Sugar-Free Coke Conspiracy

milkboi

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I've noticed that there are a lot of new sugar-free coca cola products in german stores now. They are designed in such a way that you first see the sugar-free ***t and you have to really search for the original recipes. I accidentally bought s0me of the sugar-free stuff and only noticed it after drinking the first sips, taste was a bit off.

Did you notice similar phenomena? Is this the first step towards banning/taxing sugar heavily?
 

Ingenol

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I'm in America, and here they have introduced a few new flavors of Coke Zero and the label now prominently calls it "Coke Zero Sugar," whereas before it was just "Coke Zero". I haven't found them to be be any more prevalent or showcased more prominently than before, though.

Wikipedia has some information on the naming swaps over the years: Coca-Cola Zero Sugar - Wikipedia
 
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milkboi

milkboi

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I'm in America, and here they have introduced a few new flavors of Coke Zero and the label now prominently calls it "Coke Zero Sugar," whereas before it was just "Coke Zero". I haven't found them to be be any more prevalent or showcased more prominently than before, though.

Wikipedia has some information on the naming swaps over the years: Coca-Cola Zero Sugar - Wikipedia

Yeah it's probably a initiative from the "Gesundheitsministerium" (government "health" agency)... although to be fair, it's not only the government, but also the supermarkets and brands like coca cola who jump on the "super-healthy-non-sugar-avocado-quinoa-salad-train". I guess there's just a big market for that now sadly.
 
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I've noticed that the labels to distiguish between sugared and Zero versions became very small on German Coca-Cola products. Don't know why they made it that way. I accidentally bought a Fanta Zero once, but since then I just look more closely when buying Coca-Cola products. Both versions are usually available, IF there even is a sugared version of that product anymore! I think that might only be true anymore for their most sold 'standard' products: Coke, Mezzo-Mix, Fanta Orange & Sprite.

Vanilla Coke and Cherry Coke with sugar are no longer available in Germany! Only the sugar-free versions! I loved them both, but I won't buy the Zero versions. No sugar, no money!

And they re-introduced Fanta Pink Grapefruit. I loved that stuff in my childhood and wanted it back for years (decades actually). Now it's back, but only as a new version without sugar. What a bummer!

And I just looked at their website. It seems the same is true for all Fantas now, except for the original orange taste (which still comes with sugar). Fanta Lemon, Mango, Mandarine, etc. are all listed only in sugar-free versions.

Clearly, the (German) Coca-Cola Company forgot what's their most important ingredient. Quo vadis, Coca-Cola?

What's the situation in other countries?
 
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Birdie

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Yes, we're seeing a lot of Zero types here. Stevia is popular. I got that stuff years ago when I was anti-sugar.
We still find the Mexican Cokes in the bottle. Sometimes I wonder about the ingredients in those but I still buy them.

At Sam's Club, Walmart, Costco here. I wonder how long they'll be available with the anti-sugar craze going on.

Since Ray recommends Coke with its caffeine and herbal mix, I don't buy anything else except occasional root beer.
 

Cirion

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Sugar is probably the most well-established "bad food" out of everything else on the globe. Even the guy who originally taught me that Carbohydrates are the healing macro nutrient (this was before I even met Ray Peat a couple of yrs ago), even he still thinks sugar is the devil (& that starch is preferable to it), just to give you an idea. Ray Peat followers are virtually the only ones on the globe that think sugar is a healing nutrient it seems. The funny thing is that he used to drink lots of straight glucose/maltodextrin, which really there is little difference to that and drinking straight sugar, except that sugar also has fructose. I never really prodded him further on why he didn't like it, so I guess what he really thought was evil was the fructose.
 

ShotTrue

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It's definitely the narrative that sugar is bad. You see links on facebook that "See how the sugar industry bribed their way into blaming fats for years!"
People are weakminded and need an enemy for all their woes, they could never accept their own responsibility (for health, polticis).
I remember in child care in middle school (so like age 11) how 3 morbidly obese kids counselours were saying it was the synethic growth hormone in the cows that was to blame for their fatness (which is ironic because growth hormone/igf-1 is a fat burning hormone).
Sugar has been demonized for decades, it's probably the hardest peat principle for lay people to accept
 

Deadpool

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From Germany as well, and now that you say it, I noticed it as well. I regular shop for coke at my local store and a couple weeks ago, they have put all the zero sugar stuff on top and I always have to really dig for the normal coke. Intersting.
 
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There was a concern on this forum about possible prohibition of sugar in observable future. Here in South America I see sugar substitutes penetrate even to a poor family's table. Lots of small family shops now have only cheap fake cola and other carbonated drinks and all of them are sugar free. There is a chain of upper-middle class targeted supermarkets in my state they don't have ANY juice with real sugar, I was so pissed when I discovered it, damn at least they have coke and redbull.
 
