Diet Soda Essay

968 Words4 Pages

Nowadays, there’s a trend that more and more people suffer from diabetes and obesity due to amount of sugars and calories consumed, appreciate slim figures, and consequently, seek ways to keep a diet. The word Diet can be seen everywhere - twitters on the phone, posters at next corner of the street, food and drinks in local stores. But the word Diet itself– originally meaning a way of living or thinking, for only two hundred years has been transferred and restrained to a narrow modern conception: a way of not eating to excess. What is worse is that people simply link with the idea of weight loss and no calories, instead of healthy meals, consisting of protein, vegetables and fruits.

The most obvious example is the scenario that to avoid …show more content…

But why Diet soda still exists? Actually, the first Diet Soda was called Non-Cal, invented by a Jewish immigrant Hyman Kirsch in Brooklyn, New York. He just wanted to invent a sugar-free beverage but with sweet treat for diabetic patients at the Jewish Sanitarium. Instead of saccharin, they used a new sugar substitute – cyclamate calcium and marketed among diabetic patients who are aware of sanitarium’s supposed cancer causing agent and salt taste. No-Cal, of course meaning “no calories,” was born. Later, instead of just medical supply store, they began to expand soda market the soda to women conscious of slim and beautiful figures. “Time to Switch to No-Cal. Absolutely Non-Fattening.” Then the name Diet Rite targeted to women identities first came to public, later starting a new market for weight loss and global revolution in carbonated drinks. It is the first time that “Diet” was given a weight-loss meaning.

Now it can be seen that the misconception of Diet soda originated from artfully commercial advertising. The soda companies successfully discovered a potential market for the obesity and women, and deliberately transformed the idea of non-calories to non-fat. But with the development of Globalization and informalization, the harm effects of artificial sweetener should already be found and widely informed. Why the misconception that Diet soda can avoid calories still