Most of us are familiar with the sour-milk drink sold in tiny, toy-like bottles called Actimel. The reviews on this product are mostly positive. We believe that Actimel will protect us and help us. But the ever-doubting scientists decided to check whether this product is really so unique. The results for beverage manufacturers came out disappointing.
Who invented the "Actimel"
The French company Danone has existed since 1919. Isaac Carasso founded it and named it after his little son. Danone is Daniel, only affectionately. They founded the company in Barcelona, its headquarters are in Paris, and there are branches in America and Europe. In 1992, Danone reached Russia. The first company store opened in Moscow, and in 1995 the first own factory. Danone enterprises produce not only Actimel, whose benefits are so widely publicized. Well-known brands are "Activia", "Danissimo", "Rastishka", "Fantasy" and others. All products of these brands are famous for their excellent taste and are liked by people of any age.
Scandalous advertising
The manufacturers of Danone, wanting to further popularize the products, created impressive and catchy advertisements about the wonderful product of Actimel. Customer reviews also indicate that this drink helped them and their children get rid of gastric dysbiosis, bloating, constipation and perfectly strengthened the immune system.
Some people are sure that it was thanks to the Actimel product that they became less likely to get sick. But EFSA experts, zealously carrying out quality control of the products delivered to the market, doubted the miraculous qualities of Actimel and checked it. As a result, no super-useful properties were found in the drink. Advertising was banned, and Actimel received the infamous Golden Choux Cake prize for its untrue information. By the way, the advertisement of the Danonovsky yogurt "Rastishki", which supposedly strengthens the bones of children and helps them grow, is also declared insolvent. Now they are going to release a new advertising “masterpiece”, designed not for mothers with children, but for office workers. The same Actimel will help them fight fatigue and stress. Customer reviews and new checks will tell how this is so.
What kind of "genie" is hiding in a small bottle?
According to international requirements, the composition of any product should be reflected on its packaging or label. To say how valuable "Actimel" is, the benefit or harm will be for the body after its use, you need to carefully study its composition. So, the drink contains water, cream, two types of milk - fat-free and dry fat-free, citric acid, yogurt sourdough, glucose, sugar, sodium citrate, fruit additives with flavorings, thickener E1442, carob gum, carmine dye, vitamins B6, D3 , and in some - vitamin C and live lactobacilli L. Casel Imunitass. Probably, no one has any questions about water, sugar and milk, even if dry and fat-free. But the rest? What is useful "Actimel"?
Vitamins
D3
This is a derivative of vitamin D. It is a kind of regulator of the absorption of calcium and phosphorus in the human body and "organizes" their intake to the bones. It also affects the level of human immunity, the work of his intestines, kidneys, arteries and heart.
Most of all, this vitamin gives us the sun's rays, under the influence of which it is formed in human skin. In second place its suppliers to our body is fish oil. On the third - all without exception dairy products.
AT 6
This is pyridoxine, or pyridoxal. We need B6 to activate absolutely all metabolic processes, the absorption of proteins and acids, increase our immunity, improve the functioning of the heart, blood vessels, nervous system, radiance of our skin, and strengthen hair. We can get it by eating any meat, potatoes, bread, buckwheat or wheat porridge. There is also a lot of this wonderful vitamin in nuts, carrots, tomatoes, cabbage and some fruits, for example, in pomegranates, lemons, oranges.
WITH
This is well known to us ascorbic acid. She, like all other vitamins, strengthens the immune system and is involved in many biological processes. An adult vitamin C needs about 100 mg daily. We can get it by eating fruits, berries, herbs, rose hips.
Actimel, whose composition includes all these wonderful vitamins, is really healthy. It remains to clarify how many tiny bottles you need to drink to get the above result.
Flavors, thickeners and colorants
On the bottles they write that in the Actimel yogurt all the flavors are natural. Indeed, in the food industry for the most part they use natural strongly smelling substances taken from parts of some plants. These are mint, rose, vanilla, jasmine, strawberries and seeds of some flowers. Artificial aromatic aldehydes are used to give the products the smell of orange, pineapple, cherry, cloudberry, banana and other fruits.
The thickener E1442 is a modified starch. In the presence of water, it begins to swell and, as a result, makes the medium in which it is more viscous. There is no harm or benefit from it.
Carmine is almost the most expensive food coloring. Get it from the most unpleasant insects living on cacti and similar to our aphids. Insects are collected, dried, crushed into powder and with the help of ammonia this carmine is isolated. The dye gives a color from pale apricot to deep burgundy, depending on the pH of the medium. Here is such a wonderful natural element included in the "Actimel". The benefit or harm of these supplements is determined by the individual susceptibility of each person to them. There are cases when, after drinking a drink, a rash appeared in children.
Gum and sodium citrate
Gum really refers to natural herbal supplements. Get it from the bean seeds of the
carob. Also used as a thickener. In addition, gum preserves and enhances the taste of the products.
Sodium citrate is a pure chemistry. Get it from citric acid by adding caustic soda to it. Since there have been no formal cases of poisoning with this supplement, it has been classified as safe for health. The use of sodium citrate in the food industry is due to its taste enhancing properties. In addition, it is a good preservative and stabilizer. Here is the "Actimel" composition. It remains to clarify the situation with lactobacilli.
Lactobacilli and their uniqueness
L. Casel Imunitass - this is perhaps the most valuable thing that is in the Actimel yogurt. Lactobacilli are known to be probiotics, that is, beneficial living bacteria. They really enhance immunity, because they are able to produce antibodies to certain types of viruses. In addition, they do not allow pathogenic bacteria to adhere to the walls of the stomach, prevent them from multiplying, and probiotics can destroy the toxins that managed to isolate these bad bacteria. And much more is done by these wonderful bacteria. Scientists still continue to study them. It is because of lactobacilli that advertised Actimel. Reviews of many consumers show that the drink helped them restore bowel activity, removed bloating, heartburn, strengthened the body as a whole.
conclusions
In Actimel yogurt there are indeed beneficial additives. Lactobacilli, which are not found in all dairy products, are especially valuable. To enrich the body with vitamins, fresh fruits, nuts, vegetables are more suitable - depending on what kind of vitamin is needed. But to restore the activity of the intestine and to normalize the work of the stomach, it is Actimel that is suitable. Yogurt, which is used to make it at home, is also useful, but the amount of lactobacilli in it is unlikely to meet the required norm.
In addition to useful substances, Actimel also contains non-useful ones. Therefore, this drink should not be given to allergy sufferers, children, and certain categories of patients.