Candy Thread -- With Pictures

[esmee]

Has anyone every tried the glucose tablets made for diabetics?

I looked at a bottle yesterday and it says that they are made with pure dextrose (D-Glucose) and the ingredients look to be almost exactly the same as what is in Sweettarts.

[Tammy]

Thanks for the necklace info! I used to eat these when I was a kid but they have gone by the wayside now. Regina would love these! My son lives lives in Amsterdam so I will have him send some over.

[buddhasbelly]

Tammy, that is so much fun that Regina gets to enjoy these! Maybe to be of a little help: the company that sells most of them is called 'Look o look' and they sell dextrose watches, necklaces, lollies (they are called 'Text message lolliepops', because they have little sentences on them, like 'I love you'), lipsticks, whistles and little rolls like the smarties you have in the US. He is most like to find them at Kruidvat (which is a drugstore) or Jumbo (which is a supermarket).

They also have a site in English: www.lookolook.com/en

The colourings they use are sometimes from fruit or vegetables, I don't know if you think that is a problem. If you suspect so, maybe it is good to check the ingrediënts first before shipping all the candy off.

[colormist]

Esmee, I've tried the glucose tablets. They're a bit too sweet for me--I don't know if it's the flavoring they are using or what, but I can't handle them.

[esmee]

Thanks for sharing your experience colormist. It would make sense that they might be sweeter, since they are being used basically for hypoglycemic emergencies.

[ukbill]

If ever there is a thread that needs a BIG warning about glucose and it not being pure then this is it!

Not to mention the blood sugar spikes and drops you get from eating pure glucose.

Sorry but anyone coming across this thread who has not seen the other threads and the warnings on them about the purity (or lack of it) of Glucose for sale might be cause untold damage to a child.

Diabetics are frequently given Sucrose or even Fructose to get them out of a hypoglycaemic episode so there would not be any need to ensure the stuff is "pure" as an "emergency" item.

Confectionery Glucose can be 40% "other sugars" and still be called 100% pure Glucose (or dextrose!)

So be very very careful if you really must eat the stuff.

[buddhasbelly]

Bill, could you explain where you get the info on that 40% other sugars in dextrose? Is there a law that states that it can be that way, or was there research done about that? And was it a UK based conclusion, or more international? Thanks!

[charlie]

Nooooooooo, please don't set him off again......................... He's only just recovered from the last blast.......... ;D

[buddhasbelly]

Yes, I know, but I really want to know whether this contaminationstory is true for me in the Netherlands...so uhm, I say, I want proof! :-)

[colormist]

LOL@Charlie.

[Tammy]

Oh Charlie, I'm still giggling......................
We all knew this post would get the best of Bill at some point.

@ buddasbelly - Bill is very much against ever eating any kind of candy or sweeteners of any kind. As much against it as I am for allowing it. We both have very strong opinions on the subject and they are as far apart as can be.

Most all of the adults on here will tell you that they absolutely loved this candy as a kid. There weren't any problems with eating it. And it didn't stiffle their natural adversion to sweets.

So try it and see for yourself what you think. You are an adult, you can try this sugar the same way that Bill can cheat for flavor by using tomatoes.......

And thanks for the store info. My son was able to find the lipstick, and watches. They didn't have the necklaces in the store he lives by. She will love the lipstick. I don't let her play with it here since I know she'll end up licking it off her lips. Let the dress-up begin!!!!!!!!

[buddhasbelly]

that is nice! If you would like, next time I could buy the other variaties for her in my town and send them to your son so he can include them in his package for you. I would be glad to help. Let me know what she thinks of the candy! My nephew of eleven years old (who is autistic) lóves the watches, I always try to bring him one when I go to visit him. He can play with it for hours before being prepared to eat the toy, haha.

[julienc]

Mar 7, 2012 23:51:03 GMT -5 Tammy said:

Most all of the adults on here will tell you that they absolutely loved this candy as a kid. There weren't any problems with eating it. And it didn't stiffle their natural adversion to sweets.

