The newest dieting gimmick

[mrc 0]

(1/04/07) - Across the country, visions of sugarplums are fast turning into dreams of svelte physiques.

Once they hoist themselves off the couch, they'll be greeted by a new beverage that promises to pave the path to flat abs and trim thighs: Enviga, the first drink to boast not low, not zero, but negative calories.

But if dieters think guzzling can after can of Enviga will allow them to nibble on leftover holiday cookies and skip the gym for one last session in front of the Yule log, they may be stuck in their 2006 bodies well into 2007. Doctors call Enviga little more than hype in a can and fuel for fantasies about weight loss.

Putting Marketing Ahead of Science

The makers of Enviga bill the sparkling, caffeinated green tea as an energy drink designed to promote a healthy lifestyle. According to tests conducted by Switzerland's University of Lausanne and Nestle, who manufacture the beverage along with Coca-Cola, drinking three 12-ounce cans of Enviga per day burns 50 to 100 calories.

Though it's only available in New York City and Philadelphia now, early this year, the drink will hit store shelves nationwide.

Enviga gets its calorie-burning power from the combination of caffeine and EGCG, an antioxidant naturally found in green tea. Though its makers stand by the drink's ability to burn calories, Nestle and Coca-Cola claim they're not marketing Enviga as a weight loss product.

"This product seems ideal for folks that are exercising regularly, have a balanced diet, and are taking care of themselves. This is one more step. It would be great if the product was inspirational, but it's not a weight loss product," Coca-Cola spokesman Ray Crockett said.

Though Enviga is not marketed specifically as a weight loss product, some doctors and consumer advocates say that looking at the ads, it's hard to think of anything else.

Bright, splashy pictures of the drink in its three incarnations -- green tea, peach and berry -- along with cryptic catch phrases like "less than nothing, better than anything" evoke the magic elixir from Alice in Wonderland.

But according to doctors, drinking the green tea concoction is unlikely to make anyone shrink in size. For that reason, earlier this month the Center for Science in the Public Interest announced it will sue Coca-Cola and Nestle if they persist with the current ad campaign for Enviga. "This is all marketing hype based on small measured increases in metabolism from green tea. When tested on patients, green tea does not produce measurable weight loss, probably because if it boosts your metabolism you eat more to compensate," said Dr. Darwin Deen of Albert Einstein College of Medicine's department of family medicine and community health.

Dr. David Katz, ABC News medical contributor and associate professor at Yale University's School of Public Health, said Enviga's calorie burning claims are based on insufficient research.

"It's putting marketing hype ahead of science," Katz said. "The science here is not ready for primetime. There is a hint in animal research and in very early studies that EGCG can boost metabolism a little bit, but we don't know if that contributes to weight control."

Some members of the medical community worry that the high amount of caffeine in Enviga -- 100 milligrams per serving, or 300 if drinkers consume the suggested three cans per day -- could increase metabolisms to dangerous levels.

"The caffeine intake [of] 300 milligrams per day is a level that can cause jitteriness&elevated heart rate, and anxiety," said Leslie Bonci, director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Bonci said that despite its shiny silver packaging, Enviga is no magic bullet.

"Everyone wants the magic bullet for weight loss, so this will be one of many products people will try in the quest for the quick fix," she said. "The issues are not just weight loss, but safe weight loss. Caffeine is not safe for everyone especially in larger quantities."

Put Down the Can and Lace Up the Sneakers

Doctors fear that Enviga encourages Americans to search for a quick fix for weight loss and ignore the time-honored solution -- eating right and sweating off the pounds with exercise.

"My concern is that when people latch onto this, they think they don't have to do the hard stuff," Katz said. "The fundamentals of healthful eating and activity do pertain to everybody."

Not only could Enviga lead dieters down the wrong path, the three-cans-per-day recommendation could also pan out to be an expensive weight loss venture.

"Given the fact that a pound is 3500 calories&at $1.30-$1.50 a can it is going to cost anywhere between $136-$315 to lose a pound," Bonci said. "You can put on a pair of walking shoes and burn more calories without paying a dime."

Rather than drinking Enviga, doctors might offer the following prescription for dieters: get off the couch, exercise, drink regular green tea afterwards -- science shows the beverage in its pure form is indeed healthful. Repeat and reap rewards in the New Year.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

I can get the same ingredients (caffeine and green tea) in XS Teaberry Blast which has been available since at least 2003.

So, IMO, it is a johnny-come-lately attempt at catch-up by Coke.

[Jenn! 918]

Yeah, right. Sounds like that rumor that celery is negative calories since it takes energy to chew and digest it. I'll stick to water, thank you.

