The Secret of the Diet Coke - Research Paper Example

The Secret of the Diet Coke This assignment discusses the goods and the bad about diet coke, to reach a final conclusion about how it influences our health in short and long run respectively. A survey has also been conducted to service this purpose; the questions are presented in the appendix, and the responses have been used during the course of this research essay. Alongside, a local medical association representative was also interviewed, and the finds of the same are also referred to. Introduction Despite the fact that soft drink, by definition, is a non-alcoholic beverage, is generally assumed to be a sugary drink. The term fundamentally comes as opposing to a “hard drink”, which implies beverages that have higher component of alcohol. Accordingly, soft-drinks are very minute on alcohol, almost less than 0.5%. Furthermore, soft drinks are sub-divided as carbonated and non-carbonated drinks (Martin). The markets of carbonated soft drinks is very complex and competitive and despite that, Pepsi and Coke (Coca Cola) remain the front runners in the race, with groups of individuals from various backgrounds preferring one over the other for various reasons. Within carbonated soft drinks, the variant used to get the market that has a niche of diet or sugar-free drinks are the diet or sugar free drinks. In the past decade or so, with the advancements of media, people have become cautious about their appearance, their physical fitness and so on. Therefore, this becomes a niche for the beverage manufacturers. Accordingly, they came up with the idea of “diet” soft drinks, introduced by various names in various variants, for example one of the variants was coke free in cherry flavor. These diet drinks have been criticized by means of various media campaigns generated to magnify the negatives of these drinks. This paper aims at analyzing the consequences of these drinks, their impact on health and other issues, with a conclusion that Diet Coke is bad for our health. History of Coke & its Variants Coke, more commonly known as Coca Cola, has been a front runner amongst soft beverage competitors since a long while, running a cut-throat competition with Pepsi. Not many people are aware of the fact that coke was “born” in the backyard of a doctor. This history of coke dates back to approximately 125 years, when the formula was developed by Dr. John Pemberton, while the all famous global name was given by Frank Robinson – the bookkeeper of the Pemberton (The Diet Coke Story). In the same year, 1886, the drink was sold to the general public. Slowly and gradually, coke became taste-of-the-tongue for the masses, and today, coke stands as one of the most consumed soft-drink/beverage across the globe. In its history of over a century, coke has introduced a number of variants including Caffeine Free Coke, Cherry Coke, Vanilla Coke, Zero Coke, and other variants with Lemon, Coffee and Lime. Amongst its many variants, Diet Coke has been the most famous one. However, there have been many issues and debates on whether or not; Diet Coke is fine for health or otherwise (The Diet Coke Story). This article aims at discussing the same with respect to the various arguments that will be presented. About Diet Coke Known by the names of Diet Coca Cola and/or Light Coke, this variant of Coke was a sugar-free version, produced and launched by Coca Cola Company in the year 1982 (The Diet Coke Story). The Diet Coke was quick to capture the masses. For sweetening purposes, the company used various substitutes of sugar, depending on the country regulations, the substitute sweetener liked by masses, and the ones insisted by the retailers. For instance, the company used 100% aspartame in the United States, while it used a blend of cyclamates, aspartame, and acesulfame potassium in some countries other than the United States & the United Kingdom (Diet Coke Sweetened With Splenda). From the time of its launch in 1982, to the year 2007, the diet coke was launched in different variants, mixing flavors such as vanilla, strawberry, cherry, etc. Overall, the formula of diet coke was claimed to be entirely different than conventional coke. Health Concerns of Diet Coke Today, the media is much more different than where it was a decade or so back; even the smallest of issues gain hype very easily, and at times, things are highly over-exaggerated. In the issue of diet coke, there were serious health concerns rising across the world. Excessive consumption of diet coke led to individuals suffering from various diseases, including cancer and tumor. This section is written in line with an interview conducted with a local medical association representative. The threat primarily came from the excess utilization of aspartame – which is the artificial sweetener used by major beverage manufacturers. Firstly, aspartame has been identified by various scientists and medical organizations as harmful, leading to various diseases for example cancer, brain lesions, brain tumor, and lymphoma, when huge quantities are consumed; it has also been banned in various countries (Vries). At