Sweets for the Sweet
(Verbatim • Nutrition)
From the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s just-filed proposed class-action lawsuit against Coca-Cola Co. over health claims it attributes to its VitaminWater product:
…In addition, the VitaminWater labels make additional claims touting the purported health benefits of drinking VitaminWater. For example, the labels of VitaminWater’s “defense” flavor claim as follows: “If you’ve had to use sick days because you’ve actually been sick then you’re seriously missing out, my friends. See, the trick is to stay healthy and use sick days to just um, not go in. And this combination of zinc and fortifying vitamins can help out with that and keep you healthy as a horse. So drink up.”VitaminWater, the supposed “Nutrient Enhanced Water Beverage,” does not deliver its promised benefits of health. In fact, VitaminWater may actually harm consumers’ health.
VitaminWater is loaded with sugar. In fact, each 20-ounce bottle contains approximately 33 grams of sugar. By comparison, a can of Coca-Cola Classic contains 39 grams of sugar…
Diets rich in added sugars contribute to obesity, the prevalence of which has risen dramatically in the last three decades in both youths and adults. Obesity, in turn, increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and other health problems. In people who are “insulin resistant,” high intakes of added sugars increase levels of blood triglycerides, which are associated with a higher risk of heart disease and diabetes. In addition, frequent consumption of foods rich in added sugars increases the risk of osteoporosis.
A Coca-Cola spokeswoman told the Wall Street Journal this morning that the Center for Science isn’t acting in the public interest, but rather, “this is about increasing the readership of CSPI’s increasingly irrelevant newsletter.”
→ B.Dunn, Jan 15, 2009, 12 02 pm
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