Soft drinks are the greatest source of calories for us fat americans. We get more of our daily calories from soft drinks than any other category of food. More than ice cream, more than fries, more than meat, more than bread. Think about it, all these calories, very little nutritional benefit.
How did this happen? A University of North Carolina study showed that caloric intake from soft drinks in the United States increased 135 percent between about 1977 and 2001. Over the same time period, calories from milk dropped 38 percent. Red Bull's sales over the same period increased by an even larger percentage. And as Coke expands across the world, the world is steadily following in our footsteps towards obesity.
Luckily, these soft drink conglomerates have come up with a range of solutions. They understand that what happened to big tobacco could easily happen again in other industries. So they created neat substitutes to their traditional sweetener (high fructose corn syrup). These low calorie artificial sweeteners (Nutrasweet, Splenda) do indeed reduce the amount of calories contained in our soft drinks.
The only issue I have with these chemically derived products is that more and more studies seem to point to significant side effects over time. Many studies have found these products to be responsible for cancers of all sorts. I know that many of these studies might have questionable methodologies, but where there is smoke...As a result, many people are looking for natural alternatives.
Stevia is a natural sweetener used around the world for centuries. From Russia to Tibet and Chile, Stevia has a long track record as a sweetener with very little impact on our caloric intake. Stevia is also recommended as a natural sweetener for people with diabetes. Some research even finds Stevia can reduce the probability of getting Type II diabetes (see Stevia and Diabetes). Bottom line is that Stevia is a natural sweetener that can reduce our calory count significantly.
Sadly, our dear US government, in its wisdom, has opined that Stevia could potentially be unsafe. Although the studies they point to have been publicly denouced, what it comes down to, in my humble opinion, is this: Its hard to make money off of a natural product like Stevia. You cannot patent it and without a patent, anyone can produce and sell it. Not good for commercial outfits like Cargill (HFCS) or Monsanto (Aspartame) or Tate & Lyle (Splenda). (breaking news: FDA has now allowed Stevia, but only if used by Coke or Pepsi in an expensive trademarked formulation!)
Because of this, it is extremely complicated to produce good, naturally sweetened soft drinks or energy drinks. As surprising as it may seem, very few Stevia-based products exist in the US (unlike Japan). But luckily there are a few alternatives. I've listed below a soft drink and an energy drink that I've tried and like.
Soft Drinks: Zevia: Sort of small-time, but sincere effort. Taste (or lack thereof) might be an issue for some consumers. Available in health food stores. http://www.zevia.com
All natural Energy Drink: GURU Energy Drink, white can. The only naturally sweetened energy drink I've seen on the market. It gets its calories from Stevia, organic cane juice and Huo lan Guo. I must admit I am biased because I've been drinking one of these every day for the past few years (instead of coffee). Available online at Organic Energy Drink. Also available at Whole Foods. I just found out they are currently working on new formulations with music star Kanye West that will use other sweeteners such as Agave and other low-glycemic natural prducts.
Another product I like and occasionally buy is Zevia: Doing well at Whole Foods. Taste (or lack thereof) might be an issue for some consumers. http://www.zevia.com. Also available in other health food stores. - 20765
How did this happen? A University of North Carolina study showed that caloric intake from soft drinks in the United States increased 135 percent between about 1977 and 2001. Over the same time period, calories from milk dropped 38 percent. Red Bull's sales over the same period increased by an even larger percentage. And as Coke expands across the world, the world is steadily following in our footsteps towards obesity.
Luckily, these soft drink conglomerates have come up with a range of solutions. They understand that what happened to big tobacco could easily happen again in other industries. So they created neat substitutes to their traditional sweetener (high fructose corn syrup). These low calorie artificial sweeteners (Nutrasweet, Splenda) do indeed reduce the amount of calories contained in our soft drinks.
The only issue I have with these chemically derived products is that more and more studies seem to point to significant side effects over time. Many studies have found these products to be responsible for cancers of all sorts. I know that many of these studies might have questionable methodologies, but where there is smoke...As a result, many people are looking for natural alternatives.
Stevia is a natural sweetener used around the world for centuries. From Russia to Tibet and Chile, Stevia has a long track record as a sweetener with very little impact on our caloric intake. Stevia is also recommended as a natural sweetener for people with diabetes. Some research even finds Stevia can reduce the probability of getting Type II diabetes (see Stevia and Diabetes). Bottom line is that Stevia is a natural sweetener that can reduce our calory count significantly.
Sadly, our dear US government, in its wisdom, has opined that Stevia could potentially be unsafe. Although the studies they point to have been publicly denouced, what it comes down to, in my humble opinion, is this: Its hard to make money off of a natural product like Stevia. You cannot patent it and without a patent, anyone can produce and sell it. Not good for commercial outfits like Cargill (HFCS) or Monsanto (Aspartame) or Tate & Lyle (Splenda). (breaking news: FDA has now allowed Stevia, but only if used by Coke or Pepsi in an expensive trademarked formulation!)
Because of this, it is extremely complicated to produce good, naturally sweetened soft drinks or energy drinks. As surprising as it may seem, very few Stevia-based products exist in the US (unlike Japan). But luckily there are a few alternatives. I've listed below a soft drink and an energy drink that I've tried and like.
Soft Drinks: Zevia: Sort of small-time, but sincere effort. Taste (or lack thereof) might be an issue for some consumers. Available in health food stores. http://www.zevia.com
All natural Energy Drink: GURU Energy Drink, white can. The only naturally sweetened energy drink I've seen on the market. It gets its calories from Stevia, organic cane juice and Huo lan Guo. I must admit I am biased because I've been drinking one of these every day for the past few years (instead of coffee). Available online at Organic Energy Drink. Also available at Whole Foods. I just found out they are currently working on new formulations with music star Kanye West that will use other sweeteners such as Agave and other low-glycemic natural prducts.
Another product I like and occasionally buy is Zevia: Doing well at Whole Foods. Taste (or lack thereof) might be an issue for some consumers. http://www.zevia.com. Also available in other health food stores. - 20765
About the Author:
About the Author: Dr. Jones writes about financial matters and organic food issues. He is an authority in natural and organic food and drink topics. For more, read his blog at Natural Energy Drinks or on Squidoo at Organic Energy Drinks.
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