Sweet-Tasting Proteins Could Be the Cure for Your Diet Soda Habit

As most of us are aware, sodas are unhealthy even though they taste good. Drinking one or more sugar-filled drinks a day increases the risk of weight gain and type 2 diabetes by 26% compared to non-drinkers. And for good reason — despite mounting concern about the true health risks of diet soda, food firms sold over $11 billion worth of the beverage to Americans in 2020 alone.

The criticism of sugar-free sodas is becoming more and more vocal. The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a warning in May about using artificial sweeteners to aid in weight loss. Even worse, the organization discovered that prolonged use of non-sugar sweeteners may genuinely raise the risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and premature death. Instead, the WHO advised people to make an effort to cut back on their sugar consumption in general.

It’s difficult to say no when a vibrant can of deliciously bubbly soda is staring you in the face. Respect be given to people who just eat oranges, quinoa, and water — what is a person with a true sweet craving to do?

Smearing a sweet protein called brazzein into iced tea mixes, Oobli, a startup in Davis, California, is one of several businesses offering sweet protein replacements as an alternative to sugary and non-sugar sweeteners. Brazzein, which is 500–5,000 times sweeter than sugar, was first discovered in the vivid red or speckled gray berries of the oubli fruit tree, a rare type of shrub that grows in Central and West Africa. Since it doesn’t include any carbohydrates, it doesn’t cause any metabolic issues.

However, in order for an iced tea that costs $15 for a 6-pack to become popular, the business will need to persuade both customers and nutritionists that brazzein won’t end up being just another fad sweetener that fails to live up to expectations. The corporation will need to persuade customers that the brazzein was produced in a lab through fermentation with the help of genetically modified yeast, for reasons related to both economy and ecology. Furthermore, obtaining FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approval that it is safe is a challenge. (The business partnered with outside labs to release a peer-reviewed study proving the sweet protein is safe, a conclusion supported by an outside panel of experts that cleared the product for sale in the United the states. However, a few stores refuse to stock the product until the FDA sends a letter endorsing these findings.)

The typical American consumes about 60 pounds of added sugar a year, almost half of it from beverages.

75 percent of American customers today deliberately seek to cut back on sugar, according to Ali Wing, CEO of Oobli, which changed its name from Joywell Foods to Oobli late last year when it started selling its first product, a chocolate bar sweetened with brazzein. “They have been attempting to create 50 distinct types of sugar for the past 20 years, but the results have not been promising. Every six weeks, they receive an update on a different sugar substitute that might not be as healthy as previously believed. Customers lack confidence.

But the company’s goals go far beyond chocolate. Sugar-filled drinks are viewed by Oobli as the most attractive niche market to pursue. Almost half of the 60 pounds of added sugar that the average American consumes annually comes from beverages. According to Jason Ryder, the company’s chief technology officer and an adjunct professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, “it’s our sugar-delivery mechanism of choice.”

Drinks are the “800-pound gorilla” of the issue, according to Wing. And with good reason — so many people started drinking sugar-free tea or diet Coke in the first place.