Humans, nowadays are feeding their children with junk foods and beverages and they are still wondering why so many children are obese and diabetic. Speaking of common sense, nearly all mammals have the common sense to feed their children their own mother's milk. But humans think otherwise.
Carbonated drinks, as we are aware, are a mixture of carbonated water and other ingredients like flavors. Soft drink is a drink that does not contain alcohol. Soft drinks are often carbonated and commonly consumed while cold. The most common soft drinks are colas, flavored water, sparkling water, iced water, sweet tea, lemonade, squash and fruit punch.
Many of these flavoured drinks contain ingredients that can become an addiction. It is well known that sugar can be addictive; it is well known that caffeine is addictive and it is not only cola drinks that contain caffeine - these days there are many so-called ‘soft- drinks' that contain caffeine and are listed under the genre of ‘energy drinks'.
For example, the largest segment of the soft drink industry is the colas which the ingredients include sugar, artificial sweetener, caffeine, theobromine, carbon dioxide, preservatives and etc. Among them, caffeine and theobromine are the ingredients we should aware of.
What is caffeine?
Caffeine is a bitter, white crystalline xanthine alkaloid that is a psychoactive stimulant drug and one of the world's most widely used drugs. Pharmacologically, caffeine is one of a group of stimulants called methylxanthine, or xanthine, that occur naturally in some plants. Beverages made from the nuts, seeds or leaves of these plants are major sources of natural caffeine, such as coffee, made from the Coffea arabica plant; soft drinks, like Coca Cola, made from Kola nuts; and tea made from the leaves of Thea sinensis. Cocoa, used to make chocolate, contains caffeine as well as theobromine, another xanthine.
Caffeine is also used as a food additive regulated by the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Food and beverage manufacturers are legally required to list caffeine on their products' label only when caffeine has been added. Caffeine naturally present in other ingredients used in the production process need not be on the label. People who wish to avoid caffeine need to be aware of such natural, plant sources when making food choices.
How much caffeine is in soft drinks?
SOFT DRINK (12-oz. serving) CAFFEINE CONTENT (mg)
Jolt................................................72.0
Sugar-Free Mr. Pibb.......................58.8
Mountain Dew...............................54.0
Mello Yello....................................52.8
TAB...............................................46.8
Coca-Cola......................................45.6
Diet Coke......................................45.6
Shasta Cola...................................4D4.4
Shasta Cherry Cola........................44.4
Shasta Diet Cola............................44.4
Shasta Diet Cherry Cola.................44.4
Mr. PIBB........................................40.8
Dr. Pepper....................................39.6
Big Red.........................................38.4
Sugar-Free Dr. Pepper...................39.6
Pepsi-Cola....................................38.4
Aspen...........................................36.0
Diet Pepsi.....................................36.0
Pepsi Light....................................36.0
RC Cola.........................................36.0
Diet Rite.......................................36.0
Kick...............................................31.2
Canada Dry Jamaica Cola................30.0
Canada Dry Diet Cola.....................1.2
[Data obtained from the National Soft Drink Association]
Molecular formula C8H10N4O2 caffeine
What is theobromine?
Theobromine is a water insoluble, crystalline, bitter powder; the colour has been listed as either white or colourless. It has a similar, but lesser, effect to caffeine, making it a lesser homologue. Theobromine is an isomer of theophylline as well as paraxanthine. Theobromine is categorized as a dimethyl xanthine, which means it is a xanthine with two methyl groups.
The mean theobromine concentrations in cocoa and carob products are.
| Item | Mean theobromine content (mg/g) |
| Cocoa | 20.3 |
| Cocoa cereals | 0.695 |
| Chocolate bakery products | 1.47 |
| Chocolate toppings | 1.95 |
| Cocoa beverages | 2.66 |
| Chocolate ice creams | 0.621 |
| Chocolate milks | 0.226 |
| Carob products | 0-0.504 |
Theobromine has a similar effect as caffeine, but about 10 times weaker. Theobromine has diuretic, stimulant and relaxing effects. Theobromine can lower the blood pressure because it can to dilate blood vessels. Theobromine has stimulant properties, similar to caffeine. Unlike caffeine, theobromine does not affect the central nervous system. Theobromine can also relax bronchi muscles in the lungs and can be used as cough medicine. Studies indicate that theobromine acts on the vagus nerve, which runs from the lungs to the brain.
Molecular Formula C7H8N4O2 of theobromine
Soft drinks are available in glass bottles, aluminium cans and PET bottles for home consumption. According to Australian food standards, ingredients must be listed in descending order (by ingoing weight). This means that when the food/drink was manufactured, the first ingredient listed contributed the largest amount; and the last ingredient listed contributed the least amount, compared to the other ingredients.
So which is your favourite soft drink? Maybe you should consider drinking mineral water instead of carbonated drinks for good health.
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