Why You Should Think Twice Before Buying Cool Whip

Cool Whip has been a popular whipped topping for more than 50 years. It gives many dishes a smooth finish. This product has become very popular because it is easy to use and comes in many flavors, such as Birthday Cake, Fat-Free, Ultra Low Fat, Extra Creamy, and Sugar-Free.

But as the number of people who love Cool Whip grows, it’s important to learn more about what’s in it and how it might affect your health. Knowing what’s in that fluffy tub might make you think twice about using it as often.

A closer look at the list of ingredients

It doesn’t matter which kind of Cool Whip you choose; they all have the same basic nutrients. Most of the time, the list of ingredients includes water, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated vegetable oils (like coconut and palm kernel oils), skim milk, sodium caseinate (which comes from milk), and colorants like xanthan gum, polysorbate 60, and beta carotene.

Even though this mix gives Cool Whip its famous texture and taste, many of these ingredients have made health experts worried. Here are some of the main ingredients and why you might want to stay away from them:

Two types of sugary sweeteners are corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup.

Both corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which are often used as sweets, are in Cool Whip. HFCS is known to be bad for your health, which is a shame.

Studies have shown that eating too many added carbs, like HFCS, can make you gain weight and raise your chance of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. If you eat too much extra sugar, the Mayo Clinic says it can cause high cholesterol levels, which are bad for your heart.

There is corn syrup in all kinds of Cool Whip, even the Sugar-Free kind, though it’s in smaller amounts. It is known that these sugars are “empty calories,” which means they don’t provide any nutritional value and can actually hurt your health.

Trans fats come from hydrogenated vegetable oils.

Cool Whip also has hydrogenated vegetable oils in it, which give it its smooth taste and make it last longer. But hydrogenation makes trans fats, and research has shown that these fats raise bad cholesterol (LDL) and lower good cholesterol (HDL).

The American Heart Association says that trans fats should not be eaten because they make you more likely to get heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.

Companies may say that a product has “zero trans fats,” but this isn’t always true. The FDA says that foods with less than 0.5 grams of trans fats per serving can legally say on the label that they don’t have any trans fats. Since people can eat more than one helping, it’s easy for them to go over the safe limit without realizing it.

Sodium Caseinate Is Made From Milk

Even though Cool Whip is mostly sold as a dairy-free filling, it still has milk-derived sodium caseinate in it. This ingredient thickens and stabilizes foods, but people who are lactose intolerant might still have stomach problems after eating foods with sodium caseinate.

Many people might think this product is completely dairy-free, especially based on how it has been marketed in the past.

How to Tell the Difference Between Real and Fake Flavors

Natural and fake flavors are also on the list of ingredients for Cool Whip, but the exact parts of these tastes are rarely shared.

Organic Authority says that these can come from both plants and animals, and they might have extra ingredients like gluten or even MSG. People who have specific food needs or illnesses may find this lack of information frustrating.

Too Much Use of Emulsifiers and Stabilizers

Cool Whip uses a number of stabilizers and emulsifiers to keep its fluffy appearance. Xanthan gum and guar gum are two of the most important ones.

They are used to make the product thicker and stick together. Even though these ingredients come from nature, they do have some problems. If you eat a lot of guar gum, for example, you may have stomach problems like gas and bloating.

Polysorbate 60, a chemically made substance, is another popular stabilizer in Cool Whip. Sorbitol, stearic acid, and ethylene oxide are the things that make it up.

Ethylene oxide is also used to clean medical equipment. Some people are worried that using these man-made emulsifiers too much could hurt your gut health and raise your risk of inflammation.

Sodium polyphosphate is an additive that could be harmful.

Sodium polyphosphate is an ingredient in Cool Whip that helps the product keep its structure. But research from Deutsches Ärzteblatt International and others has connected this substance to faster aging and possible damage to blood vessels.

Some experts say that eating a lot of foods that contain sodium polyphosphates may not be good for your heart in the long run.

What Are the Health Benefits of Cool Whip?

When it comes to nutrition, Cool Whip doesn’t have a lot of important nutrients. It’s low in calories (about 25 calories for two cups), but it doesn’t have many protein, vitamin, or mineral benefits. Due to its high sugar, oil, and chemical content, it’s more of a treat than a healthy food choice.

The Bottom Line

While eating a little Cool Whip here and there probably won’t hurt you, you should be aware of how often and how much you’re eating.

It is a highly processed food that doesn’t offer much or any nutritional value because it has high fructose corn syrup, fatty oils, and many other man-made ingredients.

People who want whipped cream but don’t want to eat the iffy ingredients should try making their own whipped cream with heavy cream and a little sugar.

This choice not only tastes better, but it also stays away from the possible health risks of the fake ingredients in Cool Whip.

Putting a little Cool Whip on your pie might not seem like a big deal, but eating it often could cause health problems in the long run. The best way to enjoy your favorite treats without hurting your health is to choose healthy options or limit how much you eat.