Do you know what’s REALLY in your choc chip lactation cookies?

Never in our lives is there a time when we’re quite as conscious about the foods we eat as we are when we’re pregnant or breastfeeding. Breastfeeding and looking after your baby is an especially trying time on your body so it’s really easy to find yourself reaching for foods like chocolate for those quick energy fixes.

And let’s face it, parenting IS hard work, you do deserve to let yourself have some treats, but it’s important to make sure they’re still going to be as good for you and your baby as they can be.
Did you know that ingredients like chocolate and chocolate chips added to many products still claiming to be healthy are loaded with hidden nasties, probably the worst of which are anti-caking agents?

What are Anti-Caking Agents?

Anti-caking agents are small chemicals that absorb moisture and prevent other compounds from sticking together. They’re often added to table salt and other common powdered food products and they contain phosphate, carbonate, silicate or oxide compounds, plus they can often contain aluminum, such as sodium alumino-silicate, alumino-calcium silicate and aluminium silicate. It’s really well known and documented how toxic aluminium can be to the body, and high levels can cause damage to the kidneys, muscles, digestive system and bones. High levels of aluminum exposure may also be linked to Alzheimer's disease.

The really scary thing is though that because anti-caking agents are an ingredient IN choc chips, when these are used as an ingredient to make up another product, you’ll probably never actually see them included on the ingredients list!
Even in the case of normal blocks of chocolate, they aren’t included as you’ll see from this example of a popular chocolate bar (which also is laden with artificial flavourings, bad fats and other unhealthy ingredients):

Milk, sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, vegetable fats (palm, shea), emulsifiers (E442, E476), flavourings.

How do I ensure I’m eating the safest chocolate possible?

Definitely check the ingredients list closely before purchasing and lookout for not only emulsifiers like the ones above, but also E551 which is the anti-caking agent in particular.

The only way to ensure you’re eating the safest chocolate possible is to buy quality  chocolate or look for ingredients like the choc chips in our Choc Chip Lactation Cookies that contain only the highest quality choc chips who's sub-ingredients are transparently outlined on ingredient listings.