Someone asked, a certain ice cream brand recently launched a low-sugar and low-fat ice cream. Is this product worth buying?
To eat low-sugar and low-fat ice cream, do I pay IQ tax?
I answer: These two questions cannot be answered in one sentence. If you are a little patient, please allow me to slowly answer layer by layer. After that, you will naturally understand.
Level 1: Why do you eat ice cream?
Because it’s delicious.
Isn’t drinking plain water and tea lower in sugar and lower fat?
But they’re not as good as ice cream.
Therefore, To make ice cream, you must first ensure that it is delicious, rather than requiring low sugar and low fat first.
Furthermore, the premise of developing low-sugar and low-fat products must also be delicious. Even if it’s not 100% delicious, it has to be 70% to 80% delicious.
Second layer: How is the ice cream so delicious?
Because they’re loaded with many tasty toppings, which contain a lot of fat and sugar.
What if I leave out both the fat and sugar toppings?
It’s as bad as ice cubes.
What if I reduce the weight of these high-calorie materials?
I am afraid that its deliciousness will be discounted.
To make ice cream delicious, it really requires a lot of technical content.
Knowledge point 1
What do the additives in ice cream do?
Just take an ice cream from the supermarket freezer and look at it, and you will find that there are many kinds of food additives. For example:
Coloring agent, which makes the color look good, it may be natural coloring or artificial coloring, but not all ice creams with color use coloring, such as A certain brand of sea salt coconut ice cream is blue because it uses natural phycocyanin.
Thickeners, usually some vegetable gums, or modified starches, they can make the taste more “content” and feel less in the mouth “Sparse soup with little water”, but pay attention to the distinction, starch has a similar effect, but it is not an additive.
Emulsifiers, which combine ingredients such as fat, sugar and water for a smooth, creamy texture.
Acidity regulator, which can make the taste sour, sweet and sour after adding sugar.
flavors can make the characteristic aroma of a certain flavor of ice cream more pronounced and more pleasant.
Not because the business wants to fool you, but because if you don’t add anything, the taste will be affected. In contrast, if you want to use less additives, you have to add more of the real stuff.
Tier 3:
How much sugar, how much fat, how much protein is in ice cream?
This depends on the nutrient list.
I looked at the products sold in the supermarket and found that ice cream products are relatively high in fat, while popsicles are relatively low. After all, people expect ice cream products to have a rich taste similar to ice cream, and it will not be rich if there is too little fat.
For example, fruit popsicles can be made with zero fat. However, its taste is more “watery” and cannot be compared with ice cream.
▲ The ingredient list and nutritional ingredient list of a popsicle
Zero fat, 18.4% carbs
Fragrant cream or chocolate ice cream, which often has a fat content of 20% to 30%.
▲ The ingredient list and nutritional composition list of a chocolate ice cream:
Fat 29.6, Carb 22.7
And some ice creams with relatively low fat, such as ice cream with mung bean, red bean, and glutinous rice as the main ingredients, have higher carbohydrate content, because sugar and starch play the leading role.
▲ The ingredient list and nutritional composition of a mung bean ice cream:
3.2 fat, 32.5 carbs
I looked at ice cream products in a nearby supermarket, which ranged from 1.1% to 7.0% protein.
When eating ice cream, people may not think about protein supplements. But wouldn’t it be better if you could eat some protein while enjoying the delicious food?
For example, there is a “Mei Li Milk Ice Cream” with a protein content of 7.0%, and a “Sea Salt Coconut Coconut Ice Cream” with a protein content of 6.3%, which is still very good , has surpassed plain milk and plain yogurt (which require at least 2.9% protein).
▲ Real photos of the ingredient list and nutritional composition table of Mei Li milk ice cream
Of course, milk ice cream is much higher in fat and sugar than yogurt and milk, but compared to mousse cakes with a higher fat content, compared to cookies, Compared with fritters and potato chips, it can not be regarded as a food with low nutritional value.
