health experts have accused coca cola of ‘health washing’ consumers with the launch of its new ‘lower calorie’ soft drink as it still contains the full amount of an adult’s recommended daily allowance of sugar the soft drink giant’s latest product, coke life, is partly made from a naturally sweet plant called stevia, in a bid to target health conscious soft drink lovers but a 330ml can of coca cola life still has 22g of sugar, equivalent of six teaspoons and 89 calories when compared to a 330ml can of regular coca cola which has 35g of sugar, equivalent of almost 10 teaspoons of sugar and 139 calories, that is 35 per cent less sugar however, the world health organization (who) recommends that adults of normal body mass index only eat 25g (six teaspoons) of sugar in total per day university of sydney nutritionist dr kieron rooney told daily mail australia: ‘coke life should not be considered a healthy option… it should not even have a seat at the table ‘this is health washing, yes it is less sugar than the original but that is still an excessive amount   it is still a sugar sweetened beverage and is no way part of a healthy life or lifestyle’ coca cola life (left) comes in a green can and although it has less sugar than regular coca cola (right) it still contains six teaspoons of sugar  dr rooney highlighted research carried out in the eighties where rats were given a sugar solution, a saccharin [artificial sweetener] solution and only drank a certain amount but when the rats were given both sugar and saccharin mixed together they drank more than they normally would ‘it’s called a super mix, a little bit of sugar and sweetener drives over consumption… if this translates to the human population then that is fantastic for coke’s profit line,’ dr rooney said coke life has its very own ‘super mix’ of both sugar and stevia   a type of sweetener ‘coke will be pushing more products but we will be doing more detriment to our health,’ dr rooney warned when it comes to the green colour of the coke life packet it can give off a ‘healthy vibe’, dr rooney said he noted coke would have done a great amount of market research before they launched the product rosie huntington whiteley launched coca cola life   sweetened from natural sources with a blend of sugar and stevia leaf extract   back in london in september  ‘there would have been some work that went into the association of green with health i can understand how on some superficial level at least that it is seen as a healthier product ‘but people should be aware that a sugar sweetened beverage is still an excessive calorie product with no nutritional benefits,’ he said dr rooney explained that ‘liquid calories’ are the worst type of calorie source because the body metabolises them differently to solid food ‘if you are looking to improve health the very first step is to remove your liquid calories,’ dr rooney said the best drinks to consume are water and milk, he advised and when it comes to coke’s claims that they are trying to help battle the obesity epidemic, dr rooney said it is ‘disingenuous, duplicitous and highly inappropriate for coke to frame their products as healthy’ dr rooney said it is 'disingenuous, duplicitous and highly inappropriate' for coke products to be marketed as healthy  coca cola life uses a mix of sugar and natural plant stevia, which has been in japan as a sweetener for over 30 years  sugary drinks do not just cause weight gain they rot teeth, increase fat on the liver and fat around the waist, he explained  ‘i think it is deceitful and they are sitting there saying the only health worry is weight, which is absolutely wrong’ dr rooney explained that 'liquid calories' are the worst type of calorie source because the body metabolises them differently to solid food  professor amanda lee of queensland university of technology, and former chair of the national health and medical research council's dietary guidelines working committee, told the sydney morning herald the launch of coca cola life is an example of ‘greenwashing’ ‘it reminds me of the stage we were up at 30 years ago when manufacturers were making healthy cigarettes i'm worried, it's trying to make a product that's intrinsically unhealthy, healthy,’ she said ‘there's a high risk that many consumers could be confused, thinking that it's a low energy option when it's not’ the product, which hit australian shelves on monday, has more natural ingredients than diet coke because it doesn’t use artificial sweeteners like aspartame lisa winn, coca cola south pacific marketing director, said: ‘coca cola life truly is another example of us keeping in step with consumer demands ‘we’re confident that the new product is what consumers have been looking for we’ve achieved the taste you’d expect from coca cola with 35% reduced sugar and kilojoules, compared to coca cola’ ‘coke life isn’t simply a new product from coca cola – it’s another great choice for people who want a delicious coca cola to fit their lifestyle there is a coca cola option for everyone,’ she said it is only the fourth drink to be launched in the trademark’s 128 year history peach flavour lipton ice tea has over eight teaspoons of sugar, while vitamin water has seven  v energy drinks which promise to give you 'energy' have 13 teaspoons of sugar in them  the new addition to coke's range of 3,500 beverages, should also not be mistaken for coke zero, which is a low calorie drink that is marketed at men who don't like the word 'diet' and is meant to taste exactly the same as classic coca cola coke life is roughly inbetween diet coke and classic coca cola when it comes to calories – you will still find 27 in a can however, it has 35 per cent less sugar than classic coke because it uses the natural plant stevia and sugar as sweeteners, rather than just sugar aspartame is a man made sweetener used as a sugar substitute in some foods and beverages the safety of aspartame has been the subject of several political and medical controversies however, the european food safety authority concluded in its 2013 re evaluation that aspartame and its breakdown products are safe for human consumption at current levels of exposure people with the genetic condition phenylketonuria are however told to avoid it coke zero (left) is a low calorie drink that is marketed at men because they are shown to associate 'diet' drinks with women unlike diet coke (right), which is completely sugar free, coke life still has sugar  nutritionist aloysa hourigan from nutrition australia said that stevia is not known to have any health risks but that doesn't necessarily mean it is healthy to drink coke life 'nutrition australia would still say that while it's safe it's still encouraging people to want to eat sweets stevia is the name of the plant from which stevia sweetener (steviol glycoside) is obtained you can buy stevia in a powdered form as a sugar substitute that you can add to food and beverages at home – or you may find it in icecream, water based beverages, brewed soft drinks, plain and flavoured soy beverages it can be used in cooking and baking according to the stevia australia website, excepting that it does not caramelise like sugar it has been used in japan as the main sweetener for over 30 years and safety reviewed by both fsanz and many other national food standard agencies in other countries eg the efsa and usfda fsanz has concluded that the use of steviol glycosides at proposed levels does not raise any public health and safety concerns 'the problem with all these artificial drinks is they still have high acidity levels and dental erosion 'the other thing is there is some research that suggests that cola based colour drinks, whether sweetened naturally or artificially, are potentially impact negatively on insulin resistance meaning you are more likely to gain weight,' she told daily mail australia 'it is not proven or definite but there is some concern around it no matter what, the best drink is water and that’s we’d still agree' if you’re wondering what the need for another low calorie coke drink is, the global brand which is worth an estimated $74 billion us dollars reportedly wanted a product for the growing number of people who are worried about artificial sweeteners like aspartame, one of the most intensively scrutinised food additives aspartame is ingested every day by millions of people around the world in more than 6,000 well known brands of food, drink and medicine however, it has been the subject of a number of studies that appear to show harmful effects on human health one study linked diet drinks containing aspartame to premature births, while another suggested it could cause cancer however, in december 2013, the european food safety authority (efsa) reviewed aspartame and confirmed it as safe, so coca cola has continued to use it powerade has over eight teaspoons of sugar and gatorade has nine teaspoons  coca cola life does not contain aspartame so may be seen as healthier – but it does contain more sugar than diet coke 'i guess with the other artificial sweeteners there is not a lot of evidence unless they are in very high doses that they are harmful but because research hasn’t been done checking stevia it seems to be quiet safe in those respects,’ ms hourigan said coke life is meant to taste similar to classic coca cola but some have noted a slightly aniseed taste to the beverage rival soft drink brand pepsi have also brought out a drink that uses stevia as a sweetener in some markets they have named it pepsi next
330ml coca cola life 22g 89 calories coca cola 35g coke life stevia
a 330ml can of coca cola life still has 22g of sugar and 89 calories  a can of regular coca cola has 35g of sugar and 139 calories  experts say branding coke life as low calorie is 'disingenuous' 'coke life should not be considered a healthy option,' nutritionist says  it has its very own 'super mix' of both sugar and natural sweetener stevia  'people should be aware that a sugar sweetened beverage is still an excessive calorie product with no nutritional benefits,' expert says 