In an attempt to stay healthy but at the same time treat myself without feeling guilty I have tried Gullon sugar-free biscuits. Before giving them a try I haven’t done any research whatsoever to see whether these biscuits are actually good for you. For this reason, I have now decided to do a thorough investigation into ingredients, nutrition and any potential side effects of these biscuits, just to see how healthy they are. I am sharing my findings with you in this review.
Gullon sugar-free biscuits ingredients
The exact ingredients in Gullon biscuits vary, depending on the type of biscuit or cookie you are eating.
Some of the most popular Gullon sugar-free biscuits include sugar-free digestive biscuits, shortbread biscuits, chocolate chip cookies and breakfast biscuits with yoghurt. In the range, you will also find sugar-free rich tea and vanilla wafer biscuits.
In the table below you can see the ingredients in some of these biscuits.
| Gullon biscuits | Ingredients |
| Sugar-free Digestive Biscuits | Whole wheat flour, sweeteners (isomalt and maltitol), vegetable oil (high oleic sunflower), oligofructose, raising agents (sodium and ammonium hydrogen carbonate), salt. |
| Sugar-free Shortbread Biscuits | Wheat flour, vegetable oil (high oleic sunflower oil), sweeteners (maltitol and isomalt), vegetable fibre, raising agents (sodium and ammonium bicarbonate), salt, milk decoration (milk proteins and dextrose), vanilla flavouring |
| Sugar-free Breakfast Biscuits with Yogurt Flavoured Filling | Whole grains cereals (whole wheat flour, oat flakes, whole barley flour, whole rye flour), filling [sweeteners (maltitol), skimmed milk yoghurt powder, vegetable oils and fats (high oleic sunflower, sunflower, shea), wheat starch, skimmed milk powder, emulsifier (soya lecithin), flavour enhancer (lactic acid)], sweetener (maltitol), vegetable oil (high oleic sunflower oil), wheat flour, vegetable fibre, puffed rice ( rice flour, wheat flour, salt), skimmed milk powder, raising agents (sodium hydrogen carbonate and ammonium hydrogen carbonate), emulsifier (soya lecithin), salt, flavours |
| Sugar-free Chocolate Chip Cookies | Wheat Flour 42%, Sugar Free Chocolate Chips 25% [Cocoa Mass, Sweetener (Maltitol), Cocoa Butter, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin), Cocoa Powder, Flavour, Natural Vanilla Flavour], Vegetable Oil (High Oleic Sunflower Oil) 16.5%, Sweeteners (Maltitol, Isomalt), Raising Agents (Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate and Ammonium Hydrogen Carbonate), Salt, Flavours |
| Sugar-free Vanilla Wafers | Vanilla flavoured filling (sweeteners (maltitol, isomalt), vegetable fat (palm, palm kernel), polydextrose, wheat starch, emulsifier (soya lecithin), flavour), wheat flour, vegetable fat (palm), emulsifier (soya lecithin), salt, raising agents (sodium hydrogen carbonate and ammonium hydrogen carbonate), colour (beta-carotene) |
Gullon sugar-free biscuits are made with wheat flour, vegetable oils, sweeteners and raising agents. They also have an addition of salt.
Some Gullon biscuits are made from whole wheat flour which is better for you as it contains more nutrients and fibre. And in some Gullon biscuits, you will also find other types of flour such as barley and rye flour (this is the case in Breakfast Biscuits with Yogurt).
Natural flavouring and flavour enhancers are added to certain types of Gullon biscuits (such as Sugar-free Breakfast Biscuits with Yogurt).
Gullon sugar-free biscuits nutrition facts
Gullon sugar-free biscuits are more than 60% carbs and depending on the type of biscuit, you will be consuming between 16 grams of fat per 100 g (in sugar-free digestive biscuits), to 24 g of fat per 100 g (in the chocolate chip cookies).
Sugar-free Vanilla Wafers have the most saturated fat per 100 g (12 g), while sugar-free Digestive Biscuits and Shortbread Biscuits have the least saturated fat (1.5 g per 100 g).
Most Gullon sugar-free biscuits are considered high-fat foods as they contain more than 17.5 g of fat per 100 g.
Fibre content varies a lot, depending on the type of biscuit. In Vanilla Wafers you will find the most fibre (10 g per 100 g) while the rest of Gullon biscuits contain between 4-8 g of fibre per 100 g. Many people don’t get enough fibre from their diet so it’s always better to choose foods that are higher in fibre to help your digestive system work optimally. However, less processed foods (fruits, vegetables and beans, for example) are the best way of consuming more fibre as opposed to heavily processed foods such as biscuits.
Gullon sugar-free biscuits contain some protein, ranging from 3 g to 6 g per 100 g. They also contain minimal amounts of salt which is not a cause for concern.