Because, in addition to sugar and fat, consider other micronutrients such as calcium, potassium, B vitamins, and vitamin AD. Adding cheese and milk powder adds fat, but also these beneficial ingredients.
Knowledge point 2
Use nutrient density to choose foods.
What I want to recommend here is the concept of “nutrient density”. It is defined as the ratio of the micronutrient content of a food to its calorie content.
For example, if you want to supplement calcium, then choosing foods that are high in calcium and relatively low in calories is ideal. For the same calcium content, yogurt and milk are more nutrient dense than ice cream.
But conversely, for the same number of calories, choosing milk ice cream is healthier than choosing mousse cakes, cookies and sweet drinks because they have less protein and lower calcium nutrient density.
So, milk ice cream isn’t the best option from a nutritional standpoint, but it’s not the worst option either.
Tier 4: Zero sugar, low sugar and reduced sugar, are they the same thing?
Knowledge point 3
Scientific understanding of sweeteners.
Sweeteners, the main varieties include sugar alcohols, such as xylitol, maltitol, erythritol, etc.; high-intensity sweeteners< /strong>, also known as artificial sweeteners, such as cyclamate, saccharin (sodium), aspartame, acesulfame potassium, sucralose; and natural sweeteners, For example, sugar alcohols such as steviol glycosides and mogrosides are similar in structure to sugars, and most of the technological properties of sugars can be realized.
Sugar alcohol sweeteners are derivatives of sugars, which have been developed including sorbitol, mannitol, erythritol, maltitol, lactitol, xylitol, etc. product, which is about 25% to 100% sweeter than sucrose. Sugar alcohol sweeteners provide less energy than sugar, do not cause a significant blood sugar response, and can significantly reduce the risk of tooth decay.
At the same time, more and more studies have suggested that synthetic sweeteners such as saccharin, aspartame, and sucralose not only have taste defects, but also may control appetite after long-term consumption. , glucose tolerance and obesity prevention have adverse effects.
Knowledge 4
Sugar-free, low-sugar and reduced-sugar, what are the standards?
According to my country’s food nutrition labeling regulations, in order to claim to be sugar-free, low-sugar and sugar-reduced, the compliance conditions are as follows:
Sugar Free:
Low sugar:
Reduced sugar: At least 25% less sugar than comparable products.
Use sweeteners in moderation to help reduce sugarOr reducing sugar, is an actionable way, but not necessarily excessive use of added sweeteners to pursue the so-called “sugar-free”. In this way, the risk of consuming too much added sugar is reduced, and the possible adverse effects of consuming large amounts of artificial sweeteners are avoided, while the taste is more natural.
The fifth layer: sugar control, how much should it be reasonable to control?
The World Health Organization requires added sugars to be controlled within 50 grams, preferably 25 grams.
There is no evidence that eating a few to a dozen grams of added sugar a day poses a health hazard.
For example, a traditional ice cream that weighs about 80 grams and its carbohydrate content is about 20 grams per 100 grams will provide about 16 grams of total sugar .
If you eat one of these ice creams a day and don’t eat other sweet and sweet drinks, your added sugar intake is still within a reasonable range, no more than 25 grams.
If you eat a low-sugar version, the sugar content is less than 5g/100g, then the sugar content in an ice cream is even lower, only less than 4g, then even more Don’t worry.
In comparison, if you drink a bowl (200 grams) of sweetened soy milk, or a bowl of white fungus soup, to achieve a pleasant sweetness, you need to add 10% sugar, or 20 grams of sugar.
So, don’t feel guilty about eating an ice cream without “Zero Sugar”. The key is to control the total amount of all desserts eaten throughout the day.
Tier 6: Does low sugar or low fat equal low calories?
The calories in a food are determined by the amount of fat, protein, and carbohydrates in it, as well as the total amount of food.
After all, ice cream can’t be plain water, and if the sugar and fat are very low, it has no gourmet value. Therefore, low-sugar products may not be low in fat, and low-fat products may also have a lot of sugar.
