Author: Johnny Bell
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Erythritol: What It Is, the Heart Study, and How Much Is Too Much
Erythritol is the sugar alcohol behind most keto sweets and stevia blends. It doesn’t raise blood sugar and it’s easier on the stomach than its cousins. Since 2023 it has also carried a question about…
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Stevia Side Effects: What’s Real, What’s Rare, and What’s Actually the Erythritol
Stevia side effects are fewer than the internet suggests. The common ones are a bitter aftertaste and bloating that usually traces to the erythritol stevia is blended with. Purified stevia doesn’t raise blood sugar and…
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Citric Acid in Soda: What It Is, Why It’s There, and Whether It’s Bad for You
Citric acid in soda is the tart ingredient on almost every non-cola label. It’s made by fermenting sugar with a mold, not squeezed from lemons, and it’s one of the best-studied additives there is. The…
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Natural Flavors Meaning: What the Label Is Allowed to Hide
The natural flavors meaning on a food label is a legal definition, not a promise. It says the flavor chemicals started in a plant or animal source. It doesn’t say which one, how many compounds…
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Sodas Without Phosphoric Acid: The Full List, and What They Use Instead
Phosphoric acid is the cola acid: it’s in Coke, Pepsi, Dr Pepper, and every diet and zero version of them. Sprite, 7 Up, Fanta, Sunkist, Mountain Dew, root beer, and ginger ale use citric acid…
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Sucralose-Free Energy Drinks: The Short List, and What Sweetens Them Instead
Sucralose is in almost every energy drink, including two you might not expect: the sugared Monster original and the current Red Bull Sugarfree. The cans that skip it are a short list, and each one…
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Fruit by the Foot Ingredients: What’s in the Roll (2026)
Fruit by the Foot dropped synthetic dyes for spirulina and juice, and the box says so on the front. The ingredient list still starts with sugar, and the fruit is pear puree in fourth place.…
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Gushers Ingredients: What’s in the Pouch (2026)
Gushers are corn syrup, sugar, and a little pear puree, with four synthetic dyes in the Tropical pouch and Red 40 in the Strawberry. Every ingredient explained from the box we photographed, what the “gush”…
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AriZona Green Tea Ingredients: What’s in the 99¢ Can (2026)
AriZona Green Tea with Ginseng and Honey lists high fructose corn syrup before the honey on its name, and a 22 oz can carries 42 g of added sugar. Here’s every ingredient from the can…
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Lay’s Ingredients: Three Ingredients, Explained (2026)
Last reviewed: November 2026. Reflects the U.S. Lay’s Classic label (2½ oz bag, ©2025 Frito-Lay North America), photographed November 2026. Flavored Lay’s have longer ingredient lists and are not covered here. Lay’s Classic has the…