D.
Mon, Aug-13-07, 06:15
I read recently about a new Diet Coke product, called "Diet
Coke Plus," which has a number of vitamins and minerals added
to it. Later that same day, I read a story about Coke and
Cargill getting together to market a new type of natural
sweetener based upon the ancient plant Stevia. These items
seem to be the start of a trend where some of the world's
largest companies are sitting up and taking notice of the
natural products industry.
While I haven't been able to get a confirmation of this Stevia
work, it appears to be a rumor that has really made the
rounds. It's getting a lot of play because giant corporations
such as these are not most people's choice for natural,
healthy products.
A closer examination of Diet Coke Plus shows that it is the
standard Coke product with the addition of a very small amount
of nutritional supplementation (B6, B12, niacin, zinc, and
magnesium). These five ingredients are present in this drink
at an absurdly small level, most likely due to cost. There's
about a penny's worth of these ingredients in a can of Diet
Coke Plus (my guess).
Is this going to mean that Coke drinkers are suddenly going to
start to be a lot healthier? I don't think it will make any
difference at all for most people--certainly not enough of a
health difference to overcome the health COST of drinking all
those artificial sweeteners. What it WILL do, however, is
cause some people to grab a Diet Coke when they might have
instead enjoyed something more healthy, perhaps a spring water
or juice drink.
In short, it's a marketing gimmick, pure and simple.
While I wouldn't want to see Coke or Cargill start messing
with Stevia (modifying the plant for patent purposes), Stevia
as a sweetener could indeed be a revolutionary change in a
product like Diet Coke Plus if the sugar substitute was left
in its natural state. I might even drink that product.
Dave
Full text article above extracted from
http://shamvswham.blogspot.com/
Coke Plus," which has a number of vitamins and minerals added
to it. Later that same day, I read a story about Coke and
Cargill getting together to market a new type of natural
sweetener based upon the ancient plant Stevia. These items
seem to be the start of a trend where some of the world's
largest companies are sitting up and taking notice of the
natural products industry.
While I haven't been able to get a confirmation of this Stevia
work, it appears to be a rumor that has really made the
rounds. It's getting a lot of play because giant corporations
such as these are not most people's choice for natural,
healthy products.
A closer examination of Diet Coke Plus shows that it is the
standard Coke product with the addition of a very small amount
of nutritional supplementation (B6, B12, niacin, zinc, and
magnesium). These five ingredients are present in this drink
at an absurdly small level, most likely due to cost. There's
about a penny's worth of these ingredients in a can of Diet
Coke Plus (my guess).
Is this going to mean that Coke drinkers are suddenly going to
start to be a lot healthier? I don't think it will make any
difference at all for most people--certainly not enough of a
health difference to overcome the health COST of drinking all
those artificial sweeteners. What it WILL do, however, is
cause some people to grab a Diet Coke when they might have
instead enjoyed something more healthy, perhaps a spring water
or juice drink.
In short, it's a marketing gimmick, pure and simple.
While I wouldn't want to see Coke or Cargill start messing
with Stevia (modifying the plant for patent purposes), Stevia
as a sweetener could indeed be a revolutionary change in a
product like Diet Coke Plus if the sugar substitute was left
in its natural state. I might even drink that product.
Dave
Full text article above extracted from
http://shamvswham.blogspot.com/