Over the past 20 years, we have become fat. There is no other way to say this. Obesity is an epidemic in North America For adults and increasingly, for children. Over the same period, intake of calories from soft drinks has more than doubled for Americans (see Obesity and Soft Drinks. We now get more of our calories from soft drinks than from fruit, vegetables, grains, meats, or any other food group. Are we meant to feed ourselves with liquids?
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 planet over the past 10 years, the rest of the world has become nicely plumper as well?
Luckily, these soft drink conglomerates have come up with a range of solutions. They understand that what happened to big tobacco could easily happen again in other industries. So they created neat substitutes to their traditional sweetener (high fructose corn syrup). These low calorie artificial sweeteners (Nutrasweet, Splenda) do indeed reduce the amount of calories contained in our 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.
Sadly, our dear US government, in its wisdom, has opined that Stevia could potentially be unsafe. Although the studies they point to have been publicly denouced, what it comes down to, in my humble opinion, is this: Its hard to make money off of a natural product like Stevia. You cannot patent it and without a patent, anyone can produce and sell it. Not good for commercial outfits like Cargill (HFCS) or Monsanto (Aspartame) or Tate & Lyle (Splenda).
As a result, there are few products made with Stevia. Natural low calory energy drinks or soft drinks are rare despite increasing demand from health-conscious consumers. Here are a few that I’ve tried.
Soft Drinks: Zevia: Sort of small-time, but sincere effort. Taste (or lack thereof) might be an issue for some consumers. Available in health food stores. http://www.zevia.com
Energy Drinks: GURU Lite: This is the only all-natural energy drink I’ve found out there. It is sweetened with Stevia and Luo Han Guo. It tastes great and works even better. I bought it online at the company’s website : www.guruenergy.com. They also produce organic energy drinks.
