Infused Balsamics (or Balsamic Crack!)

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Infused Balsamics (or Balsamic Crack!)

Postby hazelrah » Tue Aug 23, 2016 9:30 am

Hi Jeff,

We attended Plantstock last weekend and one of the things that was being promoted there was infused balsamic vinegars. I took a look at some of the nutritional info on a couple of the infusions. Here's an example:
http://bemaandpas.com/nutrition/vanilla/info.php

A couple of them (read chocolate, chocolate rasberry, ...) seemed to have the sense of a pleasure trap food, although I know when mixed with green leafies they act as a catalyst for nitric oxide production. But what surprised me was the calorie density, which was north of 1000 cal/# as in the one I referenced above. Guess it's not quite as bad as sugar, but it's in the agave/maple syrup range. I would assume you would suggest using these as condiments, but do you have any general comments about these? The E2 folks seem to be very bullish on them.

Thanks,

Mark
...the process that creates this boredom that we see in the world now may very well be a self-perpetuating, unconscious form of brainwashing, created by a world totalitarian government based on money, ... Wallace Shawn
http://www.anginamonologues.net
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Infused Balsamic or Balsamic Crack?

Postby JeffN » Mon Sep 05, 2016 8:32 am

I agree with you and have for a long time. This issue first came up when I was with Pritikin when the Chef brought in some of these infused flavored balsamic vinegars and also some balsamic reductions and glazes.

When he first brought them in, we knew something was up because they tasted WAY too good :) and clearly could ring the pleasure trap bell. They just tasted too good and many people who tasted them just wanted "more." For some who tried them, they were affecting their blood sugars.

After looking into them, understanding how they were made and what they were really the equivalent of, we decided against using them. We saw them basically as "added sugar" and counted them as such.

Here is why.....

Most simple plain vinegars like Apple Cider, Red Wine and Rice Wine vinegar contain about 0-1 gram of sugar in them (if any) and about 2-5 calories per serving (1 tbsp or 15 grams). You may often see these with 0 sugar listed and 0 calories as they get to round down these low numbers on the label.

I have never really worried about these and recommend their use as a salad dressing/condiment. These basic plain vinegars are somewhat tart, do not trigger the pleasure trap and make no significant contribution of calories or sugar.

Balsamic vinegars are basically made from fermented grape juice and some have the same numbers as above. However, you may find some that have about 1-2 grams of sugar listed and about 5-10 calories per serving. These are also somewhat tart and I have never really cared much about these either, especially if they are using a tbsp or two of it on a huge salad or a few servings of vegetables.

However, these flavored infused balsamic vinegars can have 30 or more calories per tbsp with added sugars, and can be very sweet.

They achieve this several ways. In the making of balsamic vinegar, the juice (or "must") can be cooked down till it is concentrated at least 50% or more. In addition, it is aged in wood casks and during the aging process, evaporation happens, concentrating the juice (or "must") even more. Some do one of these processes and some do both and you may often see these on the label listed as cooked must, concentrated must, aged must or any combo of these. Some also add fruit puree and some even add sugar.

These are often promoted and sold as Flavor Infused Balsamic Vinegars, sometimes as Balsamic Reductions, sometimes as Balsamic Glaze and sometimes as just plain old Balsamic Vinegar. The only way to know for sure, is to check the Nutrition Facts label & the ingredient list, looking at the calories and the grams of sugar per serving on the label and the ingredient list. Most of these, if they have a nutrition facts label, will even list 25, 30, 36 or more calories per serving and 7 or even 8 grams of sugar per serving. (FYI - I have seen balsamic reductions/glazes with as much as 60 calories and 13 grans of sugar per tbsp.)

Let's put this in perspective.

These flavor infused balsamic vinegars are 36 calories and 8 grams of sugar per tbsp.

Fruit juice concentrate (which counts as an added sugar) has about 30 calories and 7 grams of sugar per tbsp

So, these flavor infused balsamic vinegars are slightly more concentrated in calories/sugar then fruit juice concentrate.

Pure maple syrup (which counts as an added sugar) has about 50 calories and 12 grams of sugar per tbsp.

So, these flavor infused balsamic vinegars are almost as concentrated in calories/sugar as maple syrup

Even more perspective...

If you mix 14 grams of maple syrup with 1 gram of water, you end up with about the same amount and concentration of calories/sugar per tbsp as the flavor infused vinegars.