Nutritional information per 100g in some of Gullon biscuits:
| Sugar-free Digestive Biscuits | Sugar-free Shortbread Biscuits | Sugar-free Breakfast Biscuits | Sugar-free Chocolate Chip Cookies | Sugar-free Vanilla Wafers | |
| Energy | 430 kcal | 439 kcal | 420 kcal | 454 kcal | 431 kcal |
| Fats | 16 g | 18 g | 17 g | 24 g | 22 g |
| of which Saturated | 1.5 g | 1.5 g | 2.2 g | 6.0 g | 12 g |
| Carbohydrates | 68 g | 68 g | 65 g | 63 g | 63 g |
| of which Sugars | <0.5 g | <0.5 g | 3.8 g | <0.5 g | <0.5 g |
| Fibre | 6.5 g | 4.0 g | 7.7 g | 4.0 g | 10 g |
| Protein | 6.2 g | 6.0 g | 7.0 g | 5.9 g | 3.0 g |
| Salt | 0.88 g | 0.40 g | 0.55 g | 0.58 g | 0.15 g |
Are Gullon biscuits really sugar-free?
Gullon sugar-free biscuits contain between 63 and 68 g of carbs per 100 g and out of these, the actual sugars are less than 0.5 g per 100 g. Gullon Breakfast Biscuits, on the other hand, contain 3.8 g sugars per 100 g which is partially due to the addition of skimmed milk powder which contains natural sugars.
Gullon biscuits do not contain any added sugar, as in refined white sugar or other types of sugars such as date syrup or coconut sugar. To make Gullon biscuits sweet, a sweetener maltitol is added and in some cases Isomalt.
Gullon sugar-free biscuits calories
The most popular Gullon sugar-free biscuits have between 420 and 454 kcal per 100 g. Compared to regular biscuits, this is not significantly less. Standard chocolate digestives have 496 kcal per 100 g, for example, and Custard Cream biscuits have 489 kcal per 100 g.
Regular shortbread biscuits have more than 500 kcal per 100 g, on the other hand, while Gullon sugar-free shortbread biscuits have 439 kcal per 100 g.
Gullon sugar-free biscuits are not low in calories since they still contain over 60% of carbs and some fat.
If you are watching your calories, try Breakfast Biscuits with Yogurt Flavoured Filling as they contain fewer calories per 100 g (420 kcal) than some other Gullon biscuits.
Side effects of Gullon sugar-free biscuits
Consuming Gullon sugar-free biscuits can result in some undesirable side effects if you don’t tolerate some of their ingredients well.
For example, a sweetener maltitol used in Gullon biscuits can cause stomach pains and gas in some people. It may even cause diarrhoea.
The other sweetener added to some Gullon biscuits, isomalt, may also cause issues in some people such as bloating, stomach pains and flatulence.
FAQs
Due to the way Gullon biscuits are marketed, many people get confused and are not sure whether they are suitable for the diet they are following. In this section, I answer some of the questions often asked by these people.
Can diabetics eat Gullon sugar-free biscuits?
Although Gullon sugar-free biscuits contain no added sugar, they still contain carbs which turn into glucose (blood sugar) once digested. If you are a diabetic you need enough insulin to convert this blood sugar into energy (or to store it as fat). If you take too many carbs in and don’t have enough insulin in your body to process these, then your blood sugar will increase.
Since Gullon sugar-free biscuits are quite high in carbs, they will significantly raise blood sugar levels in diabetics and therefore they are best to be avoided.
How many syns are in Gullon sugar-free biscuits?
Syns in Gullon sugar-free biscuits range from 1 syn to 3.5 syns, depending on the type of biscuit. Gullon sugar-free Maria biscuit and Gullon sugar-free cookie have only 1 syn while Gullon sugar-free vanilla and chocolate wafers have 2 syns.
The most syns is in Gullon sugar-free wholegrain breakfast biscuits (3.5 syns) and Gullon sugar-free Dark chocolate digestives which have 3 syns each.
Are Gullon sugar-free biscuits good for the diet?
To lose weight you need to focus on a healthy diet containing minimal amounts of fattening foods such as cakes, biscuits and fried foods. You should also try and be more active and increase your muscle mass to speed up your metabolism.
Eating sugar-free Gullon biscuits is not going to help you lose weight but you could include them as part of a healthy and balanced diet. Make sure you only eat one or two at a time to avoid consuming too many extra calories.
Are Gullon sugar-free biscuits vegan?
Most Gullon sugar-free biscuits are not suitable for vegans as they contain milk powder and milk proteins. Some of them may contain traces of milk and eggs so if you are following a vegan diet it’s best to avoid them.
Final thoughts: Are Gullon sugar-free biscuits good or bad for you?
Gullon sugar-free biscuits are not the worst biscuits you can have since they don’t have added sugar. However, they contain artificial sweeteners (maltitol and isomalt) which can cause digestive discomforts in some people. They are also high in carbs and fats. For this reason, they are not that healthy.
The positive thing about Gullon sugar-free biscuits is that they are lower in calories compared to standard biscuits but the difference is not huge apart from certain biscuits such as shortbread biscuits. This makes them suitable to include as part of your weight loss regime but make sure you eat only a few to avoid consuming too many extra calories.