Fat Blocking Pepsi Launched In Japan: Awesome or Stupid?

Fat blocking Pepsi Special. (Photo: Pepsi co.)

Pepsi?has release a "fat blocking" version of their flagship soda which they claim will help drinkers with weight loss. The fat blocking soda, called "Pepsi Special," is currently only available in Japan. If it works (and even if it doesn't), I'm sure the weight loss Pepsi would be a huge hit in the US for overweight Americans who refuse to give up sugary drinks.

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The first weight loss Pepsi?commercials in Japan even seem geared to Americans:

"Why choose between a hamburger and a slice of pizza? If you choose Pepsi Special, you can have both!"

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Fat blocking Pepsi Special?still has plenty of the caffein you love, but it's also full of "indigestible dextrin," a natural dietary fiber that dissolves in water and comes from potatoes. According to Pepsi, dextrin significantly slows down the body's ability to absorb fat, instead passing it through the body and treating it as waste. Translation: fat blocking Pepsi may help you love wieght, but you'll have to go to the bathroom more frequently.

Back in 2006, a Japanese study?confirmed that dextrin had the desired effect on rats. According to Forbes, the rats that were given dextrin gained less fat than the control group.

Yahoo?points to "dextrin's dubious weight-loss history" as a warning against the new fat blocking soda. American snack food companies made the same promise in the 1990s, adding olestra to potato chips and other snacks under the pretense that they would block fat absorption without getting between your and your nutrients. The American people were eager to try the fat blocking chips, but the results included "bloating, cramping, diarrhea, and frequently had loose bowel movements." Dextrin and olestra are believed to have the same effects.

Unfortunately (or more accurately, fortunately) for many Americans, the chances that the fat blocking Pepsi will be sold in the US any time soon are pretty slim. While the Japanese government may not care what their citizens drink, the US FDA has laws preventing any soda from being "fortified with nutrients," according to Today Show diet and nutrition editor Madelyn Fernstrom.

The real question, of course, is what the fat blocking Pepsi will taste like. After all, if it tastes bad o one's going to drink it regardless of how good it is for you. According to Pepsi, the new weight loss soda will feature a "crisp, refreshing, and unique" aftertaste.

We can't help but worry when we hear the word unique, especially considering that some people have already taken to calling the fat blocking soda "Pepsi Poop."

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Source: http://www.idesigntimes.com/articles/2238/20121114/fat-blocking-pepsi-weight-loss-soda-japan-dextrin.htm

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