Or, if you dissolve 1.75 to 2 tsp of sugar in each tbsp of the plain vinegar you have the exact same amount and concentration of calories & sugar per tbsp as the flavor infused vinegars.

So, those who are using these higher calorie premium flavor infused balsamic vinegars may not realize they are basically pouring the equivalent of a sugar syrup with a calorie/sugar concentration somewhere between fruit juice concentrate and maple syrup on their food.

If you are using a basic plain rice, red wine or apple cider vinegars, which have 0-5 calories, I have no problem with it.

If you are using the flavor infused ones (or the reductions or glazes), and they are 30-35 calories per tbsp (or more), understand it is almost the same as using maple syrup and it now counts as an added sugar and you should be very aware of its sugar density and its potential impact on blood sugar, caloric intake, etc and its potential to trigger the pleasure trap.

Remember, as I explained in this previous article, concentration is the issue and these infused vinegars are very concentrated. You can think of these as Balsamic Crack :)

A Date With Disaster: The Pleasure Trap of Whole Natural Foods
http://www.jeffnovick.com/RD/Articles/E ... Foods.html

And so yes, my guidelines for added sugar would apply to them, which is no more then 5% of calories from added sugars.

For someone consuming 1500 calories, it would allow up to 75 calories, which would be slightly more then 2 tbsp of these flavor infused vinegars.

For 2000 calories, it would allow up to 100 calories, which would be just under 3 tbsp of these vinegars per day.

So, if someone is using more than 2-3 tbsp of these a day, that alone is causing them to exceed the sugar guideline for the day.

And, if you struggle with the pleasure trap, any amount may be too much.

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Re: Infused Balsamics

Postby JeffN » Tue Sep 06, 2016 2:26 pm

My wife and I were out shopping the last few days and while we were out, we looked at some of the available premium balsamic vinegers and found ones even more calorie rich then the ones above. Here are a few examples of what we found..

Here is one with 45 calories and 11 grams of sugar per tbsp. The ingredients are listed as Cooked grape must and wine vinegar
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Bonavita-Bal ... z/38447955

Here is one with 50 calories and 12 grams of sugar per tbsp. The ingredients are listed as Cooked grape must and wine vinegar.
https://mercatodibellina.com/products/d ... fied-250ml

At 45 & 50 calories, that is now the same as a tbsp of granulated sugar!
https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/ ... /nutrients

Caveat Emptor!

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Re: Infused Balsamics

Postby JeffN » Mon May 14, 2018 9:41 am

The above article was posted on TrueNorth's FB today and generated quite a few comments.

Apparently, there is a "date balsamic vinegar" out there that is made by the "Date Lady" that is being promoted in the WFPB circles. It is made with date syrup, which is the main ingredient. Date syrup has 60 calories and 13 grams of sugar per tbsp, which is about the same numbers as molasses and maple syrup. Assuming the most all the sugars are coming from the date syrup, this makes it about 84% sugar.

This now tops the list of all the other examples listed above as the one that is the most calorie dense with the most sugars per tbsp. :)

As such, I will repeat my above concerns...

So, those who are using these higher calorie premium flavor infused balsamic vinegars may not realize they are basically pouring the equivalent of a sugar syrup with a calorie/sugar concentration somewhere between fruit juice concentrate and maple syrup on their food.

If you are using a basic plain rice, red wine or apple cider vinegars, which have 0-5 calories, I have no problem with it.

If you are using the flavor infused ones (or the reductions or glazes), and they are 30-35 calories per tbsp (or more), understand it is almost the same as using maple syrup and it now counts as an added sugar and you must be very aware of its calorie density, sugar density and its potential impact on blood sugar, caloric intake, etc and its potential to trigger the pleasure trap.

Remember, as I explained in this previous article, concentration is the issue and these infused vinegars are very concentrated. You can think of these as Balsamic Crack :)

A Date With Disaster: The Pleasure Trap of Whole Natural Foods
http://www.jeffnovick.com/RD/Articles/E ... Foods.html

And so yes, my guidelines for added sugar would apply to them, which is no more then 5% of calories from added sugars.

For someone consuming 1500 calories, it would allow up to 75 calories, which would be slightly more then 2 tbsp of these flavor infused vinegars.

For 2000 calories, it would allow up to 100 calories, which would be just under 3 tbsp of these vinegars per day.

So, if someone is using more than 2-3 tbsp of these a day, that alone is causing them to exceed my sugar guidelines.

And, if you struggle with the pleasure trap, any amount may be too much.

