Diet & Fitness

Soda makers have long taken it on the chin for making sugary drinks that have no redeeming health value. That hasn't stopped us from having a Coke and smile, but hey. Now they are trying their hands at a "health" beverage. A drink that burns calories? Enviga, as it's called (Get it!? Like invigorate, but with an "e."), will launch in November.

eDiets Chief Nutritionist Susan Burke isn't buying it, in more ways than one. This is what she has to say:

The claim is if you drink this potion, you'll burn more calories, and be more energetic, and thinner. No doubt, you'll be poorer too. Well, if you don't drink it, but put the money you save by not buying it in an interest-bearing account; and instead drink water, and take a brisk 20-minute walk, you'll burn more calories, be more energetic, your heart will be stronger, your cells will be more insulin-sensitive, you'll be thinner...and you'll be richer. Which is a better beverage?

Coke and Nestle's newest soft drink will not, in itself make you a better, healthier person. Besides a jolt of caffeine and green tea extracts, it will have food additives, flavorings and possibly a good dose of artificial sweeteners and phosphorus. Sigh... I have a rule about packaged foods. I read the labels from back to front. The claims on the front of the boxes, bottles and cans don't fool me, because I always read the nutrition facts first.

If the first ingredient is water, which is what bottled beverages usually are (except 100 percent fruit or vegetable juices) then you're buying water, with a few extra ingredients for good measure. If you're paying $1.29 plus tax for a 12-ounce can of this stuff, and the press release says that three cans daily are what's recommended for the calorie-burning effect, then you better anticipate paying about $1,350 per year to lose about six pounds. And, for the beverage to work, you also need to follow a appropriately balanced diet. And you need to exercise.

Hmmm... if you do that, you don't have to buy the beverage, and you'll lose weight anyway! Now, that's a good return on your investment.

View more: Diet & Fitness