3g of saturated fat, but that's not the worst of it: both contain a good dose of the heart-disease and diabetes promoting trans fat. This is because the doughnut is made with partially hydrogenated oils, and while there is healthy range for saturated fat intake (about 20-25g/day) there is no acceptable level of trans fats. The goal is to consume as little as possible, but don't be fooled by a small number. In the world of trans fat, 3.5g is a lot.

This is hardly an improvement on the original and any benefit from the whole grains is negated by the use of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.

Alternative: A better choice for breakfast or a snack would be a half a whole grain bagel with 1 tbsp peanut butter – protein, healthy fat and good carbs.

Take it or leave it: Pass on this healthy whole grain imposter.