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Tangentially related, but I take a look at the amount of sugar in a regular cola (39g of added sugar in a 12oz can of Coke!!), and I wonder how much damage that
by dfxm12 3y ago
Tangentially related, but I take a look at the amount of sugar in a regular cola (39g of added sugar in a 12oz can of Coke!!), and I wonder how much damage that has done to my body (and taste buds) over the years (let alone society as a whole). I always wondered what a Coke with just half the sugar would taste like. I think I would enjoy it. Well, recently, my grocery store has been stocking De la Calle Tepache. It's not cola, but still, it's a carbonated soft drink with just 8g of sugar in a 12 oz can. It's got less than a quarter of the sugar of Coke and it's still plenty sweet!
How many people could have avoided diabetes or other health problems if coca-cola just set the standard that 8g of sugar is enough?
- windowsrookie 3y agoLooking at the ingredients of "De la Calle Tepache" it contains ERYTHRITOL, which is a sugar alcohol/artificial sweetener but does not count as "sugar" on the nutrition facts label. This is why it tastes "plenty sweet". So similar to Coke Zero/Diet Coke.
- jbandela1 3y agoAnd Erythritol is linked to heart attacks and strokes via enhanced platelet activity. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02223-9 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02223-9
- oarfish 3y agoDid they control for the fact that most non-nutritive sweeteners get consumed in a diet of highly processed foods, which are more likely to be causative of CVD than just the sweetener?
- vector_spaces 3y agoIt's not correct to say that it's an artificial sweetener -- not all non-caloric sweeteners are artificial, and not all processed additives are synthetic. That is to say, erythritol occurs in the environment in all kinds of settings, where e.g. sucralose is artificial because it needs to be synthesized by humans in a laboratory. To be clear, that is the only sense in which I distinguish artificial/synthetic and natural substances -- those words are heavily loaded now and carry with them all kinds of connotations to the point of not even being particularly useful, but if we're going to use them we should at least be correct!
- avisser 3y agoDoes the erythritol in food products come direct from nature? Not according to wikipedia > Erythritol is manufactured using enzymatic hydrolysis of the starch from corn to generate glucose.[25] Glucose is then fermented with yeast or another fungus to produce erythritol. A genetically engineered mutant form of Yarrowia lipolytica, a yeast, has been optimized for erythritol production by fermentation, using glycerol as a carbon source and high osmotic pressure to increase yields up to 62%. So I feel like your specific wording is just as misleading as calling it "artificial".
- bluefirebrand 3y agoCane sugar is processed an unreal amount too. If Erythritol is artificial based on that processing, then sugar from sugar cane sure is too
- Loughla 3y ago>It's not correct to say that it's an artificial sweetener And what does that matter for the context of this conversation? Honestly? The conversation isn't about whether or not it's synthetic sweetener. It's about the total amount of added sweeteners in the product. Therefore, any sweetener, synthetic or natural, count toward this end, correct?
- mattbee 3y agoWhoa, in the UK they changed Coca Cola to contain "only" 11.4g carbohydrates. I think that was a response to the Soft Drinks Industry Levy of 2018. To me it tastes the same but without the stickiness that made me want to brush my teeth immediately afterwards.
- mungoman2 3y ago11.4 g per 100 g, yes. OPs example is also 11%.
- margalabargala 3y ago> made me want to brush my teeth immediately afterwards. Note: do not brush your teeth immediately after drinking soda. The sugar (or rather the byproducts of the digestion of sugar by bacteria in your mouth) and the phosphoric acid in the soda will temporarily soften your enamel, which will then be partially removed by brushing.
- flossmaster 3y agoIt's best to wait a while. But then, when you do brush, go ahead and floss too!
- therealdrag0 3y agoBut a rinse with water would be wise and harmless right?
- goosedragons 3y agoYour taste buds adjust over time after you cut back. I used to drink a TON of soda and on the rare occasions I have one it's usually too sweet and I can't finish. There is sparkling water cola (no sugar, no sweetner) available in my area and it honestly tastes pretty close to what I remember cola tasting like at my peak soda days.
