good for us<\/a>, too?<\/p>\nIt sounds\u00a0too good to be true, and it almost\u00a0is. You can make the purest cup of coffee with\u00a0the finest\u00a0quality beans (organic, non-GMO, free trade, shade grown, and\u00a0all that).\u00a0But, if you use a creamer, make sure it’s pure too. Otherwise,\u00a0every\u00a0delicious cup of heaven you drink could\u00a0end up raising\u00a0hell in\u00a0your body later on. Okay, so you\u00a0know to avoid fake cream\u00a0because it’s\u00a0loaded with unhealthy chemicals. But do\u00a0you think a natural creamer like\u00a0half-and-half\u00a0is\u00a0a safe bet? Maybe. Or maybe not.<\/p>\n
It\u00a0would be wonderful\u00a0if everyone could tolerate dairy products and we all had a family cow, or at least easy access to unadulterated milk and cream. Obviously, that’s not realistic, so we have to educate ourselves about\u00a0how foods are manufactured\u00a0and\u00a0learn how to read ingredient labels. Artificial non-dairy creamers aren’t even an option for the\u00a0health-conscious consumer. So that\u00a0leaves us to choose from an array of conventional dairy products and “healthier” brands of\u00a0non-dairy creamers, like those found in natural\u00a0food stores.<\/p>\n
Traditionally, half-and-half has been the creamer of choice among coffee drinkers. Real half-and-half is\u00a0a blend of equal parts whole milk and cream. Ideally, the milk and cream should be organic. (Conventional milk and cream often comes from GMO-fed cows, some of which have been treated with hormones\u00a0like\u00a0rBST.) Store-bought half-and-half\u00a0contains between 10.5 to 18% butterfat, The extra fat gives coffee\u00a0that much-coveted smooth and creamy mouth feel. \u00a0It would be great if all brands of half-and-half on the market today contained just those two ingredients. Sadly, that’s not the case.<\/p>\n
Food manufacturers know how much we love that creamy texture, so they try give us more of what we want by adding various thickeners, emulsifiers, and gums. They also know these additives help increase profits by making half-and-half cheaper to manufacture. But that’s not all. Fact is,\u00a0most of the milk and cream nowadays is ultra-pasteurized. Ultra-pasteurization thins the cream, but these\u00a0additives\u00a0are designed to fool you into thinking it tastes\u00a0like real cream. The\u00a0process of\u00a0ultra-pasteurization also frees up glutamic acid from the milk protein\u00a0and creates free glutamate. That means\u00a0there could be MSG in your half-and-half.\u00a0So, why not just use\u00a0the regular method of pasteurization? Well, apparently grocers complain that the products\u00a0spoil too quickly.<\/p>\n
Carrageenan is the ingredient we most commonly see added to half-and-half. It acts as a thickening agent and an emulsifier, making sure the product stays mixed. Carrageenan is not digestible and has no nutritional value. It’s naturally derived from red seaweed, so you’d think it would be\u00a0safe to eat, but it’s not. Research has shown that it’s especially destructive to the digestive system. Carrageenan\u00a0triggers inflammation in the gut,\u00a0which can lead to leaky gut, ulcerations, bleeding, and possibly even cancer. Most of the animals studied in lab environments developed colitis and tumors with long-term use. That’s some pretty scary stuff.<\/p>\n
Incidentally, carrageenan is also frequently added to those (supposedly) healthier non-dairy creamers\u00a0we see\u00a0in natural food stores. So if you have trouble\u00a0digesting dairy products and frequently use these organic\u00a0brands of\u00a0non-dairy creamers, you’ll want to choose a product that’s\u00a0free of carrageenan (and any other undesirable additives). But here’s an even better idea. Make your own super-delicious non-dairy coconut coffee creamer using the recipe at the end of this article. All it takes is three ingredients and thirty seconds to whip up a blissful addition to your morning cuppa joe.<\/p>\n
Half-and-half\u00a0sometimes contains other emulsifiers instead of\u00a0(or\u00a0in addition to) carrageenan. It’s common to see disodium phosphate and sodium citrate (also known as citric acid)\u00a0on the ingredients label. Sodium citrate is considered safe; it\u00a0acts as an emulsifier to keep\u00a0the fat globules distributed evenly throughout the liquid so they don’t clump together. Disodium phospate is also an emulsifier and works much the same way. Both of these ingredients prevent the butterfat from separating from the liquid.\u00a0You might also find guar gum listed on the label. Guar gum is yet another emulsifying agent. It’s a natural additive derived from guar beans. Guar gum\u00a0can sometimes be a little harsh\u00a0if your digestive system is weak. And, it can cause embarrassing\u00a0gas. Oh joy!<\/p>\n
