COLA WARS

The other day, while I was enjoying a Diet Coke, someone asked me, “How do you drink that stuff?” I thought to myself…do they mean Coke vs. Pepsi…Diet Coke vs. Coke...or pop in general? After clarification, I found out they were a Coke drinker and they couldn’t see how someone could drink ‘diet’.

In my younger years, my favorite was Pepsi. I could drink a Coke, but I could tell the difference. Years later, I switched to diet and Diet Coke was much better than Diet Pepsi in my opinion. When we go to a “Pepsi” product restaurant today, I’ll end up drinking tea.

But the guys question led me to a little investigation. I say little, because I do have a life (don’t I…?) and there is a ton of information out there on the internet. But here’s the basic info I gathered.

One thing I was interested in was the answer to the amount of sugar in Coke and Pepsi. I had heard ‘the legend’ that there is 10 teaspoons of sugar in Coke and Pepsi. The secret formula listing the exact ingredients in both Pepsi and Coke is closely guarded...like Colonel Sanders secret recipe for his fried chicken and McDonald’s formula for the ‘special sauce’ on a Big Mac…they are holding their cards close to their vest.

Most articles I found agreed that Pepsi is sweeter than Coke. Pepsi lists 41 grams of sugar while Coke has 39. I guess that little difference is just enough to give Pepsi that sweeter taste. Coke is also known to have more carbonation so it’s ‘fizzy’, another difference between the two. Neither product confesses to actually using sugar in their United States product, they both use high fructose corn syrup instead. But they still list 'sugar' as their ingredient.

According to one writer, 1 teaspoon of sugar is equal to 4.2 grams. So both products would equal nearly 10 teaspoons of sugar in a 12 ounce can. So ‘the legend’ is apparently true. But who drinks a 12 ounce can of pop these days? Many times, we stop to get the 32 ounce or even 42 ounce ‘bladder buster’. That 42 ouncer would equal almost ¾ cup of sugar. Get a second one and you’ll have consumed enough sugar to bake 4 dozen cookies!

The diet drinks both use aspartame (NutraSweet). I swear there is some difference between the two, but uncertain what that is and a listing isn’t there to help either.

One writer throws the guilt trip in the mix. If you’re drinking pop...you’re not drinking water...or milk...and you are not getting calcium...and your body isn’t getting the water it needs to flush its system and keep everything functioning well.

Let’s just say this. As with most things, moderation seems to be the key. A can of pop a day, regular or diet, isn’t going to kill us any more than a can of beer or a shot of whiskey. It’s when we overdo it that gets us in trouble.

So guy...leave me alone. Let me drink my Diet Coke. When you see me knock back a six-pack, then you can try to SAVE me.


Dan