Hematogen - composition

For a long time, hematogen was considered a very useful product, and many still go to the pharmacy regularly for this delicacy, and someone is sure that the progress in the food industry adversely affected the composition of the child's hematogen, so it is not as useful as before.

What is in the hematogen?

It is known that the main distinguishing feature of this product is the high iron content, because the hematogen is made from bovine blood. Erythrocyte mass is completely dried, resulting in black food albumin - it becomes the basis of the hematogen . However, this component is not only a source of iron, it can also cause unpleasant consequences.

1. In order to improve the quality of meat, producers give the animals anabolic hormones and antibiotics that enter the bloodstream and are not immediately removed from it. Therefore, the probability of the presence of these substances in the black food albumin, and consequently in the hematogen bar, remains.
2. In itself, edible albumin is a strong allergen, because it consists of dried red blood cells and other uniform elements of animal blood. Because of this, the use of hematogen sometimes leads to allergic reactions.
3. There is an opinion that black food albumin is absorbed by our body with great difficulty, since the membranes of dried red blood cells are very resistant to the action of proteolytic enzymes. In this case, getting into the large intestine, partially digested albumin becomes a good nutrient medium for growth of putrefactive microflora.
4. To obtain edible albumin, the drying of the erythrocyte mass is carried out with thermal treatment, because of this, iron ions bind, which prevents the body from absorbing them. Instead of albumin, powdered hemoglobin is sometimes used, which is obtained by filtration, avoiding prolonged heat treatment, which allows to keep iron in an easily accessible form.
5. Many manufacturers use polyphosphates to partially stabilize the already harvested but not yet dried blood, which can partially remain in the food albumin. They are harmful because they bind calcium and remove it from the body.

In addition to black food albumin, hematogen contains sugar, molasses, condensed milk and honey. Of course, these ingredients make the bar very tasty, but do not forget that they are simple carbohydrates that are quickly digested, provoke an insulin release, leading to a feeling of hunger after a while.

What else does the hematogen consist of is from palm oil, a source of saturated fats that lead to an increase in the level of "bad" cholesterol and the development of atherosclerosis. However, better quality bars are usually deprived of this ingredient.

Often on the label, you can read that the hematogen is enriched with vitamins, among which there are A and E. These vitamins in high concentrations lead to poisoning, which is why the hematogen can not be considered as a normal sweetness and consumed uncontrolled without observing the recommended dosage. It is also desirable to give up the hematogen if you are drinking multivitamins.

To improve the taste of the bar, nuts, dried fruits or coconut shavings are also added to the composition. There is nothing bad in these components, but they increase the caloric value of the hematogen and can provoke an allergy.

Is hematogen useful?

To benefit from this product, try to choose a quality hematogen, and the composition on the label should interest you first. It is desirable that there was no palm oil there. Give preference to the hematogen, in which powdered hemoglobin is present. Conscientious producers not only write in detail, from which the hematogen is made, but the composition also indicates the exact amount of albumin. In a bar with a weight of 50 grams, it should be at least 2.5 grams. In any case, check that the black food albumin or powdered hemoglobin is not listed at the end of the composition, because otherwise these components will be in the minimum amount.