Whether it's fragrant thick-cut toast or creamy clam spaghetti, the soul of these delicious dishes is "cream"! While modern people demand health and peace of mind from their food, they are often bewildered and find it difficult to choose from the wide array of cream products. In fact, by simply adhering to the principle that "natural is best" and prioritizing natural animal cream while avoiding artificial cream, you can prevent the harm to your cardiovascular system from "artificial trans fats" and complex additives!
Natural Cream vs. Artificial Cream
What is natural cream? Simply put, natural cream is animal cream, made from 100% milk, so it naturally emits a rich milky fragrance and a yellow color. Artificial cream, on the other hand, is a cream substitute developed in the late 18th century. It became popular because of its lower price and longer shelf life.
The raw material for artificial cream is liquid vegetable oil. Since vegetable oil is mostly liquid, it must undergo "hydrogenation" to become the solid state of cream. Furthermore, to mimic the texture and color of animal cream, cream made from vegetable oil has artificial flavors added to create a milky scent and food colorants to achieve its yellow color.
However, because artificial cream contains many chemical substances, such as colorings and flavorings, it raises many hidden concerns for consumers' health. In the United States, there was once a ban because they feared consumers could not distinguish artificial cream from natural cream. The ban prohibited coloring artificial cream yellow and mandated that any required colorant be "pink." Although this ban was lifted, it illustrates that the additives in artificial cream are not something the average consumer can easily identify, which is truly worrying.
Natural Cream is Good: It Contains Fat-Soluble Vitamins and Omega-3
Natural cream contains many fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, which have beneficial effects on the brain, skin, bones, and blood. Furthermore, choosing cream from cows that graze on grass allows you to naturally obtain the essential fatty acid Omega-3, which the human body cannot synthesize on its own.
Multiple studies have shown that Omega-3 can lower blood cholesterol levels and help prevent cardiovascular diseases. It can also enhance brain function to prevent memory decline and improve eyesight.
In addition, natural cream is also very important for pregnant women. Research indicates that pregnant women should avoid excessive intake of artificial trans fats to prevent them from being passed to the baby through breast milk, which could increase the infant's blood cholesterol and have long-term health effects.
The More Additives, the Higher the Likelihood of Artificial Cream
The easiest way to identify commercially available cream is by the product name and ingredients. Products like "margarine," "shortening," and other "vegetable creams" are all manufactured through processing. Additionally, if the list of ingredients on the packaging contains more additives, it is more likely to be artificial cream, as natural cream is made simply from milk.