Karvan Cévitam syrup: how healthy is that really?
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Karvan CÃ © vitam is the Netherlands' most popular lemonade brand. When you see those famous blue bottles, you immediately understand why! With large pictures of fruit and phrases like â € Naturalâ € ™ and â € Color-freeâ € ™, the product quickly gives a reasonably healthy impression. After all, how bad can it be when it's 75% fruit?
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Unfortunately, as is often the case: the harder the product calls itself healthy, the unhealthier it is. It is quite disappointing with the actual benefits of Karvan CÃ © vitam. Why exactly is that the case, also for a syrup that indeed mainly consists of fruit? We will explain it to you in detail today!
Is Karvan CÃ © vitam syrup healthy?
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Let's start with that fruit. The regular lemonade bottles proudly state that the syrup consists of 75% pure fruit. That sounds very healthy, especially because most people just imagine fresh fruit juice there. The problem is that Karvan CÃ © vitam is not made from fresh fruit. Instead, the main ingredient is a fruit concentrate.
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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
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That is, fruit juice, but with all the water sucked out. The problem is that with the water, a lot of the vitamins and minerals disappear. The fibers that are normally found in fresh fruit are of course nowhere to be seen after this process.
Fruit sugars in syrup
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What exactly do we have when the fiber, vitamins and minerals have all been filtered out of fruit? Exactly - sugars. The â € ˜75% fruitâ € ™ Karvan CÃ © vitam is so proud of is in reality not much different from pure fructose. When you eat that stuff with fruit around it, it's not that problematic.
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Especially the fibers help your body to process all that sweetness properly. In addition, fruit provides more than enough useful nutrients. In pure syrup, however, there is no difference whatsoever between fruit sugars and 'normal' granulated sugar. It will be absorbed very quickly and cause a considerable blood sugar spike, with all the consequences that entails.
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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
Added sugars
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You would think that an almost all-sugar syrup would be sweet enough. However, Karvan CÃ © vitam appears to think otherwise. When you look at the ingredients of the syrup, the first ingredient after the fruit concentrate is - sugar! This means that the end product consists almost entirely of pure sugar.
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Besides sugar there is also â € aromaâ € ™ in the lemonade. â € ˜Aromaâ € ™ is a somewhat vague term that manufacturers are allowed to use for a wide variety of ingredients. In other words, there is a good chance that this too is another variant on sugar.
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All in all you can summarize the ingredient list as sugar, sugar, sugar and some added vitamins. Does that really sound like something you want to drink a portion of regularly?
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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
And the sugar-free lemonade?
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If we use the standard ratio of 1 part lemonade to 7 parts water, this yields no less than 18 grams of sugar per 200 ml glass. Fortunately Karvan CÃ © vitam seems to have thought that that was going to be a bit crazy. Unfortunately they have not adapted the packaging to this, but they have brought a new variant on the market!
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Karvan CÃ © vitam 0% is a lemonade syrup without added sugars. Is that better? On the one hand, yes: here one glass only contains a mere 2 grams of sugar. That is a significant improvement. On the other hand, these types of artificially sweetened lemonades still have their drawbacks.
Do not drink calories
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A final point that applies to all lemonades and soft drinks is that you simply should not drink calories. The reason for this is very simple: it will add up before you know it. Drink a few glasses of lemonade in no time, because it is absolutely not filling. The result, however, is that you quickly consume more energy than you realize.
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And yes, little bits like that can really make a difference. Sweet flavors in your drink also keep you used to that kind of sugary taste. That makes it a lot more difficult to learn a healthier diet. After all, your â € Frame of referenceâ € ™ continues to lean towards extreme sweets.
Lemonade alternatives
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What do you do if you still want to drink something other than boring glasses of water now and then? Fortunately, there are plenty of options that are a lot healthier and yet tasty. One option is to go for flavored water. You can vary endlessly with fruit and fresh herbs. Moreover, it is a lot fresher than that very sweet lemonade.
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Homemade iced tea is also an excellent option if you fancy something to cool off in the summer. Still in the mood for something sweeter? Then make your own lemonade without sugar! This way you can enjoy a refreshing drink without any worries!