Sugar Content In Coca-Cola Products: The US Vs Other Countries

A Frightening Truth

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Have you ever tried a Coca-Cola product from a different country? If you have, you may have noticed that they have a very different taste than what you’re probably used to. They may taste more like real sugar, or more like chemicals, depending on what side of the ocean you’re from. Why is it that the tastes vary, despite them being from the same umbrella company?

Today, I visited my local Indian Market in search of some snacks. While browsing, I came across some Coca-Cola products from India, and I decided to try one because I’m all for trying new things. The soda I picked up was called Thumbs Up (pictured above). When it came to tasting this new soda, it was much like the familiar Coca-Cola or Pepsi, however, there was a distinct difference in the flavor; it was less sweet and tasted more like cardamon. Enough with the professionalism though, that sh*t was good! Keep in mind that I’m not much of a soda drinker. Well, naturally I check the back of the can to see how much liquid diabetes I’m drinking. To my surprise, this Coke product had NO high fructose corn syrup or regular corn syrup, unlike its North American counterpart. Furthermore, it had less sugar than North American Coca-Cola. For some context, Thumbs Up has 33 grams (8 tsp) of sugar, North American Coca-Cola has 39 (9.4 tsp) grams of sugar. Just take a look at the back of your Coke can and see for yourself. So, the question is…what goes on here?

In case some of you don’t know what high fructose corn syrup and regular corn syrup are, they are syrups that are made from cornstarch, which consists of dextrose, maltose, and dextrins. According to Healthline (2019),

High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is about 55% fructose, a type of sugar. It takes your body more steps to break down fructose compared to glucose. High amounts of this sugar can lead to serious health issues.

To get into specifics, High fructose corn syrup, and corn syrup can lead to the following:

1. Too much fructose in one's diet.
2. Increase one’s risk of fatty liver disease.
3. Increase chances of Diabetes.
4. Increase one’s risk of serious diseases, such as various…