Slim Pickins For Splenda-Sweetened Sodas

I get flooded with e-mails about Splenda-sweetened diet sodas

There is a lot of interest by people who are livin' la vida low-carb to find a diet soda that is sweetened with sucralose, commonly known as Splenda, instead of aspartame, aka Nutrasweet. Unfortunately, the options are few and far between and are getting smaller by the minute.

One of my readers wrote to me recently about how Diet 7-Up has changed from Splenda back to aspartame without even telling anyone. This happened about six months ago, but some people are only just now noticing the change.

Here's what she wrote in the e-mail:

My Mom and I are both diabetics and we bought some Diet 7-Up to drink knowing that it has Splenda, which is safe for us, instead of aspartame. There was nothing on the bottle about the change except in the ingredients label.

My poor Mother was in bad shape for an entire day because of the violent sudden diarrhea that aspartame causes in both of us. If you could warn your readers about this, I am sure many people would be thankful.

In my diabetic class, over 90% of us have some type of reaction to aspartame ranging from stomach problems to migraines. None of us ever had any problems from Splenda.

Because of this e-mail, I thought it would be best to share a list of the Splenda-sweetened diet sodas currently available on the market. It is certainly slim pickins, but well worth looking for when you want a diet soda.

Keep in mind these Splenda-sweetened sodas are mixed with another sweetener called acesulfame potassium, aka ACE-K, to enhance the sweetness:



CAFFEINATED SPLENDA-SWEETENED DIET SODAS
Diet Coke with Splenda (12-packs only)
Pepsi One (12-packs and 2-liter bottles)



SPLENDA-SWEETENED DIET SODAS WITH NO CAFFEINE
Diet Rite, all flavors (12-packs, 2-liter bottles, 20 oz bottles)
Diet Cheerwine (12-packs, 2-liter bottles, 20 oz bottles)
Waist Watcher (12-packs, 2-liter bottles, 20 oz bottles)

You can also find many store brands that are sweetened with Splenda and ACE-K, but most of them have caffeine in them. Just read the labels carefully to avoid the ones with aspartame.

It will be difficult, but try not to buy into the highly-marketed, hyped-up diet sodas like the new energy cola Diet Pepsi Max and even Diet Pepsi Jazz or the vitamin-infused Diet Coke Plus and the ever-growing line of Coke Zero products just because they taste good with the ACE-K blend. They all contain NASTY-tame (that's my word for aspartame!) and should be absolutely avoided since there are just too many good alternatives available with very real questions about aspartame's safety still left unanswered.

Incidentally, for people who don't like the thought of using ANY artificial sweeteners, you'll be pleased to know there's a new version of Diet Coke that is tentatively going to have the plant-based all-natural sweetener stevia in it that has many of us low-carbers thrilled. Hopefully it tastes as good as the NuNaturals brand of stevia.

Coke is currently going through the process of getting FDA approval for their name for stevia--rebiana--but The Coca-Cola Company has some corporate muscle to strongarm them into acceptance. If and when this comes out, it will become my new favorite diet soda. I'm assuming this one will also be an ACE-K blend.

The diet soda market is currently dominated by NASTY-tame offerings, but hopefully that will soon begin to change. If it's a cost issue, then I know I wouldn't mind paying a little more to get Splenda in Diet Cherry Coke or Diet Mountain Dew. I'd even like to taste Splenda in Diet Barq's root beer sometime.

Why not offer a few more choices?

For low-carbers like me who love drinking diet soda, that's all we're asking for. How about it soda manufacturers?

Pepsi Takes Diet Energy Drinks To The 'MAX'

The "invigorating" Diet Pepsi MAX drink arrives June 2007

In what is an obvious response to The Coca-Cola Company's hip and hot new low-carb energy drink product called Enviga, Pepsi-Cola North America today announced the creation of a brand new low-carb energy drink of their own called Diet Pepsi MAX.

There is very limited information available about this new Pepsi product releasing nationwide in June, but we do know it has zero calories and is fortified with extra caffeine and a little bit of ginseng to help "adults to get through the day." Pepsi has high hopes that this product will compete directly with Enviga and other similar energy drinks that have dominated the beverage market in recent years.

Nicknamed the "invigorating cola," Diet Pepsi MAX, which has done very well in test marketing with real consumers, is a product aimed at the 25-34 year-old demographic as well as anyone who is transitioning from sugary soda to diet soda. Even before I saw what it was sweetened with, I already knew Pepsi would be using a version of the ACE-K blends that have become popular with their current product line, including Pepsi One (made with Splenda) and the brand new Diet Pepsi Jazz (which has aspartame in it).

Rather than continue expanding their Splenda product line, Pepsi has stuck with their tried and true aspartame/ACE-K blend that has become the mainstay of products like the overhyped Coke Zero (which recently expanded their line to include Cherry Coke Zero as well). This is too bad since many low-carbers would prefer a Splenda/ACE-K blend instead, but the soda companies just haven't gotten that message clearly enough yet. Will they ever realize we don't like aspartame?!

Ever since I ended my recent diet soda embargo, I have been looking for more variety in my choices and Diet Pepsi MAX may provide that. But the jury is still out on it right now.

I contacted the corporate office for Pepsi today and left a message with someone there about conducting a taste test and blogging about it. I'll blog about it if I get the opportunity to try this product before June. Otherwise, I'll do a review as soon as it comes out in June.

One of the reasons Pepsi decided to make this new product at this time (aside from the heavy marketing presence of Coke's Enviga everywhere) is in direct response to a survey they conducted that found 8 in 10 people say they have trouble maintaining their energy during the day and 6 in 10 feel they can't get everything done that they need to get done in their daily activities.

Diet Pepsi MAX is being set up to meet the demands of that market of consumers with a delicious, calorie-free diet soda. Pepsi marketing spokesperson Cie Nicholson believes this is the right product at the right time for busy Americans.

"Adults have told us that they're constantly looking for the right balance to get them through their day and Diet Pepsi MAX is uniquely formulated to give the mind and body a boost," Nicholson contended.

You will see Diet Pepsi MAX coming in 20-ounce bottles, two-liter bottles and 12-packs of 12-ounce cans. This is a widespread product release that Pepsi is banking on being a viable product as will be evidenced by some pretty heavy-duty marketing and advertising when it comes out. Diet Pepsi MAX becomes the 13th cola product under the Pepsi name.

Stay tuned soon hopefully for my review of Diet Pepsi MAX if I hear back from them about the taste test. What do you think about the concept of a higher caffeine, ginseng-infused diet soda?