A prominent health influencer has sparked a debate after revealing why he would 'never' eat Marks & Spencer cookies baked in-store. Sunna van Kampen, founder of the UK-based health and wellness company Tonic Health, took to Instagram to share his reasoning.
The Reason Behind the Refusal
In a video posted on the @tonichealth Instagram page, which has 917,000 followers, van Kampen explains that the first ingredient in the cookies is sugar, and one cookie can contain up to 29 grams of sugar. 'That is almost your entire daily intake in one cookie. That's insane,' he says.
A Simple Solution
Van Kampen suggests switching to M&S Shortbread Chocolate Button Cookies instead. He argues that shortbreads are 'the OG of biscuits' with about 50% less sugar and contain butter rather than palm oil, making them a better choice.
Public Reaction
The clip quickly went viral, amassing over 7,000 likes. While some viewers were shocked by the sugar content, others criticised the influencer for 'fearmongering'. One commenter wrote, 'As a nutritionist I can confirm that everything depends. I can’t stand it when people create fear around food.' Another said, 'I don’t care on this one… we only live once and I need those cookies.'
M&S has recently expanded its bakery range, launching new products such as White Chocolate & Raspberry Cookies and Loaded & Topped Cookies in flavours like Raspberry Cheesecake and Pistachio. A representative of M&S has been contacted for comment.