- Bluecobra 3y agoI would be curious to this as well if they truly made it less sweet. In the past they tried this with Coke C2 but instead swapped it with artificial sweeteners (yuck). Nowadays I only drink sparkling water and avoid added sugars like the plague. Now I find Coke way too sweet now to the point that it's enjoyable. I can't believe that when I was younger I would drink multiple cans per day. As a sidebar, I really like British style baked beans. Trying to buy something locally made in the US with the same amount of sugar is impossible. For example, Heinz Vegetarian beans contains 31.5g! of added sugar per can. Even if you go to Whole Foods, the Amy's brand contains the same amount of sugar. The UK version only contains 12g, so I end up buying the imported beans.
- RetroTechie 3y ago> Trying to buy something locally made in the US with the same amount of sugar is impossible. I avoid processed foods whenever practical, added sugar among the reasons. Sugar (and too much of it) is added to a ridiculous % of products, for no good reason. In your example: try dried (white) beans. Soak overnight, cook ~1 hour until the beans are soft, steep or add eg. potato starch to bind leftover liquid, and then: add tomato paste & salt to taste. Just concentrated tomato, not ketchup / pasta sauce! Personally I add some chili paste as well, various herbs / spices could also go in but are really not needed. Tastes waaay better than the canned stuff from supermarket. Practically 0 sugar in it, and not as much water as in the canned stuff.
- nprateem 3y ago12g! You can also buy reduced sugar and salt beans which taste fine once you readjust.
- tjr 3y agoI have mixed regular Coke with club soda at home, and restaurants are often willing to do this for you too if you ask.
- onemoresoop 3y agoIf you manage to take a break from Coke for a while then when you come back to it it's really undrinkable. I personally stopped drinking this or any similar hi sugar soft drinks a while ago and really makes me nauseous if I try.
- alexb_ 3y agoThe funny thing about Coke is that they have literally invented a version that tastes exactly the same, except it has zero calories and zero sugar. It's called Coke Zero. We have two versions of Coke, both taste exactly the same except one kills you and one doesn't, and people will still voluntarily choose the one that kills you instead.
- dumbfounder 3y agoWhich is which? Aspartame is the devil.
- alexb_ 3y agoYou're thinking of Diet Coke. Aspartame absolutely does have a taste, but it has also been studied an absolutely insane amount over literal decades and nobody can ever actually pin down a negative health effect from it.
- theshrike79 3y agoAspartame and/or Asesulfame K make my farts smell like literal death. You know the kind that's not even funny, the kind that makes you yourself gag from just a little whiff.
- dumbfounder 3y agoThis says Coke Zero has aspartame: https://www.coca-colacompany.com/about-us/faq/what-is-aspartame https://www.coca-colacompany.com/about-us/faq/what-is-aspart...
- ianburrell 3y agoCoke Zero has aspartame has main sweetener. It also has acesulfame potassium.
- fshbbdssbbgdd 3y agoSugar is one of the main contributors to suffering and death in the US. Evidence that aspartame is harmful at all is comparatively weak.
- WalterBright 3y agoI drank a couple Cokes a day for many, many years. I finally decided to quit. It took a full year before losing desire for Coke. I tried a few sips of it, and it actually tasted bad. Switched to diet Coke, and drank that for a few more years. Then decided that was probably just as bad, and now drink sparkling water. I no longer have any desire to drink sweetened beverages of any sort. Being older, I decided to stop eating all ice cream, cookies, candy bars, pie, etc., about 2 months ago. This is difficult. I've tried that before, and failed.
- WalterBright 3y agoI quit consuming protein powder, too. I can't find a brand that is just protein powder, without any sweetener of any sort, even at health nut stores. I switched to eating boiled eggs instead.
- adamseabrook 3y agoUnflavoured whey protein isolate isn't hugely popular but you can get it online. US: https://nutricost.com/collections/protein/products/nutricost-whey-protein-isolate-powder-5-lbs https://nutricost.com/collections/protein/products/nutricost... AU: https://www.bulknutrients.com.au/products/whey-protein-isolate https://www.bulknutrients.com.au/products/whey-protein-isola... edit - I should add, you can get a bit of an idea of the quality of the protein powder by just looking at the percentage of protein in it. Nutricost is 85% and Bulk Nutrients is 87%. Doesn't leave much room to shove other ingredients in with protein levels that high. You can also go buy 20kg bags of WPI from NZ (which is where I think most of these retail products get their WPI from) https://www.nzmp.com/global/en/products/ingredients/types/proteins/whey-protein-isolates/nzmp-sureprotein-wpi-895.html https://www.nzmp.com/global/en/products/ingredients/types/pr...
