Side effects of eating rusk in the morning | The Times of India (2024)

Is Rusk your favourite Chai companion? Then you need to stop and read this! In most Indian households relishing rusk with a piping hot cup of morning tea is a daily ritual. But experts believe that this age-old combination is silently ruining your health. Here are some shocking reasons why this oh-so-loved biscuit is not that great for health.

Rusk is just a dehydrated and sugar loaded version of bread, which is made tastier with a bunch of ingredients. The sweet flavour and subtle taste of rusk biscuits may appear healthy, but are loaded with trans fats, additives, sugar and gluten, which gradually may impact the metabolic health. As per a study published in the journal of Mayo Clinic rusks have even more calories than bread; around 100 grams of rusk biscuits may have approx 407 kcal. In fact, a loaf of white bread has around 258-281 kcal without added sugar. Here are some reasons why this biscuit is not as healthy as you may think!

According to a report published in a digital daily Medium, rusk is often made with stale bread, which is one of the reasons for the health hazards. One of the main ingredients used to make rusk biscuits are yeast, sugar, oil and flour, but in most store-bought rusk stale loaves are tweaked to make rusk biscuits. Stale breads beyond their expiry may contain pathogens, molds that may lead to diarrhea, constipation and food poisoning. And the same are passed on to the newly packed rusk biscuits.

The addition of sugar in tea paired with sugar loaded rusk may instantly provide satiety, but at the same time may impact the insulin levels by spiking the sugar levels. Consuming rusk daily can lead to obesity and diabetes.

Much like breads, rusks too have a high amount of gluten, which makes it difficult for the body to digest. People suffering from Celiac disease must avoid rusks as this may increase the discomfort causing bloating, pain and diarrhea in some cases.

High in carbs, rusk when paired with milk tea can add on to the calorie count, increase the triglyceride levels and disrupt the metabolic health and lead to obesity and risk of cardiac ailments.