Diet Coke Plus: "Healthy" Soft Drink?
Both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo will soon release vitamin-fortified soft drinks - Diet Coke Plus and Tava.
Diet Coke Plus is scheduled to come out this spring, while PepsiCo's Tava will be available in the fall.
This is in response to hurting sales of soft drinks - which may be in response to the growing obesity epidemic - soft drinks have recently been put in the spotlight as being unhealthy.
The president of Bevmark, Tom Pirko, was reported as saying that the marketing of artificially sweetened beverages as a healthy option was "a joke." Studies by his company show that consumers increasingly find diet soft drinks unhealthy.
(from NYtimes.com)
It's not out of the question that some may fall for this marketing campaign - but are they fooling themselves?
Hasn't anyone heard of getting your vitamins and minerals from eating a wide variety of foods, including fruits and vegetables?
Drinking diet sodas is one thing. Touting them as a "healthy" choice is quite another.
Some brief history on diet soda
Diet soda first appeared in 1952, the brainchild of Kirsch Bottling in Brooklyn, New York. Kirsch Bottling introduced a sugar free ginger ale called No-Cal. But it wasn't intended for dieters. Instead, No-Cal was targeting diabetics.
Over the next ten years, Royal Crown Cola (RC), Dr. Pepper, and Coca-Cola all introduced their own diet sodas. Coca-Cola's Tab was an enormous success and is still sold today.
However, diet sodas have encountered numerous public attacks, especially when the artificial sweetener saccharin was linked to cancer. Additionally, some studies have found diet soda may actual lead to weight-gain, but this claim is still in dispute.
Today, many diet sodas are flavored with aspartame and sucralose. Diet cola is so popular that even generic store brand sodas offer diet versions.
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69 Comments
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Created / Updated: November 15, 2011
Great! One can never have too many nutrients. Ginseng or green tea? with the vitamins?Does this have niacin for your nerves and skin?
ReplyHas Diet Coke Plus already been taken off the market in southern virginia? I had been buying it, but suddenly it is no longer on the grocery shelves.
ReplyI have had the same problem. I love the taste of Diet Coke Plus but have been having a hard time finding it. What is the problem?
ReplyAccording to my local Coca-Cola distributor, Coke Plus has been discontinued due to poor sales. I used it all the time for my workouts (others may not like that idea but it works for me).
ReplyGeorgia, I live in southern Virginia too, and I used to always drink Diet Coke Plus, but starting around summer 2009 I could rarely find it anymore, and when I travel I look at every store for some. It was probably 3 months ago I ran across a 12 pack of it at a Food lion in Rather Virginia or South Carolina, and I immediately bought it. And to this day I have not found another pack of it.
ReplyI JUST found ONE case in a Safeway in San Francisco, CA. It may be the last case of Diet Coke Plus I will ever see. Glad I purchased it. The expiration date isn't until Oct. 25, 2010, which must mean it wasn't manufactured all that long ago... So I wonder.
ReplyI live in Miami fl and continue to purchase diet coke plus regularly. It is still around here. Nothing tastes better in my opinion. Good luck.
ReplyIf anyone knows where to buy Diet Coke Plus in the Houston area, let me know. It's my very favorite, and I cannot find it anywhere.
Replyi never viewed soda as "healthy". even diet drinks have an unthinkable amount of sodium, which for women, anyway, makes us gain up to 5 lbs in one day just from retaining water. i say, if its got bubbles, they're going to end up in your stomach and stay there in the way of bloat and discomfort. but, thats just me :)
ReplyRegardless of what nutrients are added to soda, these drinks just aren't good. Not only do they give worthless calories, but they are also horrible for a person's teeth. Soda is so corrosive that my dentist recommends waiting 30 minutes between drinking soda and brushing your teeth.
ReplyI don't see what the big deal is with these drinks. I allow myself one diet soda with lunch every day. It gives me the caffeine I need for the afternoon, and I love the taste. My mom raised us kids on diet soda since she always struggled with her weight and I prefer the taste of diet to regular. That being said, why wouldn't someone like me switch to a version of the drink that also has vitamins?
For those of us who already drink diet beverages, this could be a good choice.
Reply7 up has "7 up Plus" that has calcium and vitamins in it and has real fruit juice. I like it pretty good. I figure, if I'm going to drink a diet soda, I may as well drink one that's sorta good for me.
ReplyThis is embarrassing, but here it goes: I wouldn't drink a diet soda with vitamins cause I drink so much of it, I'd get too much of the vitamins it does contain (and I already take a multivitamin anyway).
ReplyYou know, I keep reading about how diet soft drinks have a lot of sodium, but this is always on the internet and it never matches the nutrition label on the can.
