7-Up 100% natural – really?
It looks as though consumers’ desire to eat healthier, “natural” food is having an impact on the food industry. Cadbury, the manufacturer of 7-Up made some minor changes in the formulation of this long-time soda-pop favorite and is now touting it as “100% natural.” The new TV commercials (click on the TV ads tab) for this product show the cans being harvested like fruit from trees or veggies dug up from the earth.
Just what did Cadbury do to make this product “natural?” Well, they did remove calcium disodium EDTA an artificial flavor preservative and they reduced the sodium content by about 50% by replacing sodium citrate with potassium citrate.
But if you look at the food label (click on the nutrition tab) for the new natural product, you will find that the second most abundant ingredient (after filtered carbonated water) is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). HFCS does come from corn, a natural product. However, the corn syrup that results from breaking down the starch in corn is then modified by adding enzymes to convert some of the naturally occurring glucose into fructose. The result is high fructose corn syrup, the sweetener of choice for almost all soda manufacturers
Fructose is sweeter than glucose. It also has different effects in our bodies because, unlike glucose, fructose fails to stimulate hormonal mechanisms that signal us to quit ingesting food. Some experts think there is a link between HFCS ingestion and the current obesity epidemic. If you want more detail, check out my earlier blog on “Fructose and Fat.”
So, is the new 7-Up “natural?” Should it be allowed to be advertise in a way that makes you think it is as good for you as eating freshly picked fruit (which, by the way, also have other beneficial nutrients, such as vitamins and fiber, missing from 7-Up and other sodas).
We applaud Cadbury on taking a baby step in the right direction, but consumers beware, 7-Up is still a high calorie, artificially sweetened, soda pop devoid of beneficial nutrients. No matter how much the company tries to convince us that 7-Up cans can be picked from fruit trees, this “natural” soft drink does not count as one of your recommended daily fruit and vegetable servings.