- Red_Leaves_Flyy 3y agoWhat’s the price on those bags? I’m not contacting them and hidden pricing is scummy.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- onemoresoop 3y ago> 8g of sugar is enough 8g of sugar is enough for the taste but not enough for the crack effect to take place. Coca Cola et all did plenty of research into how to get their product to sell ever higher quantities (addictive properties).
- whatamidoingyo 3y agoYeah, that's why my drink list contains mostly water, coffee, and tea. Trying to cut the energy drink habit, which is incredibly hard (they have 0g sugar, although for sure have artificial sugars). I'm down to about 1 per day, sometimes none at all. When I finally manage to cut them out, I will be incredibly proud. But, man, they've made them so, so addicting. Also... I don't know. I drink bottled water, which has microplastics, eh? There's no winning.
- opan 3y agoIs your local tap water no good? I carry around a 40oz Hydro Flask full of the city water from the tap and it works well for me.
- whatamidoingyo 3y agoNo, it's disgusting. It leaves a yellow lining in the toilet and has a strong chlorine smell sometimes. I do have a filter as well, which I use to cook with and drink when out of bottled water.
- consf 3y ago[dead]
- mc32 3y agoI despise these companies for pumping sugar into everything... however, understand that street drinks in those countries are plenty sweet themselves and can be less hygienic as well --street food is also very fatty or oily. So, both local and foreign chains or brands exploit sugar and fats but so do the mom and pop or in many cases, kid street vendors. The stuff sells and costs less. In mexico they sell horchate in plastic baggies with straws --boy, are they sweet.
- nox101 3y agoWhy despise them? If you mom put more sugar in one of her recipes because she thought it made it more tasty, and she got compliments on it when she served it, would you despise her? It doesn't take malice to add sugar. It only takes people choosing to buy
- wolverine876 3y agoI wonder how much sugar craving depends on age. As a child I would happily eat spoonfuls of plain sugar. Children seem much happier eating candy, etc. than adults. I wonder if sugar provides some additional value to children. So when adults say, 'I discovered I didn't need as much sugar', maybe they, like the children, are just following their biological urges. I did a very quick look for research on the question but didn't find anything.
- therealdrag0 3y agoI think this is part of it. Iirc “studies show” appreciation of bitterness (coffee, dark chocolate, broccoli) correlated with age. Iirc it was biologically related, but don’t quote me on that.
- positr0n 3y agoI've seen speculation that this is evolutionarily driven. Kids do not have the wisdom to know which bitter foods are ok and which could harm you, so they avoid them all or die. By adulthood the selection pressure is much smaller because you will have learned what is safe to eat.
- jbernsteiniv 3y agoPart of it too is not just age but also careful engineering to breed out bitter compounds. Case example: brusselsprouts "About 30 years ago, a Dutch scientist identified the chemicals that made brussels sprouts bitter. He selected seed varieties with lower levels of the bitter chemicals and bred new high-yielding varieties that tasted less bitter." source: https://www.iowafarmbureau.com/Article/Its-not-your-imagination-brussels-sprouts-do-taste-better-How-gene-editing-is-changing-how-we-grow-and-eat-food https://www.iowafarmbureau.com/Article/Its-not-your-imaginat... some of it is to do with age too though. :P
- consf 3y ago[dead]
- rqtwteye 3y agoThe amazing thing is that 8g is still a lot.
- swalling 3y agoThere is another alternative that is getting more popular in the US, which are Olipop sodas. They are sweetened with stevia and have only 2-5g of sugar, plus a lot of added fiber. As someone who very rarely drinks soda of any kind, I find typical Coke or Pepsi products overwhelmingly sweet and feel sick if I actually drink a whole can. I can stomach Olipop though. (No paid endorsement here, I discovered these through my partner. She is a health-obsessed person with a sweet tooth.)
- chikenf00t 3y agoI've switched to the Ollipop brand from regular soda. The taste is great and it doesn't make me feel like garbage. I'm never looking back.
- joshspankit 3y agoAs well, the impacts of fructose and HFC.
- kjkjadksj 3y agoIts really not that much sugar if you’ve ever made lemonade for example
- consf 3y ago[dead]
- kkoste 3y agoCoca Cola actually made a reduced calorie with half the sugar content. It was called Coca Cola Life. It tasted less sweet obviously but not something I would notice if I didn't pour the drink myself.