nutrition diet

Nutrition Diet Drink: Enviga, Ephedra and Marketing a Calorie Burner

Visiting the local L.A. Fitness Center in the Atlanta are, you can’t help notice the sign for Enviga. What is it? It’s part of the fastest growing segment in the soft drink industry. Coke and all the carbonated beverages have lost significant market share to tea drinks. While Enviga has no ephedra, it is loaded with green tea and caffeine. Ephedra products are almost gone, but EGCG Green Tea drinks are every where.

Coca Cola and Nestle performed research involving 31 young men and women who ate a strictly controlled diet and drank the equivalent of three cans of Enviga each day for three days. Then on the third day researchers measured how many calories they had burned. The results showed that most of the research participants burned slightly more calories after drinking Enviga. Thus the company boldly puts “calorie burner” on the can’s label.

"The findings of the Enviga study are not based on sound science and are deceptive to consumers," David Schardt said. "This study was too short and the research was very preliminary and inconclusive. What happens after three days?" Schardt works for the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a nonprofit consumer group headed by lawyers in Washington. The group earns its keep by suing companies like Coke and Nestle for misleading consumers by making what it says are fraudulent claims.

One article suggested that the calorie-burning effect doesn't last beyond three days, he added. However, could it be that you should continue to drink Enviga in order to maintain the “calorie burning” effect.

Too bad a corporate giant couldn’t have gotten behind ephedra. Ephedra, consumed in 10 mg amounts as in the Metabadrine product, have never been shown to cause harm. While Enviga does not contain ephedra, both Metabadrine and Enviga contain Green Tea and Caffeine.

Enviga was launched nationwide on Feb. 5, 2007. "We have made it very clear that the drink is not a weight loss product. It is designed for adults who eat sensibly, have a healthy lifestyle and are conscious about their weight," said an Enviga spokesman, Ray Crockett.

Taste isn’t so important anymore. Just market a product as “healthy” and “nutritious” and you can overcome objectionable taste. One consumer reported that he almost “threw up” the first time he downed a can of Enviga.

Diet | Ephedra Products