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Drink to Your Health? Nutrition Experts Scrutinize Diet Coke Plus Claims

December 24, 2008 3:30 PM

By DAN CHILDS, ABC News Medical Unit

While diet sodas have long been touted as a less unhealthy alternative to their full-calorie counterparts, they have never been passed off as nutritious.

But now, soft drink giant Coca-Cola’s new marketing push for Diet Coke Plus may be an effort to stake a sweet claim in the health food realm.

The labeling of the no-calorie soft drink, which contains niacin, vitamins B6 and B12, zinc and magnesium, has already raised the ire of the Food and Drug Administration, specifically for the use of the word “Plus.”

“Based on our review, we have concluded that this product is in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act,” reads a letter from the FDA to Coca-Cola. “Your Diet Coke Plus product is misbranded ... because the product makes a nutrient content claim but does not meet the criteria to make the claim.”

Neither do nutrition experts appear to be buying into what they say appears to be an effort to slap a healthy label on a beverage of questionable nutritive value. Here’s what Dr. David Katz, director and co-founder of the Yale Prevention Research Center, had to say in an e-mail to the ABC News Medical Unit:

“To the extent of my familiarity with the FDA regulations, I believe that Coca-Cola is 'technically' correct: they have stated their product contains added vitamins and minerals, and indeed, it does. And I'm not sure FDA regulations extend to the use of 'plus' in a product name, without any specific health claim.”

But Katz adds that the move by Coca-Cola may reveal an unfortunate marketing trend:

“What makes this interesting is that FDA is invoking regulations that may or may not directly fit this scenario to address what is clearly a concerning trend: nutrient-fortified everything. I fully agree with the FDA's position on this. ... Adding some nutrients to an otherwise questionable food -- and soda is VERY questionable food -- does not change its basic character.”

Alice Lichtenstein, senior scientist and director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at Tufts University, adds in her own e-mail that consumers may do best to get their nutrients the old-fashioned way -- through the foods that naturally contain them.

“With the exception of unusual circumstances, we are best served if we get nutrients from foods, not supplements, even if the supplements are dissolved in a beverage. Foods have fiber, phytonutrients and other compounds that are associated with decreased risk of chronic diseases. The supplements, regardless of form (pill or beverage), do not contain these compounds.”

December 24, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (19)

Do Winter Babies Really Have Less Fun?

December 24, 2008 11:00 AM

By JOANNA SCHAFFHAUSEN, ABC News Medical Unit

As every good astrologer knows, people love to find hidden meaning in their birth dates. In my immediate family, there are five of us born under the sign of Aquarius, between late January and early February.  This makes us all winter babies, which is bad news according to a report today in USA Today.

The story reads in part: “A large body of research suggests that, on average, winter babies grow up to be less educated, less intelligent, less healthy and lower paid than people born in the spring, summer or fall.”  But it’s all mom’s fault, new research says.  A study from two University of Notre Dame researchers says that winter babies’ lack of success can be blamed on the increased odds that their mother will be poor and uneducated.

There is no question that children of parents with limited education and lower economic status have a host of disadvantages.  They typically do not receive the best health care, nutrition or schooling.  The new research can’t answer the next question, which is why poor and uneducated women would be more likely to give birth in the winter months.  We’ll have to wait to see if that result is confirmed through other studies.

But does the medical literature show such dire results for winter babies?  The answer is no, not really.  There are indeed studies linking a winter birth date with poorer health or lower intelligence, but other studies find just the opposite.

For example, a study tracking more than 12,000 children in Scotland found that late winter babies born in February scored among the highest on intelligence tests.  Fall babies had the lowest scores in this this report.

A Danish researcher named Gabriele Doblhammer has repeatedly demonstrated that late fall and early winter babies live longer than spring or summer babies, though debate continues as to why this might be.

Another study finds women born in the summer months tend to have fewer children. And research from Harvard on more than 22,000 children found those born in the winter months were generally taller, heavier and had superior mental abilities to those born in the summer months.

So which group of studies is right?  The unfortunate truth about scientific research is that all the studies may be correct, meaning there is no ultimate truth to be found.  Results likely depend on the people in the study, the questions asked and the way that researchers interpret the results.

But one truth is certain from all the research: The birth month does not determine the outcome for any one baby.  There will be summer babies who succeed and those who do not; winter babies who live to a ripe old age and those who die too soon.

Trying to determine a child’s future from his or her birth date is like reading the horoscope to find out the day’s events ahead of time.  The information can’t possibly be true for everyone with the same birth month, or it’s so vague it could apply to the entire human population.  Today my horoscope says I may have overstepped my bounds and need to apologize.  Perhaps I should make amends to my husband for leaving Christmas wrapping all over our living room… except his birthday is just four days before mine, so it’s his horoscope too.

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December 24, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (10)