New Pepsi Refresher Fights Off the Extra Pounds

Suntory Holdings Limited (i.e. Pepsi's partner in Japan) is now marketing a new type of refresher, named “Pepsi Special,” which supposedly helps people gain control of their appetites and lose weight.

As they put, this might just be the world's first “healthy soda,” meaning that it can help individuals improve on their general wellbeing by making sure both their blood pressure and their blood cholesterol do not spike or drop.

In case anyone was wondering, the Pepsi Special helps people lose weight due to the fact that it is highly rich in dextrin, which is basically a dietary fiber already found in most fiber supplements.

Although people should get their daily dose of dextrin from fruits and vegetables, it seems that making it dissolve in water and then ingesting it in the form of soda it also beneficial.

More precisely, Suntory Holdings Limited claims that its presence in the refresher they are now marketing helps an individual better regulate his/her digestive system.

As a result of this, both the risk of developing high cholesterol levels, and the risk of suffering from various heart diseases are considerably reduced.

Still, there are some who claim that consumers should probably take the idea of a healthy soda with a grain of salt.

Thus, Time quotes Lilian Cheung, presently employed as editorial director of Nutrition Source, the Harvard School of Public Health's nutrition website, who made a case of how, “Studies of humans ingesting dextrin suggest short-term risks including stomach pain, gas, and bloating,” and that, “The long-term risks have not been studied.”

“Adding a fiber to a drink made from caffeine, caramel coloring, phosphoric acid, sugar, and high fructose corn syrup doesn’t make it healthy,” dietitian Alissa Rumsey from the New York Presbyterian Hospital went on to add.

Interestingly enough, the Japanese government agreed to label this drink as “FOSHU,” which stands for “Food for Specified Health Uses.”