the same time, coke did change its ingredients towards the utilization of sucralose – though that version of coke is not available everywhere. According to Aileen Nielsen, there is ample evidence found in the laboratories of FDA (USA) that there exists a strong correlation between aspartame and brain cancer (Nielsen). Secondly, in recent researches being conducted by independent researchers, it has been identified that based on the composition of artificial sugar, the artificial sweeteners are sweeter than the natural sugar, thus leading to the conclusion that the concept of diet remains meaningless, rather backfires. Additionally, more harm is caused by the fact that since its consumption reduces the natural sugar consumption; it tends to attract a body more towards the sugar containing edibles. Subsequently, more harm caused. Artificial sugar has also been identified as a major cause of hyper active behavior of individuals by various researches, alongside the fact that the excessive consumption of the same for a youth would lead to loss of intelligence which is at a growing pace and rhythm during the initial phases of their high school and colleges (Soffritti). Carrying on from the point where we mentioned that there would be enhanced need of natural sugar for the body, it is also to be noted that such a lacking would lead to increased requirement and demand for calories and energetic food, because the current intake (i.e. the diet drink) is not providing the body with the required calories that it has to burn during the day. Subsequently, there is increased appetite of calorie rich food, and this intake would definitely put on more weight and mass (Soffritti). Therefore, switching from a normal drink to a diet one may cause a loss of weight or may even react otherwise. A human body has requirement for various forms of hydro carbons and beverages are a critical resources for entertaining a major part of this demand. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends no more than 8 teaspoons per day of added sugar based on 2,000 calories per day diet.  Thats 32 grams of sugar, and about 6% of your total calories for the day. When it does not fulfill this said demand, then the body requirement for natural sugar increases subsequently causing a fluctuation in blood sugar, which can be dangerous and cause reaction to heart, brain and/or body (Posch). Hypoglycemia is the medical term for a state produced by a lower than normal level of blood glucose. The term literally means "under-sweet blood". Hypoglycemia can produce a variety of symptoms and effects but the principal problems arise from an inadequate supply of glucose as fuel to the brain, resulting in impairment of function. Effects can range from vaguely "feeling bad" to seizures, unconsciousness, and (rarely) permanent brain damage or death. Primary Research Analytics A primary research has been conducted amongst 50 individual consumers who were randomly interviewed outside the Safeway supermarket by myself; 36 consumers drinking coke (regular, diet or otherwise), and 22 of them said diet drinks (coke or any others) are their first choice. Various open ended questions were asked, and their responses are summarized in this section. Following the arguments presented previously and the awareness of the same that the media has created, many consumers along with the critics have also started calling diet coke as poison. According to the survey, almost all of the respondents stated that they do consume diet drinks, in particular when hanging around with friends to illustrate their cautious attitude towards healthy in-take. Additionally, respondents also suggested that they consume diet coke for depicting a healthy lifestyle. This leads to two major conclusions about the consumption of diet coke, for example illustrating a healthy life style and for status quo. When responding to the preference about diet drinks, majority of the respondents suggested that their most liked diet drinks are white drinks having diet version. According to the outcome of the survey that has been conducted for this essay, individuals stated that diet coke is quite addictive in nature, and since during its consumption, a consumer feels that he/she is drinking very light liquid; thus, the consumption elongates to over a few liters very easily. The consumers critically identified that one of the major utilities of diet coke is for staying awake in parties and during exam timings. Another utility is the aspirations that people get as they see others drinking diet coke – presenting a lifestyle that how conscious they are for maintaining their body structure and shape, and weight conscious. This was a much more positive aspect of diet coke. However, consumers did identify a number of negativities as well. For example, many consumers stated that they have noticed an increase in their appetite, particularly related to the sugary items. Many stated that unintentionally, their consumption of diet coke increased their desire for sweets and chocolates – leading to the conclusion, and strengthening the argument that the consumption of diet coke