Expert: Paul Wagner - 12/5/2006

Question
Hi, my teacher asked me to get an interview for my science fair, and she said that this was ok. She told me to ask the question and you give me your answer. Ok heres the question: Of these three soft drinks: diet cola, caffeine free cola, and regular cola, which has the least amount of sugars and salts?
   Thanks Cierra :)  

Answer
Hi Cierra:

Thanks for the note, with the question.  OK.  Here are my thoughts.  Regular Colas have a lot of sugar--Coca Cola says 27 grams per 8 oz. serving--but nobody drinks 8 ounces of Coca Cola. A full can is 12 ounces--and that would give you over 40 grams.  

And regular cola also has a lot of salt--33 mgs per 8 ounces/50mg for a full can.  Caffeine-free Coke has the same figures for both of those--although I would have guessed it was just a bit higher for the caffein free.

Diet Coke has slightly less sodium ( salt ) than regular Coke, at 28 mgs per 8 ounces.  But it has higher levels of potassium: 12 mg vs. 0.  Add those two together, and Diet Coke is higher than regular or caffeine free.  And it also has higher levels of caffeine than regular Coke!  Instead of 23mg, it has 28!  

Now Diet Coke has 0 carbohydrates, which are the simply sugars.  But instead it has 125 mg of Aspartame--while regular Coke has none. I will leave it to you to do the research on Aspartame, but it is something I can taste in food, and I don't like the taste, or what it is supposed to do to my body. I avoid every chance I get!

If you want the whole scoop, check out this page on the Coca Cola website:  http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/mail/goodanswer/soft_drink_nutrition.pdf

I have to admit that I don't drink sodas at all, so I might not be the best person for this project.  But I wish you well with it!

Paul Wagner