What do you think about Coke Zero? Is it a healthy alternative to coke or other soft drinks? Read on to find out the truth behind the product!
Yet again as with nutella this was a product I was unable to find the ingredients for on the coco-cola website both in Australia and overseas. The most I could find on the website was the following statement “Our commitment to consumers is to provide a variety of products for every lifestyle, life stage and occasion. All our products can be part of an active healthy lifestyle that includes sensible, balanced diet combined with regular physical activity”. Do they really abide by this philosophy? Read on to find out.
To find the true ingredients you have to look at the genuine product. The ingredients are as follows:
Carbonated water, Colour (150d), food acid (331), Sweetener (951), Sweetener (950), Flavoring, Caffeine, preservative (211).
So what do all these numbers mean? Here is what I have uncovered about coke zero:
Colour (150d): also called sulphate ammonia caramel, what happens when we heat sugar? It will undergo a reaction called caramelization. This imparts a brown colour and a unique taste to every food preparation. Most people believe that there is only one kind of caramel. Hmm… most people might be surprised that there are actually four classifications depending on how the caramels are made. The simplest is the plain 150a. The second, caustic sulphite caramel or 150b is manufactured in the presence of sulphite compounds. The third, ammonia caramel, 150c is manufactured in the presence of ammonium compounds. The fourth and the last, sulphite ammonia caramel or 150d is manufactured in the presence of both sulphite and ammonia.
The plain caramel sounds safe but the second to the last are scary. They are manufactured with the presence of sulphite, ammonia and both. Hazardous substances may rise during manufacturing.
Sulphite ammonia caramel is acid proof and widely used for soft drinks such as coke zero. Another by-product in question is 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI), present in E150c and 150d. It has been shown to have carcinogenic effects in some animal studies as well as cause gastrointestinal problems and hypersentivity in some individuals.
Food acid (338): also called Phosphoric acid, may be used as a "rust converter", by direct application to rusted iron, steel tools, or surfaces. Food-grade phosphoric acid is used to acidify foods and beverages but not without controversy regarding its health effects. It provides a tangy or sour taste and, being a mass-produced chemical, is available cheaply and in large quantities. The low cost and bulk availability is unlike more expensive seasonings that give comparable flavors. Phosphoric acid has also been linked to lower bone density in epidemiological studies which can lead to osteoporosis. Soft drinks have long been suspected of leading to lower calcium levels and higher phosphate levels in the blood. When phosphate levels are high and calcium levels are low, calcium is pulled out of the bones. The phosphate content of soft drinks like Coca -Cola and Pepsi is very high, and they contain virtually no calcium. Soft drink consumption in children poses a significant risk factor for impaired calcification of growing bones.
Food acid (331): also called sodium citrate, has been used as an anticoagulant of blood stored for transfusion. Common side effects include Diarrhea, loose stools, nausea, upset stomach, and vomiting as well as Severe allergic reactions (rash, hives, difficulty breathing, tightness in the chest, swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue); black, tarry stools, confusion, severe stomach pain, tingling of hands or feet, vomit that looks like coffee grounds and weakness.
Sweetener (951): also called aspartame, is a chemical combination of two amino acids and methanol, was initially thought to be the perfect artificial sweetener, but might cause cancer or neurological problems such as dizziness and hallucinations. In2007, Italian researchers published a follow-up study that began exposing rats to aspartame in utero. This study found that aspartame caused leukaemias/lymphomas and breast cancer. The test remains controversial, with the industry contending that they were flawed in several ways and with the FDA stating its scientists couldn’t evaluate the studies because the researchers refused to provide original data.
In a 2006 study, U.S. National Cancer Institute researchers studied a large number of adults 50 to 69 years of age over a five-year period. There was no evidence that aspartame posed any risk. However, the study was limited in three major regards: It did not involve truly elderly people (the rat studies monitored the rats until they died a natural death), the subjects had not consumed aspartame as children, and it was not a controlled study (the subjects provided only a rough estimate of their aspartame consumption, and people who consumed aspartame might have had other dietary or lifestyle differences that obscured the chemical's effects).
The bottom line is that lifelong consumption of aspartame probably increases the risk of cancer. People – especially young children- should not consume foods and beverages sweetened with aspartame.
Sweetener (950): also called axesulfame potassium, this artificial sweetener, manufactured by Hoechst, a giant German chemical company, is widely used around the world. It is about 200 times sweeter than sugar. In the United States, for several years acesulfame-K (the K is the chemical symbol for potassium) was permitted only in such foods as sugar-free baked goods, chewing gum, and gelatin desserts. In July 1998, the FDA allowed this chemical to be used in soft drinks, thereby greatly increasing consumer exposure
Preservative (211): also called sodium benzoate, is a preservative. It is bacteriostatic (limits the growth of bacteria) and fungistatic (limits the growth of fungi) under acidic conditions. It is most widely used in acidic foods such as salad dressings (vinegar), carbonated drinks (carbonic acid), jams and fruit juices (citric acid), pickles (vinegar), and condiments. It is also used as a preservative in medicines and cosmetics. As a food additive, sodium benzoate has the E number E211.
It is also used in fireworks as a fuel in whistle mix, a powder that emits a whistling noise when compressed into a tube and ignited. The fuel is also one of the fastest burning rocket fuels and provides a lot of thrust and smoke. It does have its downsides: there is a high danger of explosion when the fuel is sharply compressed because of the fuel's sensitivity to impact.
In foods when in combination with vitamin C - which naturally occurs in many soft drinks, or is added as another preservative sodium benzoate can react to form the carcinogenic chemical benzene. Other studies have found that sodium benzoate can cause damage to human DNA, switching off certain sections of the genetic code and increasing the risk of Parkinson's disease and cirrhosis of the liver. Sodium benzoate also made the news recently as one of the chemicals implicated in increasing children's risk of hyperactivity in a study by researchers from Southampton University. The other six implicated chemicals were all food colourings. In response to the study, the British Food Standards Agency called for the six colours to be banned, but did not ask the same for sodium benzoate. Coca-Cola has now begun to phase out the use of sodium benzoate in soft drinks in the UK but know where else!!!
Would you drink Coke Zero now? The only natural ingredient it contains is carbonated water the rest is wholly and souly chemicals!
If you have a particular product you would like me to review email courtney@vitalianaturalhealth.com.au
NOTE: Australia is very far behind when it comes to the withdrawal of additives and preservatives that have been shown to cause negative health effects and therefore banned in other countries. For example the colour used in smarties were banned in the UK in 2006 and production stopped until safe more natural colour were introduced. It was not until 2010 that this also happened in Australia (4 years after the fact)