leads to an increased demand of natural sugar. Consumers said they prefer white diet drinks, such as sprite zero, diet 7-up, etc. over black diet drinks, such as diet coke and diet Pepsi. Respondents may identify that the diet coke may not have affected their health in terms of the “diet” meaning but also suggested that the fact of life-style is very important in gatherings today. Why Diet Coke still sells? The gurus of marketing and brand suggest that all major brands needed just the first start and then the brand moves on to develop its own demand within its customer base; if something starts selling, it keeps selling, provided certain conditions are met – mainly consistency in what is being delivered. Things have pretty much been the same for Coke. Coke has had the consumer base of billions across the world; not many individuals see coke and Pepsi being interchangeable deal. Today, Coke presents a lifestyle to individuals, and people associate certain characteristics with the drinkers of Coke. These characteristics are what really drive the sales of Coke towards skies all the time. And this “need for association” of individuals is what acts as a major barrier to entry when any competitors tries jumping into the carbonated soft drinks set up to compete against the world giants, Coke and Pepsi. Often assumed as an alternate for Pepsi, Coke has its own loyal customers who prefer it over any other drink. In accordance with the survey findings as presented in the previous section, excess caffeine is what drives the sales of diet coke along with the conceptual thinking of a casual customer that this drink is meant to keep the diet in balance, not keeping the consideration of the down-side that has been presented in the previous sections. However, there are smart customers who drink diet coke when the consumption of caffeine is needed. Diet coke, today, mainly sells to consumers who are not very much aware of the critical consequences associated with the consumption. Researches and researchers quote them as “native” customers who have a level of trust and confidence on the bigger brands, for example the commitment made of producing a diet drink would be delivered, unaware of the actually delivery being consequent (Ordoñez). Other than these native customers, there are brand loyal individuals, who seek the consumption of coke wherever they go. The positive stance of coke is really for the consumption for purposes other than for “dieting”. However, the firm has been recognizing as a socially responsible one, primarily because coke was criticized for its ingredients, it was swift to switch to other alternatives. The concept of diet drinks attracts masses globally, also with the increasing cautious efforts to retain health, though individuals to not recognize the fact that switching from natural to artificial can be harmful to a greater degree. Coke, at the same time, despite having changed its formula, has never accepted such claims since their ingredients are generally tried and tested ones, assumed to be safe through thorough laboratory testing. But at the same time individual researches cannot be denied. Conclusion On a general note, it can be implied here the fact that for dieting purposes, the overall diet should be controlled on a daily basis rather than moving from natural to artificial sources of natural ingredients. The critical factor, as identified by authentic researches is the fact that there is no short cut towards an appropriate diet; maintaining a balanced diet is what is needed to keep weight and shape under check and balance. However, at the same time, this does not imply that individuals should retain their eating habits. On a definite note, it is critical to keep excess sugar consumption within control but that can be done by means of reduced consumption of sugar rather than switching to substitutes which are effectively more harmful as described during the course of this essay. Subsequently, it can be concluded that diet coke is definitely harmful for an individual consumer, and the arguments supporting this statement are also clearly elaborated and defined in various sections of this essay. Works Cited "The Diet Coke Story." The Coca-Cola Company. Web. 13 Apr. 2010. . "Diet Coke Sweetened With Splenda." The Coca-Cola Company (2005). 7 Feb. 2005. Web. 13 Apr. 2010. . Hickman, Martin. "Caution: Some Soft Drinks May Seriously Harm Your Health." The Independent (2007). 27 May 2007. Web. 13 Apr. 2010. . Nielsen, Aileen. Personal interview. 26 Mar. 2010. Ordoñez, Franco. "Suit Alleges Deceit in Fountain Diet Cola Drinks." Boston Globe. 3 Mar. 2005. Web. 13 Apr. 2010. . Posch, Linda. "Food Additives, Hyperactivity & Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)." Leif Grunseth (2008). 17 Oct. 2008. Web. 13 Apr. 2010. . Soffritti, Morando. "First Experimental Demonstration of the Multipotential Carcinogenic Effects of Aspartame Administered in the Feed to Sprague." Environmental Health Perspectives 114.3 (2006): 379-85. Print. Vries, Lloyd De. "Study Links Aspartame To Cancer." CBS News Health (2005): 1-2. 28 July 2005. Web. 13 Apr. 2010. . Read More