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Re: Infused Balsamics (or Balsamic Crack!)

Postby JeffN » Fri Jul 23, 2021 5:58 am

Yesterday, I posted this thread on the McDougall FB group.

One of the issues that came up was about California Balsamic Vinegars. Apparently, several WPFB chefs recommend them and say they are free from added sugars. However, that is not true. In fact, here is what it says on their website..

"no processed or cane sugars are added to our balsamic vinegar to sweeten it, anything grown from grapes has the natural sugar of the grape juice. Our balsamic vinegar is a concentrated product with the consistency of a syrup, meant to be used in teaspoons rather than tablespoons. This is achieved by reducing the balsamic vinegar by boiling the water off to make “grape must” which concentrates all the remaining ingredients allowing it to be used in much smaller quantities. Our Premium Dark and Premium White balsamic vinegar bases both have 7 grams per tablespoon of the naturally occurring sugar of the grapes, and are meant to be used in teaspoons per serving to finish recipes.”


My response (which is also a review of all the above)….

Companies are always going to do and say whatever they can to make their product sound good.

On grape must….

"Grape must is the liquid obtained by the gentle crushing or pressing of grapes."

"Must is freshly crushed fruit juice (usually grape juice) that contains the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit. The solid portion of the must is called pomace and typically makes up 7–23% of the total weight of the must. Making must is the first step in winemaking. Because of its high glucose content, typically between 10 and 15%, must is also used as a sweetener in a variety of cuisines. Unlike commercially sold grape juice, which is filtered and pasteurized, must is thick with particulate matter, opaque, and comes in various shades of brown and purple”

As we see, must is fruit juice (and then they concentrate it which makes it more like fruit juice concentrate). Fruit juice & fruit juice concentrate are counted by us (and many leading health organizations) as added sugars.

On fruit juice and fruit juice concentrate.

1) From 2014 WHO

"The World Health Organization’s new Guideline: Sugars intake for adults and children recommends reduced intake of free sugars throughout the life course. In both adults and children, the intake of free sugars should be reduced to less than 10% of total energy intake. A further reduction to below 5% of total energy intake would provide additional health benefits." (Exact same as our guidelines)

Recommendations in the guideline focus on documented health effects associated with the intake of “free sugars”. These include monosaccharides and disaccharides added to foods by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, and sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates." (Exact same as our guidelines)


2) From The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition recommendations on carbohydrates, including sugars and fibre. Public Health England. 17 July 2015

- Free sugars should account for no more than 5% daily dietary energy intake.

- Free sugars are those added to food or those naturally present in honey, syrups and unsweetened fruit juices



3) From the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology , 2014: Fruit juice: just another sugary drink?

"We suggest that, like Sugar Sweetened Beverages (SSB), fruit juices are sugary drinks with a probable net adverse effect on health. A fruit juice tax is probably not warranted; however, in the broader context of public health policy, it is important that debate about SSB reduction should include fruit juice."

"In the modern context, where society is faced with an energy surfeit, health-care providers and policy makers must take every opportunity to help individuals to cut unnecessary calories from their diet.”


That is all I am doing :)

Bonus: The Math

As we see above, the recommendations are to keep total added sugars to no more then 5-10% of total calories for the day with 5% being the best. In the label reading class, I recommend no more then the 5% for the day. So, let’s do the math for a 1500, 1800 and 2000 calorie diet at 5% for the day.

Maximum added sugars at no more then 5% of calories

5% of 1500 is 75 calories.
75/4= 18.75 gm sugar

5% of 1800 calories is 90 calories
90/4 = 22.5 gm sugar

5% of 2000 calories is 100 calories.
100/4 = 25 gm sugar

Any way you look at it, our recommended limit for added sugars (which includes fruit juice & fruit juice concentrate) is no more than 25 grams per day, (or less if someone takes in less calories).

Since these vinegars have 7 grams of sugar per tbsp, that would allow someone about 3.5 tablespoons, which is about 10 ***teaspoons*** (or less) of these reduced/flavored vinegars each day IF there were no other added sugars in ones diet

As they say on their website…

“Our balsamic vinegar is a concentrated product with the consistency of a **syrup**, meant to be used in **teaspoons** rather than tablespoons."

I guess we agree.

For the fun of it, I also asked Dr Goldhamer if he uses or sells these, including California Balsamic, at TrueNorth and he said, “We do not sell soda pop vinegars.”. :)

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