Pepsi or Coke? You’ve probably been asked this question at one point in your life. Pepsi is one of the most popular sodas in the United States and has had a large following since its original launch in 1983. Many people these days are starting to follow a vegan diet and are wondering how Pepsi fits into their new dietary requirements, which leads us to the question: is Pepsi vegan?
Yes, Pepsi is vegan. The main ingredients are carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, caffeine, and other additives. Pepsi does not contain animal-based ingredients and is suitable for vegans. Still, Pepsi is far from healthy. If you are looking for healthier alternatives, Olipop Classic Cola and Zevia Cherry Cola are great vegan soda alternatives for Pepsi.
Pepsi is a popular drink around the globe, but is it nutritious? Why is soda-drinking considered to be unhealthy? How do the alternatives measure up? Let’s find out!
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Is Pepsi Bad for You?
Outside of weight gain, there are many reasons why sugar-sweetened sodas such as Pepsi negatively impact your health. For one, high volumes of sugar are turned into fat by your liver.
Glucose and fructose are the building blocks of both high fructose corn syrup and table sugar, and fructose can only be metabolized by your liver. When you consume high amounts of fructose, your liver is overloaded and turns the excess sugar into fat. Over time, this can lead to fatty liver disease.
Sugary soda can also lead to insulin resistance over time. The hormone insulin is responsible from moving glucose from the bloodstream to the cells. When your cells lose their sensitivity to the effects of insulin, your pancreas must produce even more insulin and your insulin levels spike.
Over time, this leads to both metabolic syndrome and diabetes. In fact, the leading cause of developing Type 2 Diabetes is high intake of artificial sugar, and many studies directly link sugary sodas with developing diabetes. For every 1 can of soda, the risk of Type 2 Diabetes is increased by 1.1%.
In addition to this, soda contains no vitamins, minerals, or fiber. It is quite literally empty calories with no health benefits.
Pepsi and Weight Gain
The biggest downside to sodas such as Pepsi is the added sugar. This added sugar is strongly linked to weight gain because the sugar does not stimulate fullness in the same way that whole foods do. Because you do not feel full after consuming sugar beverages, they generally just add on to your daily caloric intake and can quickly lead to a calorie surplus and consequential weight gain.
In a recent study, those who drank sugary sodas consumed about 1.2 times the number of daily calories as those who did not drink sugary sodas. Children who consumed sugar-sweetened beverages were also 60% more likely to be obese.
Sugar-sweetened drinks are considered to be one of the most fattening additions to modern diets. Sugary sodas are linked to an increase in belly fat specifically, which can increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease.
Is Pepsi Addictive?
In short, yes, there are indicators that sugary soda is addictive. When rats were given sugar, there was an increase of dopamine in their brains which gave a pleasant feeling.
Binging on sugary foods and drinks, such as sodas, may have a similar effect on people and lead to our brains craving the substances that gave us the dopamine increase.
Multiple studies have compared sugar to hard drugs and claimed that the addiction and withdrawal patterns of our brains are very similar between the two. To avoid this, it’s best to drink soda in moderation and make sure that it is not the primary beverage you consume.
Is Pepsi Bad for Your Teeth?
Yes, sugar-sweetened sodas are bad for your teeth. Soda contains acids such as phosphoric and carbonic acid, both of which an acidic environment in your mouth and lead to the wearing down of the enamel on your teeth.
When you enamel is worn down, your teeth will be sensitive and much more vulnerable to infection and cavities. When the acid in sodas is combined with sugar, as bad bacteria feed on the sugars in your mouth while the acids leave the teeth vulnerable.
Over time, this combination can lead to costly, and difficult to reverse, dental damage.
Is Diet Pepsi Healthier than Regular Pepsi?
Diet Pepsi is slightly healthier than regular soda because of the reduced sugar content. However, the two drinks contain much of the same ingredients.
The lower sugar and calorie count can help to reduce weight gain, but many of the other negative health effects of drinking soda remain the same. Artificial sugar may even increase appetite and increase the chances of diabetes more than regular sugar.
Artificial sweeteners, like the ones found in diet sodas, have been linked to sugar cravings and increased risk of heart disease. The full extent of the effects and correlations is unknown, but it is better to err on the cautious side.
Make sure that your main drink of choice is water, and soda or diet soda is reserved as a special treat.