For the exact number of calories, be sure to look carefully at the Nutrition Facts list on the product label.
For example, for a clear ice cream product, 100 grams of the product contains 2.7 grams of protein, 3.0 grams of fat, 17.4 grams of carbohydrates, and a total of 453 kilojoules (108 grams of calories). kcal).
▲Ingredients and Nutrition Facts of Guava Coconut Ice Cream
However, that doesn’t mean this ice cream is 453 kilojoules. Because this ice cream is only 78 grams, not 100 grams. Its actual calorie value should be
453*0.78 = 353 kJ = 84 kcal
Knowledge Point 5
What’s up with the “one serving” in the Nutrition Facts table?
Most products are marked with “100 grams” as the standard. However, there are also some products with the Nutrition Facts label labeled as “serving”, which may be 50 grams, 60 grams, 80 grams, etc. different weights.
This label is convenient for consumers, but when compared with other products, if you don’t look carefully, you may think that its calorie value is particularly low. Therefore, it is necessary to convert the data into 100 grams of content for a fair comparison.
For a 62-gram serving, the carbohydrate content in a serving is 15.7 grams, but in 100 grams, it’s actually 25.3 grams.
▲Ingredients and Nutrition Facts for a 62-gram ice-cream per serving
How to reduce the calorie value of ice cream?
It is technically easier to replace sugar with ingredients such as sugar alcohols. However, if you want to replace the satisfaction and aroma produced by fat, it is very difficult. Like the guava coconut ice cream mentioned above, fruit with rich pulp fiber is used to provide a dense taste similar to fat, with the richness of fruit. Flavor is a good idea.
Which one needs to be chosen depends on the specific needs of consumers, whether they care about sugar or fat; whether they care about calories or taste, or both.
Tier 7: Are sugar-reducing and fat-reducing products an IQ tax?
Knowledge point 6
Nutrition environment theory holds that whether everyone can eat a nutritionally balanced diet is closely related to the food environment in which he lives.
Even with this awareness, healthy eating will be difficult to achieve if people cannot buy nutritious food in supermarkets and community food stores, or if there is no nutrition label on the food, leaving people with no choice. .
In order to improve the nutritional environment, a company’s primary responsibility is to produce various types of products for consumers to choose from, including products with relatively good nutritional value. In particular, we must take into account the high-knowledge and high-conscious consumer groups who are more concerned about health, and actively develop products that reduce sugar, fat, and calories without seriously affecting the taste quality.
The second responsibility of a business, is to truthfully inform consumers of the ingredients of the product and the nutritional content of the product through food labels. Product claims must comply with nutrition labelling regulations, with true data and no misleading claims.
After the company provides relevant information honestly, it is up to the consumer to decide which product to choose.
Ice cream is a product that is originally a pleasant consumer product. The purpose of eating it is not to increase daily nutrient intake, nor to lose weight. But if it can bring some nutrients, or reduce a little sugar and fat, it can reduce the mental stress when eating, it is not a bad thing, and it should not be criticized for this.
Therefore, ice cream products that reduce sugar and fat can not be called IQ tax.
Some consumers say that it is better to eat without reducing fat and sugar…
That’s true. A little more cream, cheese, and chocolate ingredients, stronger aromas, and a more enjoyable taste, which is to be expected. However, on the premise that sugar alcohols are used to replace white sugar or fructose syrup, and the sugar content is slightly reduced, the impact on the taste should not be too great.
Since you only eat for delicious food, you don’t have special needs to control sugar and fat, and you don’t eat other sweets every day, then you can choose the traditional regular style. Since the pursuit of delicious food, make it delicious to the end.
In short, the decision to buy or not to eat ice cream with reduced sugar and fat is entirely on the consumer’s side.
Of course, if you don’t eat ice cream in summer, and only drink boiled water, weak tea, milk, yogurt, and fresh fruit every day, it is also very healthy…