What kind of lecithin is in nutella

This article takes a look at the nutritional value and ingredients of Nutella to discover if it can be part of a healthy diet. It was originally created in Italy during World War II when baker Pietro Ferrero added ground hazelnuts to a chocolate spread to make up for a shortage of cocoa in the country. This chocolate and hazelnut spread is consumed in many ways and commonly used as a topping for breakfast toast, pancakes and waffles.

Although Nutella is currently classified as a dessert topping, Ferrero has been pushing to have the spread reclassified as a breakfast topping, similar to jam. This change may not seem important, but it could have a major impact on how consumers perceive its nutritional value. Nutella commercials focus on advertising the spread as a quick and healthy option for breakfast, especially for children.

However, due to its high amount of sugar, it may not be the best way to start your day. Nutella is a sweetened hazelnut cocoa spread that is popularly consumed in breakfasts and desserts around the world. For example, the company has made an effort to use more sustainable ingredients, including certified sustainable palm oil and cocoa. While Nutella is advertised as a hazelnut spread, sugar is listed first on the ingredient label.

Two tablespoons 37 grams of Nutella contain 1 :. Nutella contains sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts, cocoa, milk powder, lecithin and synthetic vanillin. It is high in calories, sugar and fat. While there is no question that Nutella tastes good, it should not be considered a healthy ingredient. Sugar is the main component of Nutella, giving the spread its sweet taste.

In fact, the American Heart Association recommends that women and children consume no more than 6 teaspoons 25 grams of added sugar per day, while men should limit their intake to 9 teaspoons 38 grams 3. Using this rule, a woman or child would be close to their added sugar limit for the entire day after consuming just 2 tablespoons 37 grams of Nutella.

Consuming too much added sugar has been linked to a variety of chronic diseases and conditions, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, liver disease, cognitive decline and even some types of cancers, including esophageal cancer 4 , 5. Plus, added sugar may be one of the driving factors behind the surge in childhood obesity 6. For these reasons, foods with high amounts of added sugar, such as Nutella, should be kept to a minimum. Though the recommended serving size is small, 2 tablespoons 37 grams of Nutella still pack in calories.

Since Nutella is sweet and creamy, it may be hard for some people to stick to the serving size, making it easy to consume an excessive number of calories from Nutella. Eating one or two servings of it every day could lead to weight gain over time, especially for a child. What makes Nutella so calorie-dense is the high amount of fat it contains.

After sugar, palm oil is the second most abundant ingredient in Nutella. While fats are beneficial to health in many ways, consuming too much fat can lead to weight gain. Being overweight or obese increases the risk of many chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers 7.

Palm Oil is simply another ingredient that needs to be banned from our food supply. It is a waste product containing solvents and pesticides and has a consistency ranging from a gummy fluid to a plastic solid.

Before being bleached to a more appealing light yellow, the color of lecithin ranges from a dirty tan to reddish brown. The hexane extraction process commonly used in soybean oil manufacture today yields less lecithin than the older ethanol-benzol process, but produces a more marketable lecithin with better color, reduced odor and less bitter flavor.

Today soy lecithin is ubiquitous in the processed food supply. It is most commonly used as an emulsifier to keep water and fats from separating in foods such as margarine, peanut butter, chocolate candies, ice cream, coffee creamers and infant formulas. It also helps prevent product spoilage making it a preservative and extending shelf life in the marketplace. The majority of soy sources in the world are now genetically modified GM. Researchers have clearly identified GM foods as a threat to the environment, pollution of soils and a long-term threat to human health with links to of the world with unnatural genetic material that may have unknown long-term consequences with links to decreased fertility, immunological alterations in the gut and the exacerbation and creation of allergies.

Genetically engineered soy contains high concentrations of plant toxicants. The presence of high levels of toxicants in the GM soy represent thousands of plant biochemicals many of which have been shown to have toxic effects. It was typically discarded. Dairy companies now recognize the value of whey and have set up factories to concentrate and purify it from sources that are substandard from cows fed GMO foods, antibiotics and hormones to boost their production.

Reduced-minerals ends up being a dark cream-colored product which companies acquire raw from the same handful of manufacturers.

Whey powder is an additive commonly used in spreads to prevent the coagulation of the product because it stabilizes the fat emulsions. It is manufactured by drying whey that has been heat treated to remove a portion of the minerals. It is used as animal feed and also by the pharmaceutical industry. Drain and rinse hazelnuts and place in food processor or high-powered blender. A rich and creamy hazlenut and chocolate spread turns any toast into a culinary rockstar. Ferrero , Nutella's manufacturer, is now trying to ride the health wave by positioning itself [htt Diet Tip.

Ferrero , Nutella's manufacturer, is now trying to ride the health wave by positioning itself as a healthy and nutritious start to the day. It invites you to treat yourself to a tasty balanced breakfast with Nutella: Over 50 Hazelnuts per 13 oz. What you need to know: A 2 tablespoon serving, which is what you'd spread on a toast, is calories.

It contains 11 grams of fat, 3. The 21 grams of sugar in a serving are equivalent to 5 teaspoonfuls! Here is the ingredient list : sugar, modified palm oil, hazelnuts, cocoa, skim milk, reduced minerals whey from milk , soy lecithin: an emulsifier, vanillin: an artificial flavor. As expected, the first ingredient is sugar. Regarding the modified palm oil, it's not exactly clear what has been done to the oil. In the past, Nutella used hazelnut oil, but then switched to cheaper oils which were hydrogenated.

But ever since trans-fats have become synonymous with a looming death sentence, manufacturers have been looking for different solutions. Palm oil is naturally close to solid at room temperature, so does not require hydrogenation like some other liquidy oils. Soy lecithin is used to firm up the spread and keep the ingredients from separating. Vanillin, is an artificial flavoring that is much cheaper than using real vanilla extract.

Let's look again at the product highlights including our commentary: Over 50 Hazelnuts per 13 oz. That said, we have a weakness for Nutella; not every thing we eat has got to be of perfect nutritious harmony.

However, we certainly don't appreciate being conned into believing a spreadable candy treat is anything but that. What to do at the supermarket: A jar of Nutella should last you a couple of months when used only occasionally, for example a packed lunch for the last day of the school week, or spread thinly on a Sunday morning crepe.

If you're looking for a spread that will work hard for you on a daily basis, peanut butter is a more nutritious and affordable choice. Peanut butter made with peanuts only has just 3 grams of sugar vs. Nutella's Rating: 5. Very interesting. I appreciate your style of reporting I've never had Nutella because I fear I'd eat the entire jar in one sitting, but now I have better reason to avoid it I'll stick with natural nut butters with ingredients.

Thank you for another great post. No rating. Nutella was a staple of my childhood in 70s France, but nowadays I eat gianduja paste made by other companies, like "Nocciolata" by Agrimontana.

They tend to have a higher proportion of hazelnuts and less oil, and taste better. At least Ferrero discontinued the practice of using peanut oil in the US version of Nutella. Nutella's taste is very hard to reproduce by competitors because Ferrero has cornered a huge proportion of the supply for Piemont hazelnuts, using long-term contracts.

I'm personally not afraid of saturated fat, so that part of the palm oil is not an issue to me. The environmental impact of Palm Oil is another thing! The Rainforest Action Network has been working hard to increase awareness of where palm oil comes from and how unsustainable farming of palm oil impacts ALL of us even those who aren't pigging out on Nutella!

Create your own nutbutter using ingredients that are good, clean and fair! Not a big fan of Nutella Almond butter costs more than PB but less than hazelnut , but tastes great and has half the saturated fat but slightly less protein and more total fat.