TITLE:
Chocolate Milk with Sucrose and Stevia Preference by Pre- and Post-Menopausal Women
AUTHORS:
Marta Regina Verruma-Bernardi, Kiwon Lee, Stephanie Qing Liu, Peter Lawrence Bordi Jr.
KEYWORDS:
Preference, Flavor, Calories, Sweeteners
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.5 No.14,
August
13,
2014
ABSTRACT: The objective of
this study was to evaluate and compare the preference of chocolate milk
products sweetened with sucrose and stevia by pre- and post-menopausal women
and to examine their concerns about bone health. Women panelists were divided
into two groups according to age: pre- menopausal (from 18 to 47 years old) and
post-menopausal (over 48 years old) and answered the frequency of white and
chocolate milk consumption during a week and their concerns about bone health. For
preference, five kinds of chocolate milk were used: 1) Non Sucrose Added [NSA]
with stevia and NutraFlora?, 2) NSA with stevia, 3) with sucrose and
stevia, 4) with sucrose, stevia, and NutraFlora?, and 5) control
with sucrose. The results showed that both groups (pre- and post- menopausal
women) prefer chocolate milk to white milk. Pre-menopausal women prefer the
chocolate milk with NSA stevia and NutraFlora?, while
post-menopausal women prefer the chocolate milk NSA with stevia without
NutraFlora?. For comparisons between chocolate milk with sucrose and
stevia vs. chocolate milk with sucrose and stevia and NutraFlora? and chocolate milk with sucrose vs. chocolate milk with sucrose and stevia,
there were no visible differences between pre- and post-menopausal women. Both
groups were concerned about bone health, fiber, and calories, and their
concerns about which influenced their milk choices. Pre-menopausal women showed
a greater positive impact on milk choice when being informed the amount of
fibers in the sample than post-menopausal women. Therefore, this study suggests
that milk sweetened with stevia needs to be produced as calcium resources
without increasing calories.