Sierra Missed Natural lemon-lime

February 28, 2012 |

Sierra Mist Natural lemon-lime soda looks like an attempt to lurk you into buying 0.5 L of water sweetened with 62 g of sugar under the pretension of something bigger than that. Trying to convince you the manufacturer, PepsiCo, throws redundant statements at you: No artificial ingredients; lemon-lime and other natural flavors; 100% natural flavors; caffeine free; made with real sugar.

But the key statement is hidden on the back: contains no juice. What you actually taste are synthetic flavor chemicals which are identical to their naturally occurred originals and this is what allows the food industry to call them “natural.” This is not too dirty trick because most of the natural flavors that are synthesized at chemical plants are not dangerous for your health but the truth is: natural lemon and lime are missed in the Sierra Mist.

Sierra Mist Natural: Risk and Nutrition

Sierra Mist Natural: Risk and Nutrition

It is certainly excellent that you don’t see red segments in the DyeDiet risk diagram (no toxic food additives) so your chemical risk DDFI = 0/5 = 0 but what is trumpeted as natural, natural and natural doesn’t bring you much nutritional use: DDNF = 5/10 = 0.5 only. This is because citric acid, its potassium salt and citric flavor are poor nutrients. So all that’s left for you to enjoy is the “real” sugar. Have ever you seen an “unreal” one? Perhaps they wait for your reward for not adding HFCS. Note, they don’t mention that the water is real!

Bottom line. While Sierra Mist Natural lemon-lime soda is not dangerous from the chemical viewpoint, what represents the right move away from its toxic original formula and therefore is now safe in moderation, the way they market it is what I call the “fruit fraud.” They put fruity pictures and names and miss the very essence of the content: fruits. So do not be fooled. Why to stupidly pay $1.58 for two glasses of the watered sugar if you can make a gallon of truly real nutritious lemonade at home? You decide.

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Category: Soft drinks

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