The “healthy“ coke

In Japan, you can find "healthy" versions of Pepsi and Coke in supermarkets and convenience stores. In this post I want to have a look at how healthy these kinds of drinks really are and whether the higher price here in Japan is reasonable. I will use Pepsi Special Zero as an example.

What is different?

A Pepsi Special Zero bottle contains 5g of indigestible dextrin, which is a fibre. Besides that the ingredient list is quite close to the original Pepsi Zero - the special uses a slightly different combination of artificial sweeteners and the amount of some ingredients seems to differ as they appear in different places in the list.

What is Dextrin?

Dextrin is a fibre that has shown an effect on sugar absorption and fat absorption when taken with a meal.  This helps to keep your blood sugar level and the level of triglycerides in the blood at bay.

Price Difference

In my local supermarket in Japan a regular, 600ml bottle of Pepsi Zero costs 68 yen whereas the Pepsi Special 500ml bottle costs 108 yen. Dextrin is available in powder form for below 2 yen per gram on Amazon Japan.

I assume Pepsi buys larger amounts and can even get a price of below 1 yen per gram. They managed to double the price with a minimal cost increase. Quite remarkable.

Is the special Pepsi healthy?

You could say that it is healthier than a regular Pepsi because fibre is good and has proven positive effects. Nevertheless, you should not forget about all the other ingredients in the drink that are not considered very healthy. So, adding fibre to not so healthy drinks does not make them healthy.

Is it worth it?

Definitely not. I do not see why you would have to pay so much more for just 5 grams of dextrin. If you want more fibre in your drink, buying the powder and adding it yourself is definitely the cheaper option. Also, when you look at studies that researched the long-term effect of dextrin participants would take 9grams per day. I think we can agree that drinking two bottles of Pepsi Zero Special per day would not be very good for your health.

You can also find green teas with added fibre in Japanese supermarkets. In that case drinking two bottles per day should not be an issue but these teas also tend to be very overpriced. So, you would still be better off just adding the powder yourself. Also, you could consider eating more veggies to increase your fibre intake. Veggies not only contain fibre but also vitamins and minerals and most people probably do not eat enough of them.