Pepsi Nutrition
Original Pepsi and Diet Pepsi are the two most commonly consumed types of Pepsi. In fact, Pepsi is consumed 1 billion times per day worldwide! Despite being wildly popular, the nutrition information is not as widely known. When you consume one can, here’s what you can expect:
Pepsi
Nutrition Facts (Per 1 Can, 12 fl. oz.):
- Calories: 150
- Fat: 0 gram (0% DV)
- Carbs: 41 grams (14% DV)
- Fiber: 0 grams (0% DV)
- Sugar: 41 grams
- Protein: 0 grams
- Sodium: 30 mg (1% DV)
Ingredients:
- Carbonated water
- High fructose corn syrup
- Caramel color
- Sugar
- Phosphoric acid
- Caffeine
- Citric acid
- Natural flavor
Diet Pepsi
For those looking for a lower sugar and calorie option, Diet Pepsi provides the following nutrition:
Nutrition Facts (Per 1 Can, 12 fl. oz.):
- Calories: 0
- Fat: 0 gram (0% DV)
- Carbs: 0 grams (0% DV)
- Fiber: 0 grams (0% DV)
- Sugar: 0 grams
- Protein: 0 grams
- Sodium: 35 mg (2% DV)
Ingredients:
- Carbonated water
- Caramel color
- Aspartame
- Phosphoric acid
- Potassium benzoate (preserve freshness)
- Caffeine
- Citric acid
- Natural flavor
- Acesulfame potassium
Pepsi Zero Sugar
Nutrition Facts (Per 1 can, 12 fluid ounces):
- Calories: 0
- Fat: 0 gram (0% DV)
- Carbs: 0 grams (0% DV)
- Fiber: 0 grams (0% DV)
- Sugar: 0 grams
- Protein: 0 grams
- Sodium: 40 mg (2% DV)
Ingredients:
- Carbonated water
- Caramel color
- Phosphoric acid
- Aspartame
- Potassium benzoate
- Caffeine
- Natural Flavor
- Acesulfame potassium
- Citric acid
- Panax ginseng root extract
- Calcium disodium edta
Pepsi Wild Cherry
Nutrition Facts (Per 1 can, 12 fluid ounces):
- Calories: 160
- Fat: 0 gram (0% DV)
- Carbs: 42 grams (0% DV)
- Fiber: 0 grams (0% DV)
- Sugar: 42 grams
- Protein: 0 grams
- Sodium: 30 mg (1% DV)
Ingredients:
- Carbonated water
- High fructose corn syrup
- Caramel color
- Sugar
- Phosphoric acid
- Natural Flavor
- Caffeine
- Citric acid
Pepsi Diet Wild Cherry
Nutrition Facts (Per 1 can, 12 fluid ounces):
- Calories: 0
- Fat: 0 gram (0% DV)
- Carbs: 0 grams (0% DV)
- Fiber: 0 grams (0% DV)
- Sugar: 0 grams
- Protein: 0 grams
- Sodium: 35 mg (1% DV)
Ingredients:
- Carbonated water
- Caramel color
- Phosphoric acid
- Natural Flavor
- Aspartame
- Potassium benzoate
- Potassium citrate
- Citric acid
- Caffeine
- Acesulfame potassium
- Calcium disodium edta
Pepsi Caffeine Free
Nutrition Facts (Per 1 can, 12 fluid ounces):
- Calories: 150
- Fat: 0 gram (0% DV)
- Carbs: 41 grams (13.67% DV)
- Fiber: 0 grams (0% DV)
- Sugar: 41 grams
- Protein: 0 grams
- Sodium: 30 mg (1.25% DV)
Ingredients:
- Carbonated water
- High fructose corn syrup
- Caramel color
- Sugar
- Phosphoric acid
- Citric acid
- Natural flavor
Healthier Alternatives to Pepsi
If you are not ready to give up your daily soda, there are healthier options available to reduce sugar intake and even provide your body with healthy nutrients.
Olipop Classic Cola Nutrition
Olipop is a great alternative soda brand. They aim to produce the same great flavors of traditional soda, but with the added benefit of plant fiber, botanicals, and prebiotics. Olipop conducts gut health research worldwide and is dedicated to providing products that improve rather than harm your health.
his helps to provide the body with gut and digestion supporting nutrients. The natural caffeine content even comes from green tea!
For the most similar produce to Pepsi, try the Classic Cola. It has hints of vanilla and is raved about by reviewers.
Nutrition Facts (Per 1 can, 12 fl. oz.):
- Calories: 35
- Fat: 0 gram (0% DV)
- Carbs: 16 grams (4% DV)
- Fiber: 0 grams (0% DV)
- Sugar: 2 grams
- Fiber: 9 grams (32% DV)
- Protein: 0 grams
- Sodium: 25 mg (1% DV)
Ingredients:
- Carbonated water
- OLISMART (Cassava root fiber, chicory root inulin, Jerusalem artichoke inulin, Nopal cactus*, calendula flower*, kudzu root*, marshmallow root*, slippery elm bark*)
- Cassava root syrup
- Apple juice concentrate
- Lime juice
- Organic natural cola flavor
- Alpha galangal root*
- Stevia leaf*
- Himalayan pink salt
- Green tea caffeine*
- Natural vanilla flavor*
- Natural caramel flavor*
- Cinnamon*
*Extract
Zevia Cherry Cola Nutrition
For a cherry-flavored alternative, try Zevia Cherry Cola. This drink contains zero sugar, zero calories, is naturally sweetened, plant-based ingredients, and no caramel color. Zevia pledges to bring the delicious taste of cherry cola with none of the harmful ingredients.
Nutrition Facts (Per 1 can, 12 fl. oz.):
- Calories: 0
- Fat: 0 gram (0% DV)
- Carbs: 0 grams (0% DV)
- Fiber: 0 grams (0% DV)
- Sugar: 0 grams
- Fiber: 0 grams (0% DV)
- Protein: 0 grams
- Sodium: 0 mg (0% DV)
Ingredients:
- Carbonated water
- Stevia leaf extract
- Natural flavors
- Citric acid
- Tartaric acid
- Caffeine
Related Questions
Is Pepsi a Coca-Cola product?
No, Pepsi is manufactured by Pepsi Co.
Is Pepsi gluten-free?
Yes, Pepsi is considered to be gluten-free.