Coke Zero and Diet Coke Splenda have the same ingredient base: carbonated water, caramel colour, phosphoric acid, potassium benzoate, natural flavours, acesulfame potassium, and caffeine. They both use the same sweetener, a mixture of aspartame and acesulfame-K. Coca-Cola Zero and Diet Coke are sugar-free, and the calories are so negligible that the company can advertise them as zero calories. Neither Coke Zero nor Diet Coke has fat, carbohydrates, or protein; both have 70 mg of sodium.
People who consume soft drinks regularly try to switch to soft drinks made with Splenda or without sugar to reduce their added sugar intake. For this reason, many doubt whether it is better to drink Coca-Cola Zero or Light. By now, everyone knows that Coca-Cola has too much sugar. Numerous videos and experiments show how that sugar remains at the bottom of a saucepan, boiling the dark soda. A can of soda (330 cubic centimetres) contains 35 grams of sugar. That is, like five (yes 5) packets of sugar for coffee: a lot.
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Too much sugar
According to the World Health Organization, taking more than 25 grams of sugar daily is not advisable. Children, 37 grams at most. We must consider the (large) amount of sugar that most of the foods we eat contain. For example, a tablespoon of ketchup already contains 4 grams of sugar. For this reason, the fact that a single can of Coca-Cola already has all the sugar we should eat daily gives an idea of the problem.
Concerns about being overweight led the company to offer a “light” version with precisely that name (Light). By the way, that’s what it’s called here; in many markets, it’s Diet Coke. It arrived in 1982. More recent (2005) is the other version, also without sugar, with the name ” Zero ” (sugar).
Zero arrives
Right now, the focus is not so much on being overweight but on the secondary effects on health. When Diet Coke or Coca-Cola Light appeared, the focus was on people (especially women) concerned about their aesthetics. Marketing has shown that the words Light and Diet created rejection in men. But since they now care more about their line, the Zero launched with fewer negative (psychological) connotations for those who ask for it in a bar. And it doesn’t have sugar either, but it does have artificial sweeteners, different from those in Light.
Diet Coke was already in an apparent sales decline, and the company needed something new. Last year and according to its figures in Spain, the Light continued to fall somewhat with 11 per cent of sales, and the Zero grows clearly and already represents 28 per cent of the total.
Synthetic Splenda
There are many urban legends about some of the compounds in soft drinks (and other consumer products). Some have some basis in reality. But there are many misinterpretations, some ill-intentioned, others simply errors due to ignorance. Let’s start with sodium cyclamate. This sweetener, also known by its code E-952, was invented in the 1950s. But in 1970, a study (on rats) gave poor results, disqualifying some countries. That study used very high doses of the product, which would never achieve by drinking soft drinks, for example. But it sparked controversy.
The US, the UK, Australia, and Belgium continue prohibiting it. And in Mexico, Argentina and Chile, Coca-Cola removed it from Light and Zero due to a bad image. However, it is legal in the European Union, although the WHO advises against it in pregnant women and children (like many other things).
Conclusion
Studies show a strong link between the consumption of Coke (and other carbonated drinks) and mental health issues. There is also increased alertness about regular Coke consumption, leading to obesity.
