Fizzy drink that avoids new sugar tax – but still has SIX teaspoons of the stuff 

The much-heralded sugar tax has been launched finally in a bid to tackle childhood obesity.

It means any drink containing more than 5g sugar per 100ml will come with an 18p-per-litre tax, while those with more than 8g sugar per 100ml now have a 24p-per-litre tax slapped on them.

So a can of Coca-Cola Classic — which contains around nine teaspoons of sugar — now costs up to 8p more, and a can of 7Up — containing nearly six teaspoons of sugar — costs around 6p more.

Will the sugar tax work? Many soft drinks still have added flavourings, acids, colours and preservatives, while, bizarrely, some aren’t even any lower in sugar

But many fizzy drinks are unaffected by the new levy as their manufacturers have instead reformulated their products.

Irn Bru and Dr Pepper have ditched their original recipes for less sugary ones, while Tesco, Asda and Morrisons no longer sell any own-brand soft drinks that would be subject to the tax.

However, just because a drink has escaped the fee, it would be unwise to assume it is a ‘healthy’ choice. Many still have added flavourings, acids, colours and preservatives, while, bizarrely, some aren’t even any lower in sugar. 

That’s because soft drinks that take their sugar from fruit juices aren’t being taxed, even though this type of sugar still counts as the damaging added or ‘free’ type, along with other sweeteners such as honey and plain old white table sugar.

It’s recommended our intake of this type of sugar should be limited to 30g, or around seven-and-a-half teaspoons, per day for adults and 24g (six teaspoons) daily for seven to ten-year-olds.

Excess free sugars — which is different from sugar contained naturally in, say, milk or whole fruit — contribute to dental decay and weight gain.

Here, registered dietitian Helen Bond assesses a range of drinks that are exempt from the sugar tax, which we’ve then given an overall score out of ten.

APPLETISER 

Good option? This popular drink is technically one of your five-a-day

Good option? This popular drink is technically one of your five-a-day

Six 250ml cans, £3.25, ocado.com. Per 100ml: Calories, 47; sugar, 10.5g.

Ingredients: Carbonated apple juice from concentrate.

Verdict: As this is 100 per cent carbonated juice it is exempt from the tax, but a 250ml can has six-and-a-half teaspoons of sugar — 87 per cent of an adult’s daily limit of free sugars. In the fruit the sugars are bound in fibrous structures, but juicing releases them as the more damaging free type. 

It’s not a terrible choice — it’s one of your five-a-day — but it’s as sugary as cola and, unlike orange juice, isn’t high in vitamin C, potassium and folate.

UGLY FLAVOURED WATER 

Good call: This has no sugars or sweeteners, plus  no added colours or preservatives

Good call: This has no sugars or sweeteners, plus no added colours or preservatives

Six 330ml cans, £3, tesco.com. Per 100ml: Calories, 0; sugar, 0g.

Ingredients: Sparkling water, natural strawberry, blueberry and blackberry flavours, citric acid.

Verdict: This has all the punch of a normal fizzy drink, but as it contains no added sugars or sweeteners, there is no sweetness. There are also no added colours or preservatives.

Although it scores well health-wise, the taste takes some getting used to. And, like most fizzy drinks, it contains citric acid to add a tangy flavour — which can erode tooth enamel. You should ideally drink acidic beverages with food, to limit the teeth’s exposure.

INNOCENT BUBBLES 

Exempt: The sugar tax doesn’t apply to this because it’s sweetened with real fruit juice

Exempt: The sugar tax doesn’t apply to this because it’s sweetened with real fruit juice

330ml, £1.45, most supermarkets.

Per 100ml: Calories, 27; sugar, 5.4g.

Ingredients: Spring water, apple juice, grape juice, lemon juice, lime juice.

Verdict: The sugar tax doesn’t apply to this drink because it’s sweetened with real fruit juice. But a can still has 18g (four-and-a-half teaspoons) or 60 per cent of an adult’s daily free sugar limit. Once it’s absorbed, the body won’t differentiate between the sugar in this and the sugar in cola. 

However, the juice supplies one of your five-a-day, and the citrus fruits provide much of your daily vitamin C requirement, as well as some folate, which can help reduce fatigue.

BOTTLEGREEN 

Sweet: This lacks artificial sweeteners, so could wean you off really sweet tastes

Sweet: This lacks artificial sweeteners, so could wean you off really sweet tastes

750ml, £2.79, waitrose.com. Per 100ml: Calories, 20; sugar, 4.8g.

Ingredients: Carbonated water, orange juice from concentrate, sugar, fructose, citric acid, natural flavourings (including bergamot), aronia juice concentrate, safflower extract, blood orange extract.