[Robor007 0]

I must admit I drink Diet Coke but I sure don't expect it or any other 'miracle potion' to keep weight off. I also like Green Tea too but all the commercial bottle/cann stuff here in the US sucks. I had some great bottled Green Tea in Japan airport. Didn't even have sweetener of any kind. Just good green tea taste. Wish I could get that here.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

I must admit I drink Diet Coke but I sure don't expect it or any other 'miracle potion' to keep weight off. I also like Green Tea too but all the commercial bottle/cann stuff here in the US sucks. I had some great bottled Green Tea in Japan airport. Didn't even have sweetener of any kind. Just good green tea taste. Wish I could get that here.

You can ALMOST get that here--how about a CANNED green tea, non-carbonated without sugar (note: I didn't say "no sweetener", it DOES contain Ace-K), as I referenced in my earlier (and derogatory of Coke) post?

[Girona40 1]

I had to laugh when I read the claims that this drink "burns" 50-100 calories a day, if you drink THREE cans. Well, of course it does!

If you raise your arm to your mouth 10 times a can, complete the muscular action of swallowing, take into acount your body heating the drink to body temperature (presuming you drink it from the fridge) you are bound to burn at least 50-100 calories for three cans!

Are people that stupid they can't see that?

They would be better off drinking water!

Unfortunately, everyone is looking for a "quick fix" and at the end of the day there is nothing they can do but eat less calories than they burn, if they want to lose weight!

[mrc 0]

Yeah, right. Sounds like that rumor that celery is negative calories since it takes energy to chew and digest it. I'll stick to water, thank you.

Actually, this is true...plain celery does take more calories to digest than it contains. Also, celery contains enzymes that kill bad breath.

You also burn 5 calories for drinking a glass of ice water. Your body burns 5 calories just bringing the ice cold water up to your body temperature.

Edited January 5, 2007 by mrc

[Jenn! 918]

Yeah, right. Sounds like that rumor that celery is negative calories since it takes energy to chew and digest it. I'll stick to water, thank you.

Actually, this is true...plain celery does take more calories to digest than it contains. Also, celery contains enzymes that kill bad breath.

Wow, you're right!

http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/celery.asp

Now, where's my Enviga?

[Ladylethal 12]

Yeah, right. Sounds like that rumor that celery is negative calories since it takes energy to chew and digest it. I'll stick to water, thank you.

Actually, this is true...plain celery does take more calories to digest than it contains. Also, celery contains enzymes that kill bad breath.

You also burn 5 calories for drinking a glass of ice water. Your body burns 5 calories just bringing the ice cold water up to your body temperature.

That is also true with a hard boiled egg, that consumes more calories to be digested than it actually contains. Of course a diet of hard boiled eggs would clog your arteries with all the cholesterol.

[Jenn! 918]

Apparently WebMD disagrees with snopes...

"Member: Is there such a thing as "negative calories" (hard-boiled eggs, etc.), that require more calories to digest than are actually in the food itself?

Brownell: No. This is another diet myth among many which has been proposed over the years. It's true that foods like lettuce have few calories, but don't believe that eating certain foods leads to tangible weight loss because of this concept of negative calories. "

Oh well.

[Girona40 1]

Yeah, right. Sounds like that rumor that celery is negative calories since it takes energy to chew and digest it. I'll stick to water, thank you.

Actually, this is true...plain celery does take more calories to digest than it contains. Also, celery contains enzymes that kill bad breath.

You also burn 5 calories for drinking a glass of ice water. Your body burns 5 calories just bringing the ice cold water up to your body temperature.

That is also true with a hard boiled egg, that consumes more calories to be digested than it actually contains. Of course a diet of hard boiled eggs would clog your arteries with all the cholesterol.

Not to mention the amount of gas and constipation a diet of hard-boiled eggs would cause!

I wonder though, if you are full of gas, whether you actually lose "weight"? Hmmmmmmmm

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I must admit I drink Diet Coke but I sure don't expect it or any other 'miracle potion' to keep weight off. I also like Green Tea too but all the commercial bottle/cann stuff here in the US sucks. I had some great bottled Green Tea in Japan airport. Didn't even have sweetener of any kind. Just good green tea taste. Wish I could get that here.

You can ALMOST get that here--how about a CANNED green tea, non-carbonated without sugar (note: I didn't say "no sweetener", it DOES contain Ace-K), as I referenced in my earlier (and derogatory of Coke) post?

I love the canned and bottled, unsweetened teas, but at work I just brew my own.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Yeah, right. Sounds like that rumor that celery is negative calories since it takes energy to chew and digest it. I'll stick to water, thank you.

Actually, this is true...plain celery does take more calories to digest than it contains. Also, celery contains enzymes that kill bad breath.

You also burn 5 calories for drinking a glass of ice water. Your body burns 5 calories just bringing the ice cold water up to your body temperature.

The same is true of grapefruits - but if you eat enough of those you'll be pissing out of your #######.

Ever notice that celery also makes your urine smell?

[Jenn! 918]

Ever notice that celery also makes your urine smell?

Isn't that asparagus?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Ever notice that celery also makes your urine smell?

Isn't that asparagus?

Celery does it too - as does "sugar puffs" (a brand of UK breakfast cereal). You can buy it here too but its called something different.