Coca Cola Plus: Coke with Functional Health Benefits
Over the last several years, since the green tea PET bottle Iyemon Tokucha was introduced in 2013 by Suntory, beverages with functional health benefits have come out one after another in Japan.
Those products include Sunroy Kuro Oolong Tea and what I introduce here Coca Cola Plus.
Coca Cola Plus
As with Suntory’s Iyemon Tokucha Green Tea and Black Oolong Tea, the Coke released by Coca Cola Japan in 2017,
Coca Cola Plus has been designated by the Japanese government as “Tokuho (トクホ)” or “Food for Specified Health Uses (FOSHU)”.
Benefits
Coke is associated with an unhealthy drink. It contains lots of sugar and caffeine and is said to rot teeth.
But in addition to having no calories, the Tokuho beverage Coca-Cola Plus has a beneficial physiological effect.
The Japanese Coke contains 5 grams of water-soluble dietary fiber “indigestible dextrin” per bottle (470 ml).
It suppresses the fat absorption from the meal and moderates the increase of neutral fat in the blood after eating.
By the way, according to the nutrition facts label, the beverage contains 45 mg of caffeine per bottle.
Dosage
If you want to see its benefits, you need to drink one bottle (470 ml) daily during a meal.
Taste
Coca Cola Plus is a zero-calorie drink with a sweet taste characteristic of sweetener, like Coca Cola Zero.
But the beverage is easy to drink and tastes pretty good. It is less acidic than regular Coke.
Price/Where to Buy
Coca Cola Plus is available at supermarkets and drugstores around the country.
The beverage is priced at 170 yen or so (about 1.6 USD) and can also be bought from vending machines scattered around the city.