Verdict: Sneaking in at just under the 5g-per-100ml threshold, a 250ml glass of this still contains three teaspoons of free sugar — from juice and added sugar — or 40 per cent of the adult daily limit, so it’s not a healthy option. But it doesn’t have additional sweeteners, so could wean you off really sweet tastes. 

An occasional glass with a meal would be OK. 

GREEN COLA 

Worth the effort? There are no health benefits compared with normal diet cola

Worth the effort? There are no health benefits compared with normal diet cola

330ml, 70p, ocado.com. Per 100ml: Calories, 0.6; sugar, 0g.

Ingredients: Carbonated water, colour (caramel E150d), tartaric acid, malic acid, sucralose, steviol glycosides, natural flavouring, natural caffeine.

Verdict: This contains stevia, a naturally sourced sweetener, teamed with sucralose and caffeine from green coffee beans. There are no health benefits compared with normal diet cola, but as this does not contain aspartame (the sweetener in many diet drinks) it would be preferable for people with the genetic condition PKU who cannot process phenylalanine, a component of aspartame.

APPLE TANGO 

Healther: Much of Tango’s sweetness comes from aspartame and acesulfame K

Healther: Much of Tango’s sweetness comes from aspartame and acesulfame K

Six 330ml cans, £3, most supermarkets. Per 100ml: Calories, 10; sugar, 2.1g.

Ingredients: Carbonated water, apple juice from concentrate, sugar, natural apple flavouring, malic acid, sodium citrate, acesulfame K, aspartame, natural colour (plain caramel), potassium sorbate, ascorbic acid.

Verdict: This isn’t too sugary, as much of the drink’s sweetness comes from the sweeteners aspartame and acesulfame K, as well as a little concentrated apple juice. In a 330ml can there is less than two teaspoons of free sugar — not quite a quarter of an adult’s recommended limit.

IRN-BRU 

Less is more: This drink now has less than half the sugar content of before

Less is more: This drink now has less than half the sugar content of before

Eight 330ml cans, £3.70, most supermarkets. Per 100ml: Calories, 20; sugar, 4.7g.

Ingredients: Carbonated water, sugar, citric acid, flavourings (including caffeine), aspartame, acesulfame K, preservative (E211), colours (sunset yellow, ponceau 4R).

Verdict: A reformulation means this drink now has less than half the sugar content of before, but a can still has more than 50 per cent of an adult’s daily limit of free sugar. The colouring has been linked with hyperactivity, while the drink contains 30mg caffeine — about a third of a mug of coffee — so I wouldn’t give it to children, or caffeine-sensitive adults, before bed.

NIX & KIX 

Thirsty work: Even the modest sugar content adds up to two-and-a-half teaspoons per can

Thirsty work: Even the modest sugar content adds up to two-and-a-half teaspoons per can

250ml, £1.25, ocado.com. Per 100ml: Calories, 18; sugars, 3.9g.

Ingredients: Sparkling water, fruit juices from concentrate, garden mint and other natural flavourings, cayenne and serenade chilli extracts. 

Verdict: This is mildly sweet with the sugar coming from juice, which is 31 per cent of this drink. It’s free from citric acid, but the lime juice is still acidic, so it’s by no means tooth-friendly. Even the modest sugar content adds up to nearly two-and-a-half teaspoons per can. But overall, this would be my pick.

It contains more calories and sugars than the Ugly Triple Berry, but the juices add flavour and nutrition.

LILT

Lilt: This contains 15g free sugar — half the adult limit — per can

Lilt: This contains 15g free sugar — half the adult limit — per can

Six 330ml cans, £3.50, sainsburys.co.uk. Per 100ml: Calories, 20; sugar, 4.6g.

Ingredients: Carbonated water, fruit juices, sugar, citric acid, ascorbic acid, acesulfame K, aspartame, sodium saccharin, potassium sorbate, flavourings, stabilisers, colour (carotenes).

Verdict: This contains 15g free sugar — half the adult limit — per can, so it won’t educate taste buds into appreciating less sweet tastes, which is what we should try to do. And it’s laced with additives. Rules around food chemicals are strict, but trying to consume as few as possible is good.

BLACKCURRANT & CHERRY WATER BY SAINSBURY’S 

1 l, 45p, sainsburys.co.uk. Per 100ml: Calories, 2; sugar, less than 0.5g.

Ingredients: Carbonated spring water, apple juice, malic acid, flavouring, potassium sorbate, sucralose.

Verdict: This contains sucralose, which is produced from sugar but is 600 times sweeter. It does not raise blood sugar levels as most of it travels through the body without being absorbed.

The drink has no colourings, which can trick you into thinking it is just as pure as water. But remember it’s only another diet soft drink and, though waistline-friendly, it can still deliver an acid attack to your teeth.

 

 

 



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