Soda: Does “Zero-Sugar” make it better?

How soda companies use health buzzwords to market their products, and the reasons we like soda. 

Zero Sugar: Sounds healthy, doesn’t it? When consumers hear that a drink has  “zero sugar” they immediately think the beverage in question is harmless to their health. In reality, buzzwords such as “diet,” “zero calories” and “zero sugar” are used by marketing agencies to make what can be very unhealthy beverages seem appealing to a generation concerned with their health. “Coke Zero Sugar was meant to resemble the traditional Coke soda … but still appeal to health-conscious consumers by leaving out the sugar,” says James Quincey, the CEO of Coke. 

Your favorite drink without the consequences may seem too good to be true. By taking out sugar, companies are forced to add outside chemicals and additives in order to preserve the taste consumers crave. There has been a connection identified between Aspartame, the sugar substitute used in Diet Coke, Pepsi Zero Sugar, and various Snapple Drinks. There is “a possible link between aspartame and a type of liver cancer called hepatocellular carcinoma after reviewing three large human studies conducted in the U.S. and Europe that examined artificially sweetened beverages” according to a CNBC Article from July. Aspartame isn’t the only ingredient substituted for sugar that raises red flags in diet sodas. The very drinks consumers rely on to help them lose weight are in many cases actually causing them to gain more. “​​While diet soda doesn’t contain real sugar or calories it does contain a lot of additives and artificial ingredients including sweeteners. These ingredients are full of unnatural chemicals that can cause your body to crave more high-calorie and sugar-laden foods” says an article from Penn Medicine. 

The question we should really be asking is why we crave these soft drinks in the first place. There would be no need for diet or modified sodas if there weren’t a large percentage of the population that would do anything for their drink of choice. It isn’t just a delicious flavor that makes these drinks a core part of society. “Your favorite brand of soft drink is engineered with just the right amount of sweetener, caffeine, and carbonation to make you continuously want to grab and gulp,” says Gery Wenk in an interview with CNN Health. Companies such as Pepsico and Coca Cola can reinvent and capitalize on their products because they have a guarantee that they will sell: the addiction of the people. There is no way to preserve the taste and adrenaline boost one gets from a can of pop without the very chemicals that make it addicting. “Zero-sugar” or not, remember that your drink was created specifically to keep you buying more. 

Diana Davidson