Yes, this is me. I detest sweets, but I have a massive craving for Runts, Chewy Sweettarts, and the like. My brother and I lived on them as kids. Somehow we figured it out. I love rifling through my kids' Halloween hauls for the dextrose candies and then gobbling them all up.

[Tammy]

Buddhasbelly, Thanks for the offer. He's going to check around some more first. I'll let him know if he doesn't find them. Thanks.

[ukbill]

Tammy the info is from the Patents registered in the USA, Australia, New Zealand and the UK for the manufacturing procedures for producing Glucose, HFCS, Fructose and the patents for solidification of Glucose, which is a liquid.

Its all there in the USA Patents go look for yourself.

Some is based on my own experience in a university Chemistry laboratory where I spent several years doing courses in analytical Chemistry, I have set up equipment and run base line tests to ensure the machine is stable and set up to make reliable results.

A bit of knowledge about manufacturing processes is useful as well.

I have also worked in animal nutrition (farming).

Hope that is not being "set off"

I have read a great deal of medical test reports on the effects of sugar on the brain and its addictive properties as well.

In short I do the research before posting and can prove my conclusions..

OK yes that was me being "set off" but only a bit..

[Tammy]

Hi Bill. Actually the whole question of purity versus a percentage of contaminates is not a point I would ever debate with you. I know for myself. You see, I work in a food manufacturing plant. I see daily how mistakes can be made, and also what the laws are in the US.

If there is meat involved then there is much stricter guidelines involved by the USDA. We have a government inspector on the premises all the time. He inspects all the equipment every morning after cleaning and before we are allowed to run any meat products. He has final say over and beyond the company.

There are also many many irritating forms and paperwork procedures that must be followed.

BUT if there isn't any meat in the product being run, then it is a whole different ballgame. No inspectors, no one to hold us responsible except ourselves. So places like the cereal plants that mess up the shredded mini wheats versus frosted mini wheat - Yep, I totally believe that.

I also know that there is a percentage of "others" allowed. Not much, but it could still be there.

So no, I don't doubt your info. We actually agree on this point. And if you go back and check, it wasn't my post that set you off - this time. ;D

Of Course, I'm sure there'll be some future post of mine that'll get you going.

[ukbill]

Yes I apologise for accusing you Tammy.

Our clashing in the future is a certain thing I think.

I am currently working and researching a theory for discussion as to why everybody (the whole Human race and not just HFI people) are addicted to refined sugars and Glucose, also why Glucose appears to be so very addictive and particularly damaging to HFI people, particularly its ability to disguise and cover up large amounts of Fructose that is frequently contaminating the stuff.

Hence my objection to recommending parents giving it to their children in particular.

So further clashes are quite likely I think.

[susan]

I heard of one idea why the human taste has a strong drive for sweet tastes. How can I explain this in a way that makes sense, without offending anyone's spiritual well being? I am going to use the word evolution

In the beginning....

Really now...before food could be transported or stored easily.....foods such as fruits, berries or even honey; were seasonal and spoiled rapidly. Fruits and berries are highly nutritious yet only available for a short short season of ripeness. According to location, the type of fruit available could be very limited as well. Basically, a very rare rare food.

For survival, evolution prompted humans to be strongly drawn to these rare foods. Humans gorged themselves for a short season, hopefully storing up enough nutrients to sustain them until the next season arrived.

For the most part, this was a wise thing, programing human taste to take advantage of food availability for maximum nutrition and survivability. All the sweetness was only to be for a brief period.....we were not designed to drink gallons or liters of carbonated syrup daily. (carbonated syrup has turned into my catch phrase for meaning "nonsense")

We from the far north, perhaps never needed to develop a taste for sweetness. Or, maybe when an major or minor ice age dipped into central Europe, a genetic mutation happened.

More food for thought.

[ukbill]

removed for further work.

[charlie]

I think I posted somewhere recently that fructose makes you crave more, and I'm pretty certain that sugar in general has this effect on some part of the brain which is why the fast food chains (until recently when they have been found out) used to pile so much sugar in all their foods as it made you crave more.