Something that’s NOT on your path to wellness & weight loss.
Alright, honestly I don’t want to talk about a drink that you should never have, or if you do only very rarely, and yes, that means all diet versions too. But last night, I went to Mamavation’s Twitter party to discuss why Coke is suddenly promoting “Wellness” (what??) at BlogHer’13 and I got a lot of info about it that I wanted to share. Now, it is your right to drink Coke, and I am reasonably sure that even people who drink it know it’s unhealthy (and yes, I mean the diet versions too), but I have a problem is with Coke promoting itself as something it’s not – concerned about your health. What you need to know:
- Wellness With Coke:
Coca-Cola is positioning itself by promoting wellness. Keep in mind, there is NOTHING nutritionally healthy about any of their products. They allegedly want to inform people to make the right choices to be healthy, but with article titles like, “Stay Healthy & Active With Coca-Cola at BlogHer ’13”, you can see how misleading that is! And I’m sure they’ll be giving it away for free, which means bloggers will NOT be making healthy choices while there. The good news is that Elisa Camahort, the founder of BlogHer, tweeted me last night that Coke will NOT be sponsoring HealthMinder Day – probably because attendees are well aware of how UNHEALTHY Coke is. - Why This Wellness Campaign Now?
Right now, the Center for Science in Public Interest is suing Coke for “deceptive and unsubstantiated health claims” on VitaminWater, which contains 33g of sugar, which puts the timing of this “wellness” campaign into perspective. The suit has been going on since 2009, and Coke lost another battle in it this month. The better news? Pepsi lost a lawsuit over deceptive marketing for Naked Juice, which makes things look even worse for Coke. Here’s my favorite, Stephen Colbert, making light of it:
- Coke is “Green” and “Natural” *
…in Argentina, anyway. Well sort of. They have created a “PlantBottle”, which has won awards and is made with 30% plant-based materials and “petroleum-based materials.” (Because that’s safe? Read “Breast Cancer Linked to Product Containing Petroleum Jelly”.) Oh and it contains Stevia rather than high fructose corn syrup, but still has sugar too. Better, but definitely not on your path to “wellness”, and not available in the US anyway. - Coke’s is fighting obesity.
At least that’s their position, which is odd, considering their main product still contains high fructose corn syrup, a key component in endocrine disruptors called “obesogens,” which make it nearly impossible to lose weight. - Diet soda is still bad.
Many of their products contain aspartame, which is known in peer-reviewed studies to cause GI issues. It also has been shown to make weight HARDER to lose – so if you are trying to trim fat, drop the aspartame! One of my favorite doctors, Dr. Blaylock, has linked it to excitotoxins, it’s suspect on more serious & deadly conditions, and I’m even hearing it might be addictive – but I don’t know the source as reliable yet, so don’t quote me.
Drink this instead!
So what can you drink? Well, that’s easy:
- Water is best, but if you find that too boring, simply add a slice of lemon or orange, or try coconut water, which is wonderful for you. Finally, infused water is easy: just fruit and water in a container, and let it sit until the flavor goes through.
- As you recall, I told you about Tiesta Tea, who are offering my readers a coupon code (use “TeaMom11? when ordering for 15% off and get free shipping). OR use your favorite brand. Brew it, then ice it, easy as pie, and what I grew up with. You can add mint leaves, honey, flavor.
- Homemade lemonade. I recommend using Xylitol over sugar. I’ve read 1:1 replacement ratios, but I find experimenting helps!
- Seltzer water with a slice of citrus is awesome too.
- Get a Soda Stream and make your own soda! I learned last night that you can add whatever you want to the carbonated water.
*I found this Fast Company article to be biased, what do you think?
Anything I left out on this soda fiasco? Share your thoughts, links, and opinion!
Soda image courtesy Naypong / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Seltzer image courtesy Tina Phillips / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Lydia says
Awesome post!! I tweeted. Maybe if we spread the knowledge, more and more will accept it!
Gina B says
Thanks! Yes, I agree. 🙂
Katrina Stonoff says
I haven’t finished reading this yet, but I had to comment … is the Stephen Colbert thing supposed to be a video? It isn’t here. It’s just an image with lettering that says, “Sorry. This video is unavailable in your location. Probably due to your overly polite attitudes.”
I live in Canada.
Gina B says
LOL, augh! Yes it’s a video, direct from Comedy Central. I get overly polite, but you are the country with more choices, right? Conflicting data!!
James Robinson says
Coke promoting wellness? How Ironic. I’m proud to say I haven’t drank coke in a year.
Gina B says
Good for you!
Lynda Enright says
We certainly have to be critical about where information is coming from. If Coke is promoting wellness, we should be skeptical.
In addition to water – love the iced tea makers on the market. So easy to brew a pitcher to keep in the fridge! I love the Takeya brand.
Gina B says
I don’t know that brand, but I’ll have to check it out. What about iced tea from a Keurig using the insert and my tea?
Lauren @ Mom Home Guide says
I love Coke, but would never consider it as a health drink. That is why I will only have a glass of Coke on a rare occasion, and don’t make it a habit of serving it to my kids, either!
Gina B says
Lauren, I totally think that’s the way it should be! I’m not against not having it at all, unless you have a delicate system, like my kids do. Mom and Dad only gave us soda on rare occasions like Christmas. 🙂
Sally Edelstein says
The American Dream may have been downsized but Americans ever expanding waistlines have clearly not. Blame in no small part can go to our penchant for the super-sizing of our soft drinks. Long before Americans began drinking 13.5 billions of carbonated drinks every year, soda was something enjoyed in the confines of the local soda fountain. When soda became available for home consumption, the real Mad Men of mid century Madison Avenue began hawking soda as a family drink”so good so wholesome for everyone including the tiniest of tots.” For a collection of vintage ads whose message s are as dated as the quaint imagery please visit:
http://envisioningtheamericandream.com/2013/03/11/the-big-gulp/
Gina B says
Hey Sally, thanks for sharing that. Yes, I saw some of those early ad images, ironically, on a documentary about cocaine, which was originally in Coca Cola. We’ve always been duped by ads saying something is feel good when we really know it isn’t good for you at all.