I know people make fun of la croix having no flavor but it and other seltzer waters obviously taste like something! As an active seltzer lover, with new brands and flavors coming out all the time now, some of these are objectively quite flavorful and sweet. Yet, they have 0 calories, 0 sweeteners or sugar, only “natural flavors.” Do they really have 0 of everything or is it just such a small amount that they call it 0?
eli5 what natural flavoring means and how it can taste so strong with no sugar or anything so I can enjoy my seltzer without mental turmoil. Thank you!
In: Chemistry
Calories listed on food items are calories that are usable by the body. Take water for example, water has 0 calories but they still have bonded oxygen and hydrogen molecules. So there must be energy there. But the body doesn’t break down those molecules hence 0 calories.
So certain things like the sweetener may contain calories but not to humans because we cannot process or absorb them. Or we can absorb them but they have very little calorific value. In some drinks, where sugar isn’t used, a protein called aspartame is used. This is much sweeter than sugar and has a much lower calorific value since proteins broken down to amino acids and processed by our body only give us about 4 or less calories per gram. *and there’s less than a gram in these drinks*
The FDA also counts anything that has less than 5 calories to be 0 calories.
As for natural flavours, I don’t know. Maybe it is just fruit extract or something?
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