Wrigley, the stalwart chewing gum manufacturer, is stirring up some controversy with its new Alert Energy Gum. The “energy” comes in the form of caffeine, and each piece of gum has the equivalent of half a cup of coffee. Wrigley … Continue reading
Coke Covers Your PM Hours with New Caffeine Free Coke Zero
The Coca Cola Company is planning a new product to fill in a consumption opportunity not already handled by the hundreds of beverages currently available to thirsty consumers. According to a company press release: Day Or Night, New Caffeine Free … Continue reading
Should You Be Drinking Water with Karma Added?
This is a guest blog post by Carol Harvey, Director of food/nutrition labeling and product development at Palate Works. One of the latest concepts in “enhanced hydration” is to “deploy” supplements into bottled water at the time of consumption, rather than let … Continue reading
Dangerous Trend? Caffeine Laced Snacks
Western civilization has been feeding its caffeine addiction for centuries. But what started out as coffee several times a day, is threatening to become a deluge of caffeinated food thrust upon us by eager food manufacturers. Smart marketers have sniffed … Continue reading
The Real Problem with 5 Hour and other Energy Drinks
Much has been written in the last few days about the FDA’s investigation of 5 Hour Energy‘s responsibility for 13 deaths in the last few years. Supposedly, something in the drinks caused serious side effects that led to hospitalizations and … Continue reading
Why is Bitter Food Healthy?
Less than 8% of the calories we consume are from bitter foods. But perhaps we need to increase that percentage. It turns out that the bitter taste is an expression of the antioxidants that are so healthy for us: flavonoids in … Continue reading
Cold Brew Your Tea
With summer just around the corner, proper daily hydration is becoming more important. We are big fans of chilled tap water, as readers of this blog already know. For people who want to add flavor to their H 2 O … Continue reading
Coke and Monster – A Match Made in Sugar (and Caffeine) Heaven
Will the Coca Cola Company buy Monster Energy in the largest beverage industry acquisition ever? The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that a deal, valued at over $10 billion dollars, was in the works. That’s a lot of money to … Continue reading
How Caffeinated are You?
Here’s an interesting factoid: It takes our body close to 8 hours to metabolize a single cup of coffee. A cup of coffee can contain 65-175mg of caffeine. The benchmark is 100mg, and the current recommendation is to drink up … Continue reading
10 Nutrition Label Improvements the FDA MUST Implement
The FDA is planning a minor facelift to the 20 year old nutrition label. When nutrition labels were introduced into the market, the food industry battled vehemently against them, while the government and health organizations explained that providing detailed information … Continue reading