How did we become so fat in the past 20 years? Its not that we eat more. We drink more. And what we drink is not good for us. Soft drinks now comprise more calories in our diets than the usual culprit foods like candy, doughnuts, and fried foods. So we’ve replace bad calories with even worse calories. In addition to a chronic obesity problem, this trend is the cause of many other so-called modern illnesses.
Is it any surprise that Coke is one of the largest companies in the USA and we are the fattest country in the world? Is it any surprise that as Coke has started spreading its activities more agressively across the world over the past 10 years, the rest of the world has become nicely plumper as well?
Luckily, the fine people at Coke and Pepsi know that sick or dead customers are not good customers at all. So they (and other food companies) worked diligently over the past 20 years and came up with a nice portfolio of artificial sweeteners (Equal, Aspartame). These significantly reduced the caloric value of 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.
Unfortunately, the FDA has decided that Stevia is bad for you. Why? Well, for one, its hard to patent or trademark. God has the original recipe and unlike large corporations, he will share this great product for FREE. Not a cool word for Coke, Pepsi or Cadbury Schweppes (see The Stevia Conspiracy). (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 and ironically, expensive to produce good, naturally sweetened soft drinks or energy drinks. But they are worth trying out if you are looking for something healthier.Very few products are available in the US currently that use Stevia. I’ve found one soft drink and one energy drink.
Soft Drinks: Virgils: Hard to locate in stores. Good range of products (Cream Soda is my favorite). Tastes good and also uses other natural ingredients. Virgils Sodas. Also available in health food stores.
Lo-cal Energy Drink: GURU All-natural Drink: A great alternative to the usual chemical cocktails. Contains Stevia and other natural ingredients. I enjoy the taste and it definately give me energy. I buy it at their website : Natural Energy Drink. 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 interesting product is Zevia: Sort of small-time, but sincere effort. Doing well at Whole Foods. Taste (or lack thereof) might be an issue for some consumers. http://www.zevia.com.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for checking out my site dedicated to health, weight loss and muscle building. I created this site to document my progress and to tell you what has worked best for me.