Coca-Cola’s Life A Sweet Alternative

If you’ve been keeping up on a food and drink news while taking online culinary courses, you may have heard about the studies that are finding diet sodas to have harmful health effects. According to researchers, the artificial sweeteners in diet soda could lead to weight gain and the risk of developing diseases such as heart disease, metabolic syndrome or type 2 diabetes. The article that was featured in the jorunal Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism looked at several different studies and explained that this could be because our brains react to artificial sweeteners differently than they do with actual sugar, causing consumers to overindulge in unhealthy foods.

Recently, though, Coca-Cola has launched a new line of soft drinks in Argentina called Coca-Cola Life that features less calories than regular Coke, but no artificial sweeteners like the diet versions in the U.S. With only 108 calories in place of a regular 600 milliliter bottle’s 250, this “natural soda” is sweetened with a combination of sugar and stevia.

What is stevia?
Stevia is a member of the chrysanthemum family that is native to South America and has been used for centuries to sweeten beverages like tea. It has begun to grow in popularity, though, because of it’s natural flavoring with no calories. Stevia is sweeter than sugar, so less of it is needed to achieve the same flavor. While stevia may be satisfy a sweet tooth better, it doesn’t affect your body’s glucose levels, making it better for people who need to closely monitor their blood sugar.

Stevia can also help to curb sugar cravings, unlike artificial sweeteners. If Coca-Cola Life catches on and expands into markets outside of Argentina, it could be a great alternative for culinary academy students looking for a caffeine fix or just want a nice, refreshing bottle of Coke. With less calories than regular Coke and fewer negative weight impacts than the diet versions, Coca-Cola Life has the potential as a healthier option that is asked for rather than settled on.

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