When we last bought bottles of C2 green tea (you know, the same occasion I discovered “natural color” among the ingredients), I also bought a bottle of dalandan juice concentrate. The bottle was in the fridge — lying there almost forgotten — until a few days ago when I was craving for cold, cold juice. But the “natural color” episode had made me wary and the first thing I did, even before the plastic seal on the cap, was to check the ingredients.
Every ingredient was natural and familiar except sorbitol.
Sorbitol, also known as glucitol, is a sugar alcohol the body metabolises slowly. It is obtained by reduction of glucose changing the aldehyde group to an additional hydroxyl group hence the name sugar alcohol. [Wikipedia]
I panicked a little when, farther down the page of the same Wikipedia article, I read that sorbitol is commonly used in cough syrups. I checked more resources.
Sorbitol is a bulk sweetener with good taste and reduced calories. It does not promote tooth decay. Sorbitol is suitable for a variety of products reduced in calories, sugar or fat and has been safely used for almost half a century.
Sorbitol, a polyol (sugar alcohol), is a bulk sweetener found in numerous food products. In addition to providing sweetness, it is an excellent humectant and texturizing agent. Sorbitol is about 60 percent as sweet as sucrose with one-third fewer calories. It has a smooth mouthfeel with a sweet, cool and pleasant taste. It is non-cariogenic and may be useful to people with diabetes. Sorbitol has been safely used in processed foods for almost half a century. It is also used in other products, such as pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. [CalorieControl.Org]
Sounds okay? The Wikipedia article, however, also says that “too much sorbitol (about 50g or more for adults) can cause severe gastro-intestinal problems.”
Above is a photo of the front label of the dalandan juice concentrate showing the brand name.
whoa… i dont read labels. i guess i better start doing that.
i didn’t either until i got hooked photographing the fine print on labels. funny how much we don’t know about things we drink.
Sorbitol is also used as sweetener for toothpaste and mouthwash. I have been reading labels since we were trying to eliminate a list of things in our diet.
It’s really worth going back to basics, squeeze the dalandan and use sugar or honey
.
true, KK, nothing like the real thing. the irony is that the way the philippines exports everything, home grown fruits are not exactly cheap.
The biggest thing you have to watch out for is high fructose corn syrup. It is a key ingredient of most soft drinks in the US and has been cited as one of the causes of juvenile obesity. Our bodies just can’t process it very well and it doesn’t trigger insulin (which acts as a signal for us to stop eating when we’re full). When I was in manila, I noticed some soft drinks had it and some didn’t.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2004/02/18/FDGS24VKMH1.DTL
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_fructose_corn_syrup
“Can caouse severe gastro interitis?” Doesn’t this mean you’ll pass gas more often, louder and with a more offenseve odor?
Nakakahiya nga yun!
Seriously, I think I should read labels being a diabetic and all.
Chris, basta sa akin lahat ng softdrinks BAD.
Tito Rolly, you mean you still don’t read labels up to now considering you’re a diabetic? Bad bad bad ha.
And gastroenteritis is worse than farting ha.
ano bang safe na make up ( branded) na walang formal dehyde? Sensitive kasi face ko sa make up at lumalabas ang pimples pag gumagamit me ng make up..
*spank* Rolly. Man, that’s the first thing you should have been doing hehe.
ako, i try to. pero minsan nakakalimutan ko pa rin. pero whenever i did for their carbo, sugar content, etc, mabibigla ka nga minsan sa mga nakalagay na ingredients nila.
may friend nga ako, ultimo ingredients ng mga deodorant, shampoo at sabon, binabasa nya. kaya alam nya na some deodorants have aluminum in them. masama pala un sa katawan din.
Re #8. “*spank* Rolly…”
Ako may whip pa. hehehe Pero grabe ha, if you have a condition, reading labels of food products should be SOP.
ate sienna, without meaning to be paranoid about everything, it’s scary, really. i had a packet of blueberry-flavored oatmeal (Quaker) for breakfast this morning… I checked the list of ingredients in the box and more than half of the items on the list are things I’ve never even heard of. It didn’t help that there was a stamp of approval of the American Heart Association in the box too cause I am aware of the practice that doctors make endorsements based on the manufacturing company’s incentives.
I don’t read labels too, except on medicines. But now, I think I will start reading product labels. Masyado kasi akong brand conscious minsan. Basta kung ano ang brand na nakasanayan ko, yun na, kaya I don’t bother with labels anymore.
I started reading product ingredients when my children got sickly because of asthma. They had monthly cough, colds and fever. The doctors were prescribing branded medicines but someone encouraged me to try generics. I am aware of generic brands but I was hesitant to try it. Later, when I can no longer coper with the expenses, I tried generic medicines (salbultamol, etc.) and indeed, the children got well just the same. This also goes to baby formula milk and those children’s vitamins.
My sister, who worked with an environmental NGO called my attention to toothpaste and detergent ingredients. Then she gave me a crash course on what products are environment-friendly based on the ingredients that they include in their packages.
Indeed, it pays to read the label and the ingredients.
And then, this is also a point of contention between pro- GMO (genetically-modified organisms) and those against it. Those against it want products that use GMO to include it in their labels. pero syempre, pag ginawa nila yun, baka bumaba ang sales.
Happy label reading…
Hi Ami.
Speaking of GMOs. I wrote a loooong article about Monsanto corn a while back in the other blog. Sometimes, it makes me wonder why commercial (cooked popcorn) are no uniform in size and texture.
Anong cosmetic make up ang walang formal dehyde?