Are you starting off your day with a hot cup of plastic?
(source)
Sometimes I wish I had an IV hooked up to me with coffee running through the tubes. If it weren’t for my fear of needles, or the awkwardness of rolling/hoisting the tower that holds the IV bags up and down stairs WHILE carrying laundry or making dinner, I’d be all over it.
I like coffee and I like all kinds. I’m not a coffee-snob. It doesn’t have to be a particular brand or a particular strength. Sure I have my favorites, but I won’t say no if a cup is offered.
I sometimes drink it black, but my perfect morning cup includes one cup of coffee, one packet of splenda and one tablespoon of coffee creamer.
Ack! I’m craving a hot cup as I type this!
When I started to seriously re-think what my family was eating, I started to read more labels. Besides the flavor of the coffee creamer, I never really read the label beyond the calorie and fat content. Once I realized that they’re all about the same, I stopped reading them. What mom has the time to read and re-read something they’ve already read?
When I re-read the label about a month ago (to answer my own question of “what’s this stuff made of?”), I realized that 98% of my coffee creamer was made up of 3 ingredients: water, sugar, and partially hydrogenated soybean and/or cottonseed oil.
- I know what water is (although why we add something that’s primarily water TO coffee – which is also primarily water – is beyond me).
- I also know what sugar is (but I’m still left wondering why I’m adding splenda…).
- But my knowledge of hydrogenated oil was minimal, so I did some research.
My conclusion is simple:
THIS STUFF IS REALLY, REALLY BAD FOR YOU.
Super-scientific answer, right?
In terms we can all understand, hydrogenated, partially hydrogenated and shortening are the “friendly” terms for trans fat. Manufacturers try to trick us into thinking we’re not consuming trans fat (because why would we think that these differently named items are really the same thing?) and just about every medical organization agrees that trans fat is bad for you. New York City has even banned trans fats from all of its restaurants (as of July 2008). But what exactly is the stuff?
A trans fat is a perfectly good (and healthy) fat that’s been forced to morph into something icky and in some ways, deadly.
Trans fats are created in a lab. Manufacturers take an oil (palm, kernal, soybean, corn or coconut oil), inject it with a metal (nickel, platinum or aluminum) and this causes the molecules of the oil to rearrange themselves. At room temperature, the end result is either a semi-solid (a.k.a. partially hydrogenated) or solid oil (a.k.a. fully or just hydrogenated).
If the fact that the oil is mixed with metal AND THEN WE CONSUME IT doesn’t gross you out, the molecular structure of the oil in this new state has a closer resemblance to plastic than oil. In fact, you only have to change one molecule in order for this “oil” to become plastic!
Can you imagine what your body has to do in order to process this almost-plastic substance through your bloodstream?!
It’s no wonder why trans fat causes all sorts of health problems. It raises your bad cholesterol (LDL), lowers your good cholesterol (HDL), clogs your arteries (imagine soaking up dry flour with a sponge), is a major contributor to type 2 diabetes, and it’s been linked directly to coronary heart disease.
Wowzers.
Now I need to pause for a moment and interject some common sense here. I am not saying that if you drink coffee creamer you’ll get heart disease, diabetes or high cholesterol. I’m not saying that at all.
What I am saying is that coffee creamer is comprised of a key ingredient THAT DOES cause heart disease, diabetes and high cholesterol.
I honestly didn’t think that oil was in my coffee creamer. Those manufacturers are sneaky. They’ll do whatever it takes to make their products taste good. I can’t even imagine how many other products in my pantry have some sort of trans fat in them.
And that’s the scary part. We don’t even know how much of what we eat has this morphed oil in it. I’ve been consuming near-cellulose oil for YEARS… and who knows the effect it has had on my body.
But I do know this: cutting it out won’t hurt me.
Over the next few months, I plan to seriously consider each item that’s in my pantry and make a valiant effort to rid our house of trans fat.
Do I sound a little crazy? Am I going overboard?
I don’t think so. This battle isn’t just about me. I have a family to take care of. The decisions I make today, the decisions I make in the grocery stores, affect these guys.
So my first simple step is to drink half and half instead. The ingredients are simple: whole milk and cream. I know that it’s possible to make your own coffee creamer, but to be honest, the only recipes I’ve seen use condensed milk and I have no clue what the manufacturers have to do to make the stuff.
So for now I’m going the easy route and sticking with half and half.
Have you been starting off your day with a hot cup of plastic?
Also: it tastes nasty. Unlike half-and-half which is ambrosial.
One thing that really cemented our desire to eat high quality whole foods we recognized was having a toddler in a diaper. After seeing what processed food does on the other end compared to healthy whole foods, it made us wonder why on earth we would willingly put such things in our bodies.
The only time I’ve used coffee creamer is after my last baby was born when I had to give up dairy. Then when I partially came out of my post baby brain fog I realized that it had dairy in it plus more. So I stopped using it. I use whole cream until recently when I had to give up dairy again, now it’s just a bit of coconut oil.
I’m re-evaluating everything we eat too- very eye opening!
Mmm, whole cream sounds heavenly! I’m a fan of coconut oil, but I haven’t tried it in coffee yet. Very eye opening indeed!!
Just wanted to know yoy can make condensed milk at home. Visit down to earth blog.
Thanks for the tip Lindel!
Why not go to the next step and quit drinking coffee altogether? Imagine how much money you would save. Imagine how much time you would save not making, pouring, cleaning up after coffee! I quit drinking coffee over 20 years ago and although the aroma still arouses my senses, I don’t miss it at all. In fact my physical well being is much better because of it……no more caffeine rattling my nervous system.
reading that makes me sad… i loooove my coffee. I can drink regular coffee at 7pm at night and have no issues falling asleep at 10pm.
Wow – lucky you! I’ll admit that creamer is tasty, but since switching to half & half, I’m enjoying the COFFEE flavor a bit more and not tasting so much of the artificial flavor. I’m looking forward to the holidays when all the fun flavors of coffee come out!
Hi Jim! Taking coffee away from a mom of two pre-schoolers may not go over so well.
Although since we’ve increased our fruit and veggies, we’ve been drinking less coffee each morning!
Jim – no coffee !?!?
That is so disguting ! Plain old cream is better for you then that! I may have to throw out the little packets of hot chocolate mix! I bet that is in there! I read recently that you can make your own chocolate syrup and add it to hot milk….
~ Christie
I love my coffee creamer and with a almost 2 year old and another little one due in 2 months I Can’ T imagine giving up coffee yet. I’ll have to try the homemade chocolate sauce and almond milk (lactose intolerant unfortunately)