I'm drinking a Fresca right now, which I really enjoy, and it lists 35 mg for one serving, which is one can. This is in line, give or take 15 mg for any of the diet soda I drink.
I'm going to worry about 35 mg of sodium?
Fact is, I will *never* become some kind of obsessive religious nut about diet, and if some Fresca every day is my worst vice, you know, I can live with that.
Diet Coke, which I think is the most popular diet soda, has 45 mg. I don't know how much soda people drink each day, but this is just not much sodium per can. Compare this to just about any other processed food.
Diet Pepsi has 25 mg.
Diet A&W - maybe the best tasting diet soda (IMHO) has 45 mg.
Diet Dr. Pepper (which a lot of people like but I find cloying) has 35 mg.
By no standard, unless you're drinking barrels of these a day, do these have an "unthinkable" amount of sodium. Compare any of these to one serving of mustard, soy sauce, or even canned tomatoes.
ReplyHa, Iggy, I have to agree with you about Diet A&W. My coworkers and I think it's one of the best diet drinks out there! I also love Diet Sunkist, but it has a lot of caffeine, so I only drink it in the mornings.
ReplyIt's pretty obvious... what they put into these drinks as a 'plus' is always complimented by an increase in caffeine or something else bad for you. The fact is, all diet sodas aren't good for you.
It's immoral for the brands to market themselves as a 'healthy' option, but the fact is, a simple hook of something like added vitamins is the only reason the average person needs to stop them searching for an real healthier alternative.
Replyneed images of new product
Replydiet coke plus
for ads
There is nothing in soda that should be put into your body. And for those of you who need caffeine, you shouldn't need anything to wake up. In fact, if you rely on caffeine to get your day going, go without caffeine for a week and switch to freshly-squeezed orange juice in the mornings. You will pee your pants when you see how high that gets you.
And for those of you that are being fooled by the clever new campaign, consider this: there are twice the amount of B vitamins, magnesium and zinc in a slice of bread than in the new Diet Coke Plus.
So go make a sandwich and drink water. Your kidneys will thank you.
ReplyHaving consumed both Diet Coke and orange juice for years, I can attest that orange juice provides no high and is definitely not a suitable replacement for Coke. Try again, Maria.
ReplyI drink Diet Coke all the time and have no intentions of stopping. While I don't view Diet Coke as a healthy thing, I will buy the Diet Coke Plus rather than regular Diet Coke, because why not drink one that has vitamins and minerals added if I'm going to drink it anyway?
ReplyThis is definitely a trend... There is a line of sugar-free mints drops from Germany called IQ Elements that are fortified with essential vitamins and other nutrients... Each flavor has a different nutrient (Cherry Mint has Acerols vitamin C, Lemon-Green Tea Mint has real Green Tea extract and choline, the Pure Mint has Creatine, and the Orange Mint has Ginger extract)... I've tried them, and now I'm hooked... The problem is, they are hard to find. I've only seen them in NYC and DC in gourmet food markets...
ReplyBut it seems that the vitamins and sugar-free formula is catching on...
Actually you can. Vitamins in excess can be toxic.
ReplyThis is clever marketing by adding vitamins and minerals to a soda beverage like Diet Coke.....until I ended up with some severe reactions to the niacin and the other B complex additives!!!!!! I began drinking the Plus 2 weeks ago. My reactions included swelling, flushing, redness, muscle pain...pretty much the classic side effects from having taken niacin. Once I realized that this soda was the only new change in my diet,and that these symptoms began after I started drinking it, I stopped drinking it. The swelling and other side effects became so unbearable that I went to my MD who then put me on steroidal medication, a diuretic, and Benydryl for the rashes and the itching.
I would be courious to see if other consumers are experiencing the same problem from drinking Diet Coke Plus? I would definitely hope that people will think twice about trying this drink after reading my comments.
ReplyI too have had a horrific "allergic" reaction to this product. I drank two right before bed and had had itchy skin all night with "zings" going up and down my arms and legs. Every time I was about to go to sleep these zings would wake me up with a twitch. I know it's the product, because I also have the same reaction to the Go Girl Energy Drink which has similar ingredients.
Oh yeah, I also woke up vomiting bits of vile yellow stomach goo in the morning. Have fun with your Coke Plus!!!
ReplyI too had an alergic reaction to "Diet Pepsi VAnilla". Red, itchy skin all over my arms, stomach and legs....yeah, not worth drinking the diet soda! I was happy to read that I was not alone! :)
ReplyI too had a similar allergic reaction to Diet Coke Plus. After having drank two of these sodas before bed, I woke up with what appeared to be small red blotches all over my lower legs (classic allergic reaction). The only thing I can say about this product is if your going to drink it, you better make sure to have Benydryl and Methylprednisolone available to clear up the hives and rashes that appear.
Reply