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Well sugar isn't bad in general, but I don't personally see any giant harm in the artificial sweeteners on a time-to-time basis. I don't avoid sugar, but most sodas use HCFS and not more of a refined table sugar that seems to be most preferred in the Peat world.

I used to like the idea of refined or granulated cane sugars, but not sure since the word is thst there there could be impurities or other non-essential crap in certain sugar variants.

You can always use straight honey to sweeten + flavor stuff anyways.

But I think the hype might go on both sides. The same proponents who may march and state sugar is bad also follow the same narrative that artificial sweeteners and HFCS are bad too, effectively rendering the whole argument to just, "Anything sweet is bad." Of course nothing ever seems to be this black and white when it comes to health/our bodies anyways.

My point is that I don't think some artificial sweeteners are as bad as some make them seem (like the previous concern that aspartame causes cancer and that hysteria), but also don't think boundless amounts of sugar, real or "fake," is good either.
 

Birdie

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Well sugar isn't bad in general, but I don't personally see any giant harm in the artificial sweeteners on a time-to-time basis. I don't avoid sugar, but most sodas use HCFS and not more of a refined table sugar that seems to be most preferred in the Peat world.

I used to like the idea of refined or granulated cane sugars, but not sure since the word is thst there there could be impurities or other non-essential crap in certain sugar variants.

You can always use straight honey to sweeten + flavor stuff anyways.

But I think the hype might go on both sides. The same proponents who may march and state sugar is bad also follow the same narrative that artificial sweeteners and HFCS are bad too, effectively rendering the whole argument to just, "Anything sweet is bad." Of course nothing ever seems to be this black and white when it comes to health/our bodies anyways.

My point is that I don't think some artificial sweeteners are as bad as some make them seem (like the previous concern that aspartame causes cancer and that hysteria), but also don't think boundless amounts of sugar, real or "fake," is good either.

I think I've heard RP say that the HFCS is okay. I used to avoid it completely, that's why I remember his answer on that one.

Yes, on your honey note. I was just reading his saying "Refined granulated sugar is extremely pure, but it lacks all of the essential nutrients, so it should be considered as a temporary therapeutic material, or as an occasional substitute when good fruit isn't available, or when available honey is allergenic." in his article here:


Glucose and sucrose for diabetes.
 

Birdie

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Sugar is probably the most well-established "bad food" out of everything else on the globe. Even the guy who originally taught me that Carbohydrates are the healing macro nutrient (this was before I even met Ray Peat a couple of yrs ago), even he still thinks sugar is the devil (& that starch is preferable to it), just to give you an idea. Ray Peat followers are virtually the only ones on the globe that think sugar is a healing nutrient it seems. The funny thing is that he used to drink lots of straight glucose/maltodextrin, which really there is little difference to that and drinking straight sugar, except that sugar also has fructose. I never really prodded him further on why he didn't like it, so I guess what he really thought was evil was the fructose.
Maltodextrin rings a bell. Since I can't eat solanine foods like nightshades or gluten foods, I'm pretty sure it's off the list for one of those two.
It's derived from either a nightshade or a gluten food so I've read. Can't remember. I just avidly avoid it.

I've not heard RP used to drink straight glucose/maltodextrin though...
 

Jing

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In the UK we have the sugar tax, all fizzy drinks have had there sugar reduced by half and aspartame has been added, the only drinks left normal was pepsi and coke. Ruined lots of nice drinks by doing this.
 

Mephisto

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I have picked up the sugar free raspberry coke on accident several times because the label is almost identical, we also have a sugar tax in Ireland.
 

yerrag

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A year ago, it was labelled in large type "Original Coke - Less Sugar"

Now, "Original Coke" and underneath, about 2 inches down , along with the other small type "less sugar"

There is no real "Original Coke" that has real sugar unless I buy the 500ml PET bottled coke, or the 330ml Coke in cans. I now buy the 500ml bottle. It costs more for sure, but I'm still glad it's available.

Not like Pepsi. All Pepsi products have some sugar substitute in it. Since long ago.
 

-Luke-

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I'm not a coke drinker, so I usually do not go past the shelves at the supermarket. I avoid it mainly because I am currently pretty sensitive to caffeine (in a negative way). But yesterday I was in the mood for a coke and remembered there was also a caffeine-free version. Well, there was, but only as coke zero without sugar. Next to it was Coke Vanilla and Coke Cherry, both of them also with artificial sweeteners and without sugar. And like @milkboi said, it wasn't obvious and it's easy to pick the "wrong" bottle by accident. The only version with sugar was the original coke.

This ***t is real.
 

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