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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TobagoJack who wrote (177118)	8/25/2021 8:28:57 AM
From: sense	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 217802

chocolate milk is not good for me, and I do not care... I think that if you like it and enjoy it... it's probably good for you... I do think the sugar (or high fructose corn syrup?) in commercial preparations is really bad for you... New research showing fructose in particular... really bad... bad enough to have a daily limit of 50 grams... after which fructose drives production of reactive oxygen species. And, almost everything in processed foods has some HFCS in it now, making it really hard to avoid when you're eating "commercial" food. So, a 3 part on chocolate milk: cocoa, sugar substitutes, and "other benefits"... I don't worry much about fat... so prefer whole milk... or half and half... maybe a dash of cream, too ? Some commercial products can use less than fully fresh milk to start... so buy fresh and make your own... and make it better... and better for you. 1. Cocoa: I'd suggest using more cocoa and less sugar, while using darker cocoas... which are actually quite good for you. Voluminous research on line with lots of studies addressing and validating the benefits. If you're not in love with the bitterness of super high cocoa levels in chocolate bars ? The fats in dairy ameliorate the bitterness... sort of the point in a 49% milk chocolate... versus a 95% cocoa solids bitter bomb... but excessive processing also reduces the healthfulness of the darker cocoa powders... A compromise exists in dutched cocoa (processed with alkali) that's not overly processed... so that it retains its full dark flavors... without removing or letting the processing heat destroy the stuff that's good for you... and there are a few that also retain the full cocoa fat... so the cocoa has real food value and softens its own bitterness... as nature intended. My favorite in that group is Callibaut 22/24 High Fat Cocoa Powder... I have a four pound bag that I bought on line. You should be able to get it, but I don't think they make it for regular retail distribution in smaller packages... the target market are the professionals using it in higher volumes. Its just a great cocoa, and everything you use it for will be pretty great... A serving is 100 grams... which has 290 calories all of it from 23 grams of fat... 69% or 14g of which is saturated. No sugar. It also has 30 g of fiber... 119% of the daily value... But, the label doesn't even mention the polyphenol content... which as a lightly processed and still quite dark cocoa is plenty high enough to make it good enough for you... to at least counter-balance the fat content... 2. Sugar substitutes... Add sweetener to your taste... vanilla will help to reduce the sugar (or substitute) required... but not as much as other things will... And, from there... veering into crafting more healthful alternatives to sugar can get pretty weird pretty fast... and fairly complex in the range of choices... maybe more than most people want to learn... but, not hard at all for an organic chemist... If you're using sugar in food now... the goal for better health is really pretty simple... to use less... but without reducing the positive impact it has in the taste, the sweetness, and the texture of the food. And, that's actually quite easy... use less sugar... where possible without ruining the experience, replace it with something better... or replace it with a synergistic combination of healthier alternatives... that also work to make the sugar you use not as bad for you... while not ruining the experience... First, these two links on "sugar substitutes" as in intro... that disagree with each other on a few things... and I'll go with the negatives in the first link... to avoid Agave and the other sugar substitutes s it mentions... with one exception in the steveosides, used properly... saving that for last: The 5 Best Sugar Substitutes (and Sweeteners to Avoid) Youtube: 5 Best Sugar Substitutes: How to Quit Sugar- Thomas DeLauer I'll quibble with the title. If you want to quit sugar... which is a great idea... go cold turkey and avoid all sugar for 60 days or more... as nothing else will work to allow your body to reset its metabolism to a sugar free and craving free existence. Once you do that... "normal" dietary sugar levels are repugnant... or, even almost painful. Otherwise, if you just want some risk reduction in healthier alternatives to unrestricted consumption of sugar... without quitting sweet things... proceed. Food science has come a long way since the early days of "diet" foods using chemical sugar substitutes... all of which should be avoided unless using them to poison rats... I'll shorten this by just posting the links... in case anyone cares... after offering "the two right answers"... The first right answer is that most people can easily reduce sugar by half or more... just because there's such a huge excess in the foods we eat now... that most are improved by having less... and it is not hard to adapt to "less" in that range pretty quickly... Second right answer... is that less sugar by half doesn't have to mean less sweet... as you can combine that less sugar with "enhancers" of its sweetness... I'd start with finding the right amount of sugar, with the right amount of steviosides... together with the right amount of inulin... and/or oligofructoses... Inulin is mentioned as a component in coconut sugar in the youtube vid... but that the least of its sources... the main one being chicory. I know a guy who grows it... Stevia is a plant that's super, super sweet... the only high intensity sweetener I'd think to use... but like others, it can be off putting in "too much" and "odd"... but, not to worry... it only takes a tiny bit to amplify existing sweetness when you're not replacing the sugar... just reducing it... Inulin... counteracts Stevia's "too much" and "odd"... integrating it, rounding it out, and synergizing with it and the other sugars present... while contributing not only a bit of its own sweetness, but other benefits. Inulin is a "pre-biotic" "superfood" for feeding your gut bacteria... which a modern diet can tend to starve... and just adding a bit of inulin for those who are deficient can make a huge difference in basic gut health... And, its also both a flavor enhancer... and a texture modifying ingredient... a "thickener"... Here's some inulin links: Sensus Naturally sourced sweetness with reduced glycaemic response Bayn: Inulin – sugar reduction in practice Bayn: Commercial Products List "Natural" sugar substitution is becoming a big business... not with a focus on "weight loss" and "diet" products as the chemical sweeteners have... but more on "healthier alternatives to sugar"... 3. Other benefits... to using higher percentages of darker cocoa As high fat darker cocoa is both "bitter"... and really good and palatable in spite of being bitter... one of its more interesting uses is that the bitterness of the cocoa often easily masks other bitter things, too... and makes them "disappear"... or makes them far more palatable... Enhanced complexity of flavor obtained by adding other bitters can easily substitute for sweetness... Bitter things in the family of herbal neutraceuticals that you couldn't blend into other things... you can blend into chocolate. Cinnamon, of course... which also helps with modified sugar metabolism... Quercitin... for another... no problem... really good for you... very little impact... Magnolia bark... another... not a problem with bitterness in cocoa... but it modifies the flavors with subtle addition of a sort of additional depth, and warmth with a dark molasses and licorice profile...maybe better in hot cocoa... Green tea extracts or Matcha would probably disappear into the cocoa without changing it too much... Cocoa lends itself to making "super food chocolate"... which carefully done could be both healthier... and better.