Is Optimel Drink healthy?
-
Optimel Drink is a well-known dairy drink that is marketed as a product with the same benefits as milk, but with a flavor to make it tastier. Optimel Drink is available in many flavors, all of which have sweeteners. Are sweeteners harmful to health? And what about Optimel Pure to which no sugars and no sweeteners have been added, is that a good alternative?
What is Optimel
-
Optimel is a well-known dairy brand that distinguishes itself with Optimel Drink. When one thinks of Optimel, it is usually about Optimel Drink. But this is not the only thing Optimel sells, they also have custard, yogurt and cottage cheese. All this in many flavors and only the Greek yogurt offers them in a natural flavor. The other products are not available in a natural flavor.
Different flavors
-
Optimel Drink is available in the following flavors:
-
11 minMain dishpeanut oil, tofu stir-fry cubes finely seasoned, stir fry sauce sweet and sour, thick noodles, carrot julienne, beetroot julienne, yellow bell pepper, watercress,rainbow salad with tofu -
45 minMain dishRed cabbage, mild olive oil, quinoa plus, forest outing, lemon, sesame oil, soy sauce less salt, Bio Today tahini white in pot, tap water,grilled red cabbage with quinoa salad -
30 minDessertBrie, Roquefort, port salut, gruyere, Camembert, walnut, garlic, thyme, honey, grape, baguette, Red onion, red grape, raisins, Red wine, Red wine vinegar, Brown sugar,generous cheese plate with onion marmalade -
30 minDessertFull Milk, whipped cream, macaroon, custard powder, vanilla sugar, sugar, protein, amaretto, almond liqueur, basic recipe cooking pears,macaroon pastry with casserole
Is Optimel Drink healthy?
-
So there is a suitable taste for everyone. But how healthy is Optimel Drink actually?
Sucralose
-
The sweetener that is in all Optimel Drink varieties is sucralose, this sweetener was accidentally discovered in 1976 by a researcher in a lab who thought he had been instructed to taste the substance. This turned out to be the very sweet substance we know as sucralose. The sweetener was approved in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1998 after more than 20 years of research. No problems had been experienced with sucralose. However, a number of new studies have found negative sides of sucralose. According to a 2006 study, sucralose is said to be a trigger for migraines. A 2002 study concluded that high doses caused damage in the stomach of mice. Whether this also applies to humans has not been proven.
Acesulfame K
-
In some Optimel Drink varieties, such as the forest fruit variant, there is also another sweetener, called acesulfame K. Again this sweetener was discovered by accident, already in 1967 by a German scientist who was developing new drugs. The sweetener is 100 to 200 times sweeter than sugar and the FDA has also approved this sweetener. Critics do argue that the sweetener should be better researched. It could be carcinogenic. This contradicts the FDA.
-
5 minDrink without alcoholbananas, cool fresh apple-pear raspberry juice, Soy drink vanilla,soy fruit shake -
20 minMain dishsauerkraut, sticking potato, liquid baking product, half-to-half minced, Spice meatballs, pineapple, olive oil, liquid baking product,gratin sauerkraut dish with minced meat -
40 minMain dishlemongrass, fresh ginger, Red peppers, onions, tomato cubes, fresh cod fillet, coriander, oil, ground turmeric (koenjit), coconut milk, salt,fish in creamy coconut sauce -
15 minSide dishsweet potato, soft goat cheese, egg, spring / forest onion,stuffed sweet potato with egg
Conclusion sweeteners
-
Sucralose and acesulfame-K were both discovered by accident. In addition, there have been doubts about the sweeteners since the discovery. Yet they are both approved and considered safe by the FDA.
Optimel Pure
-
Besides Optimel Drink there is also Optimel Pure. This is again drinking yogurt, but in this case no sugar has been added and no sweeteners. It is available in forest fruit, peach and red fruit flavors. The sweet taste is not provided through sweeteners, but only through the fruit juice. This makes this Optimel variant a lot healthier.
Conclusion
-
Optimel Pure can be seen as a good alternative to Optimel Drink as no sweeteners are used and the drink is only sweetened by the fruit juice. However, milk is always the best to drink because it contains more calcium and vitamins.
-
20 minMain dishTasty vine tomato, (olive oil, fresh basil, onion, garlic, Parmigiano Reggiano, zucchini spaghetti, pumpkin spaghetti, mini buffalo mozzarella,lukewarm pumpkin and zucchini spaghetti -
15 minSide dishtraditional olive oil, curry powder, wheat flour, coconut milk, sambal oelek, chicken broth tablet, water, fresh mango,curry sauce with mango -
30 minMain dishtraditional olive oil, lean ground beef, frozen Mexican wok vegetables, salsa sauce mild, taco shell, grated young cheese, creme fraiche,Mexican vegetable in tacos -
95 minMain dishmaize chicken, lemon, coarse sea salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, thyme, zucchini, tomatoes (small to), black olives without pit,provençal chicken with zucchini and tomatoes