March 14, 2008

Raw Sugar Water

Over on the other side of that small pond known as the Atlantic Ocean, Pepsi has unleashed Pepsi Raw -- a "delicious new cola made with sparkling water and naturally sourced ingredients."

Composed of natural plant extracts, "sparkling water", cane sugar, coffee leaf, and plain caramel coloring, it clocks in at approximately 30 fewer calories than standard artificial Pepsi.

Yes, high fructose corn syrup is a less desirable ingredient than "real" sugar, but let's not get it twisted -- teaspoon upon teaspoon of sugar in water does not constitute a healthy beverage.

This reminds me of the organic, whole grain, fruit juice sweetened, chocolate chip and hemp seed cookies I often see at health food stores.

Get past the "no preservatives, no refined sugar, no artificial ingredients" excitement on the package and you discover that they often have more calories -- and maybe an extra gram of fiber -- than the same serving of Chips Ahoy.

Regardless, I'm sure this new Pepsi will arrive on our shores soon, along with a multi million dollar campaign and plenty of hype.

Yawn.

1 comment:

ali said...

i have a cereal question for you. i'm thinking about switching from cheerios to Kashi Heart to Heart, but i'm wondering what's "best." basically, i can eat close to twice the amount of cheerios for the same amount of calories in h2h. i understand the fiber amount is different, but h2h also has more sugar. and if i'm doubling the serving of fiber in cheerios, that's pretty darn close to the single serving of h2h, right?

i'm thinking in terms of volume here...getting more bang for my buck...does this make sense?

what's the dealbreaker here? do you think it boils down to personal preference or is there an actual more healthful choice in this situation?

1 c. cheerios = 100 cal
3/4 c. h2h = 110 cal

p.s. i check your blog every day. i think you should share more info about yourself! your readers are probably interested!