If you’re dining out, you’ll want to be careful with individual\u00a0servings of half-and-half such as the Land o’ Lakes Mini Moo’s. These are UHT-processed to make them shelf stable for\u00a06-9 months if left unopened. (UHT stands for Ultra High\/Heat Temperature.) \u00a0It does make you wonder what\u00a0happens when milk proteins are subjected to such\u00a0high\u00a0temperatures. How safe is this process, really? Does anyone know for sure? There are other concerns to consider with Mini Moo’s too, aside from the high-heat processing issue,<\/p>\n
Mini Moo’s\u00a0are made from conventional milk and cream from cows that were probably raised on GMO feed. They\u00a0also contain various emulsifiers–specifically, sodium citrate, DATEM, tetrasodium pyrophosphate, and carrageenan. The sodium acid is considered safe when used in tiny amounts as a food additive. However, the DATEM is derived from soy, canola, and palm oil, all of which are GMO ingredients.\u00a0Although\u00a0GMO’s have been banned in numerous countries, the United States continues to maintain they are safe. Research on the effects of GMO’s on the human body continues while\u00a0the political debate surrounding the creator of GMO foods (Monsanto) rages on.<\/p>\n
But, in the end, the good news is that it’s really not that hard\u00a0to find half-and-half that’s free of additives. You might consider a cow share to ensure your family always has a ready supply of healthy raw milk. Then you can make your own butter, cream, and half-and-half. If a cow share isn’t an option for you, then look for high-quality organic brands that contain only two ingredients. The label should say it contains pasteurized organic milk and organic cream. \u00a0That’s it, nothing else. You can find organic brands at natural markets and in many conventional grocery stores. If your local supermarket doesn’t carry it, ask the manager to order some for you. As\u00a0more people continue to demand high-quality organic foods,\u00a0they will become more readily available.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
So,\u00a0now that you know how to make a creamy cuppa joe,\u00a0are you\u00a0ready wake up to nirvana in a cup?<\/span>\u00a0Please share your\u00a0secret to a perfect cuppa in the comments!<\/p>\n[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:2]<\/p>\n
Legal Disclaimer<\/span><\/strong>
\nThis article is for educational use only and is NOT intended as medical advice. The information presented herein is based on the opinions of the author, unless otherwise noted. Any statements or claims about the possible health benefits conferred by any foods or supplements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and are NOT intended to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease or condition. We encourage you to do your own research and consult a qualified health professional before making any health-related changes.
\nThis article may not be downloaded, reproduced, republished or otherwise copied without express written permission of the author and of Homesteader\u2019s Supply.<\/p>\nAll rights reserved \u00a92016 Anna Paige<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If you’re a coffee fanatic, you know what it’s like to\u00a0crave that steaming, aromatic elixir. There’s nothing like that first sip of your morning cuppa joe. Not only is the flavor heavenly, but\u00a0that little jolt we get from the caffeine\u00a0gives us the kickstart we need to\u00a0get going in the morning. Coffee truly is one of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[155,151],"tags":[157,156,158,159],"class_list":["post-1570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","category-real-whole-foods","tag-carrageenan","tag-coffee","tag-food-additives","tag-non-dairy-coffee-creamer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadersupply.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadersupply.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadersupply.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadersupply.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadersupply.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadersupply.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1570\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadersupply.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadersupply.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homesteadersupply.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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