Latest Junk Foodity Review: Orange Vanilla Coca Cola Zero Sugar

[Al Doggity]

Sorry for the delays in getting this review out. I've seen all the requests in my inbox and promise to get to them in the order they were received, so please be patient.

Orange Vanilla Coke Zero. This is a relatively new flavor that comes in regular sugar and 0 calorie sugar free versions. It should come as no surprise that both taste a lot like an orange creamsicle or an orange sherbet float. I had the regular version earlier in the summer. I thought it was fine, but did not feel the need to try it again. (Full disclosure: I am not a big Coke fan. I will almost always opt for a Pepsi instead, if I am going to have a soda.)

For the first time, I saw zero sugar version in the wild this weekend and had to give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the sugar-free version was tastier than the original. The orange-vanilla flavoring also masked any aftertaste from the sugar substitute.  I would highly recommend giving this drink a shot, whether you're a fan of diet sodas or not.

I only saw this product for the first time on Friday afternoon, and after an exhaustive search that encapsulated more than 3 city blocks in  New York's midtown west neighborhood, I was not able to find it at any other locations. However, it appears to be easily available online.

[pellius]

Hmm, never seen it. Hawaii is usually the last of the States to get new products. I'm not a soda drinker because I just really love ice cold water and makes up about 98% of what I drink (I sometimes have Muscle Milk or other kind of prepacked protein drinks for convenience) but I would definitely give this a try.

[tommywishbone]

I shall investigate this matter.

[BB]

I like it with steak or some type of red meat. It's one of those occasionally good flavors.

[Slik]

Sounds good. Hope it’s stevia and not aspartame

[tres_taco_combo]

I like it with steak or some type of red meat. It's one of those occasionally good flavors.

when I am dieting hard... i sometimes need a diet coke, diet dr pepper with fish -

[Al Doggity]

Sounds good. Hope it’s stevia and not aspartame

Aspartame. But a big part of aspartame's bad rep is due to a smear job by the sugar industry when they were heavily under fire.

[Irongrip400]

How is it with hot fries?

[SOMEPARTS]

Why not just drink turpentine or some other fully synthetic chemical brew?


Nevermind the fact that that would taste like total shit. People who can't taste artificial sweeteners are not to be trusted. 

[Hypertrophy]

Aspartame. But a big part of aspartame's bad rep is due to a smear job by the sugar industry when they were heavily under fire.

All artificial sweeteners are to be avoided:  https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/03/artificial-sweeteners-are-toxic-to-digestive-gut-bacteria-study.html

For the original research paper: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/23/2/367/htm

[Rambone]

All artificial sweeteners are to be avoided:  https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/03/artificial-sweeteners-are-toxic-to-digestive-gut-bacteria-study.html

For the original research paper: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/23/2/367/htm

Ugh fear mongering BS sensationalist journalism. Every artificial sweetener study I have seen involves mega dosing mice. They’re not realistic in terms of normal human consumption and provide no useable data.

[funk51]

cyclamates were safer than aspartme.

[Thin Lizzy]

It’s a solid product but as said, it’s hard to find. It seems that even the biggest chains don’t know how to order. They tend to err on the side of too much variety when they should be stocking up on the stuff that people actually buy.

[Primemuscle]

I'm convinced that there is something in artificial sweeteners that is very addicting. Maybe it is because people who drink diet drinks (those with zero or close to zero calories) think they can drink as much as they want without it affecting their health. My wife drank diet Pepsi in quantity for years. She died from kidney failure. I cannot help but think there was a connection.

A thousand years ago, when I was young, I'd occasionally order a cherry coke at Bob's Big Boy on Van Nuys Blvd. in Van Nuys, CA. In those days, the drink was made/blended at the restaurant or soda fountain, using syrup and carbonated water. If you craved a good tasting Coca-cola drink, this was it. -Don't drink coke much theses days, but if I did, it would a probably rum and coke.   

[Al Doggity]

Ugh fear mongering BS sensationalist journalism. Every artificial sweetener study I have seen involves mega dosing mice. They’re not realistic in terms of normal human consumption and provide no useable data.

Not only that, but that study is completely without context. Excess real sugar can cause problems with gut bacteria, as well as excess salt and carbs. If the linked study is even accurate, how do artificial sweeteners compare to those things?

[Rambone]

Not only that, but that study is completely without context. Excess real sugar can cause problems with gut bacteria, as well as excess salt and carbs. If the linked study is even accurate, how do artificial sweeteners compare to those things?

And they'll say how there is a reduction of gut microbiota “X” when there’s 1000 other kinds of bacteria in the gut. All the aspartame studies I’ve seen would be equivalent to drinking 20 gallons of Diet Pepsi a day for 6 months. So realistic!

[pellius]

Not only that, but that study is completely without context. Excess real sugar can cause problems with gut bacteria, as well as excess salt and carbs. If the linked study is even accurate, how do artificial sweeteners compare to those things?

Why is sugar so inherently bad when ALL carbohydrates convert into sugar (glucose) and even amino acids will convert into glucose when no carbohydrates are consumed? It's your body's main source of energy.

[Al Doggity]

Why is sugar so inherently bad when ALL carbohydrates convert into sugar (glucose) and even amino acids will convert into glucose when no carbohydrates are consumed? It's your body's main source of energy.

The major thing about sugar- specifically in the modern western diet- is that you can get so much of it without any accompanying nutrients. When you eat more natural sources, it's usually accompanied by other stuff, like fiber and vitamins.  In the very real and practical way people consume sugar now, it's frequently the leading ingredient.

[Anna Recksiek]

I read something a while back that said these artificial sweeteners can mimic sugar once ingested and pull you out of keto...

[pellius]

The major thing about sugar- specifically in the modern western diet- is that you can get so much of it without any accompanying nutrients. When you eat more natural sources, it's usually accompanied by other stuff, like fiber and vitamins.  In the very real and practical way people consume sugar now, it's frequently the leading ingredient.

Sure. I understand the concept of "empty calories" but Americans eat so much that I doubt they are nutrient deficient.

[joswift]

I read something a while back that said these artificial sweeteners can mimic sugar once ingested and pull you out of keto...

stop reading stuff like that...

[Thin Lizzy]

Sure. I understand the concept of "empty calories" but Americans eat so much that I doubt they are nutrient deficient.

I believe the issue is chronic high blood sugar. Fat fucks who don’t exercise never deplete their glycogen stores and as a result there’s nowhere to put the glucose so it stays in the blood and eventually causes problems.

[The Keto Kid]

Artificial sweeteners mess up your gut biome.

[dan18]

soda sucks............... terrible for you  only ginger ale once and awhile

[anvil]

Geez Louise Al, dog piss would be better for you than that shit.