Glossary

Glossary

We get that eating healthier food can get confusing, we have been there. Packs are often packed with strange sounding ingredients and frankly misleading terms. We think we are eating one thing, but the reality is we are stomaching another. To bring some clarity to the chaos, we have put together a little glossary of terms. 

A helpful thing to know is that ingredients lists are legally required to run in order of the highest quantity. This means that the item listed first is the heftiest, in terms of content. For most regular chocolate you’ll see the first ingredient, often more the half the total weight of the bar, is sugar! 

What’s in our products and why ...

Coconut sugar: A natural unrefined sugar from the sap of the coconut tree. It is heated gently to crystallise (retaining all its inherent goodness) and has a lower glycaemic index which means it has a slow and steady effect on blood sugar levels.

Chicory Root fibre: A soluble fibre made from the chicory plant containing natural prebiotics, great for gut health.

Tapioca fibre: A soluble fibre made from tapioca starch from the cassava root, brilliant for gut health due to its prebiotic nature.

Baobab: The African superfruit, naturally packed with Vitamin C, fibre, and antioxidants.

Lucuma: Another superfruit, but this time from South America. It gives our products a lovely caramel sweetness and a boost of fibre and vitamins.

Cacao butter: A natural fat from the cacao fruit, high in oleic acids and polyphenols.

Coconut oil: Natural oil from the coconut fruit, high in vitamin E and medium chain triglycerides (MCT’s).  

What's NOT in our products and why ... 

High fructose corn syrup: A sweetener that is highly calorific with no nutritional value. Excessive amounts of fructose can lead to obesity, weight gain, and fatty liver disease.

Refined sugar: A highly processed sugar packed full of empty calories. Industrially produced, bleached, treated with chemicals and highly addictive. We say no to this sugar low.

Glucose syrup: Containing up to four times the level of calories and carbs as normal table sugar – high in pure glucose, high on the glycaemic index, it raises blood sugar levels excessively. Industrially processed with no nutritional value. 

Palm oil / fats: A widely used fat, present in everything from soap to chocolate. Made from the palm fruit from palm trees that are causing massive deforestation in many Asian countries. Cost effective – Yes. Good for our environment – No. 

Dairy: Were humans ever meant to consume animal milk? It is estimated that 70% of the world's population are intolerant to lactose. Intolerances lead to inflammation of the gut and digestive system. Industrially reared cattle are also the number one agricultural source of greenhouse gases. 

E numbers: These are the food industry labels for the most commonly used chemical ingredients like citric acid, artificial colours, and preservatives. Unnatural, synthetic materials which can cause gut distress, hyperactivity, and lead to intolerances. You have heard of fake news – this is fake food! 

Sugar alcohols and Polyols (Xylitol, Maltitol, Sorbitol etc..): The quest for lower sugar and lower calorie sweeteners has been going on for decades. These are the solutions that have been provided by – you guessed it – the food industry! Yes, they have zero or very few calories, but are usually chemical in nature, and known to cause digestive issues like diarrhoea. That’s why there are laxative warnings on many products that use these sweeteners.