Friday Yummies - What's in your coffee?

JADot
JADot Member Posts: 709 Member
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Hi Guys:

I found this astounding piece of investigative report from the January issue of Wired. It de-mysterfies the components of "The Original Cholesterol Free, Lactose Free, Nestle Coffee-mate Coffee Creamer". After reading this, I hope you'll think twice before reaching for Coffee-mate again.

I am pretty sure Emily does not put this stuff in her coffee (enemas :)

Have a great weekend!
Ying

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Quoting from Wired:

Powdered Nondairy Creamer
Sweet, smooth, and potentially explosive
by Patrick Di Justo

- Corn syrup solids
Corn syrup is, for the most part, glucose. When it's dehydrated to about 10% water, the resulting granules are basically sugar.

- Vegetable oil solids
Powered creamer has to get its creamy texure somewehre. Coconut and palm kernel oils are among the heavier food oils and are added - in all their partially hydrogenated glory - for velvety smoothness. Because they add up to less than 0.5 gram of trans fat, the label can claim "zero grams transfat."

- Sodium caseinate
Casein is a protein found in cow's milk, thus making this nondairy product off-limits to vegans. Officially, it's kosher, but don't go mixing it with meat. (Note to self: no more ground beef in your coffee.)

- Dipotassium phosphate
Also called phosphoric acid, dipotassium phosphate provides the tang in Coca-Cola. It helps us digest sugars, fats, and proteins, which happen to be nondairy creamer's top three ingredients. Oh, it's also a pesticide and a major ingredient in fertilizer.

- Monoglycerides and diglycerides
These single- or double-chain fatty acids end in a glycerol molecule. The glycerol end attaches to water, and the fatty acid end to fats and oils, making theese substances gentle mediators between the creamer and the coffee.

- Sodium alumionosilicate
Known to potters as albite feldspar (a ceramic glaze and strengthening agent), sodium alumionosilicate is used in foods as an anticaking agent. Powered nondairy creamer is flammable, and it it gets too anticaked (dispersed in the air like a cloud), it can explode. Just one spark, and - kaboom!

- Artificial flavors
Since glucose, palm kernel oil, and sodium caseinate don't really taste like cream, artificial flavors are required. Manufacturers tend to keep exactly what they use a secret. Of course, these flavors can sometimes come in very non-cream varieties like hazelnut, amaretto, or mocha.

- Annato
This natural pigment from a tropical plant provides a yellow color, so the creamer looks more, you know, dairy-ish

Comments

  • JADot
    JADot Member Posts: 709 Member
    #2
    OK, truth be told, not only I don't use Coffee-mate, I don't even drink coffee. Years ago I found out about the relationship between coffee and cortisol, our body's foremost stress hormone, I said no more. Quit cold-turkey. Now I have maybe 3 cups of coffee a year.

    For a comprehensive round-up of the coffee-cortisol-health information, see http://www.teeccino.com/newsletter1.htm.
  • JADot
    JADot Member Posts: 709 Member
    #3
    JADot said:

    OK, truth be told, not only I don't use Coffee-mate, I don't even drink coffee. Years ago I found out about the relationship between coffee and cortisol, our body's foremost stress hormone, I said no more. Quit cold-turkey. Now I have maybe 3 cups of coffee a year.

    For a comprehensive round-up of the coffee-cortisol-health information, see http://www.teeccino.com/newsletter1.htm.

    ...and please ignore the stuff she sells. Just read the info on coffee and cortisol.
  • kerry
    kerry Member Posts: 1,313 Member
    #4
    Pretty scary stuff!! Another reason to make sure our food is fresh and pure not the processed stuff. Thanks for the heads up! Out goes the artificial dairy creamers.

    Thanks Ying,

    Kerry
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #5
    This comment has been removed by the Moderator
  • JADot
    JADot Member Posts: 709 Member
    #6
    unknown said:

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator

    Hi Beverly,

    You're not going to believe this - I describe my husband as a milk-fed central European. He practically grew up on nothing but milk, cheese, cakes, pasta bread and potatoes. I got him off milk recently!!! We bought a soy milk maker, so we are making our own fresh soy milk at home. Now he buys the smallest carton of milk only for his morning cup of tea and jokes that I've ruined his life. He tried a cappucino with soymilk and actually liked it better than his usual vanilla latte.

    You're very wise to only take foods in their natural form!

    Thanks for the pointers to the Harvard guy's work. I'll check it out.

    Cheers,
    Ying
  • JADot
    JADot Member Posts: 709 Member
    #7
    kerry said:

    Pretty scary stuff!! Another reason to make sure our food is fresh and pure not the processed stuff. Thanks for the heads up! Out goes the artificial dairy creamers.

    Thanks Ying,

    Kerry

    Hey Kerry!!!

    How did the quinoa turn out last week?

    Cheers,
    Ying
  • PGLGreg
    PGLGreg Member Posts: 731
    #8
    A cousin of mine, heavy Coffee-mate user, was lighting a candle at Easter and did actually explode. Yes, it was anti-caking agent. Thanks for warning others about this.

    Greg
  • JADot
    JADot Member Posts: 709 Member
    #9
    PGLGreg said:

    A cousin of mine, heavy Coffee-mate user, was lighting a candle at Easter and did actually explode. Yes, it was anti-caking agent. Thanks for warning others about this.

    Greg

    Good grief!!! Your story is making me change my mind about trying this out. I was gonna try it out in my back year before the fire season starts in Northern California. Now I'll take your word for it!

    Thanks for your post!
    Ying

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