Sugar and artificial sweeteners

• High fructose corn syrup — the sweetener in nearly every sugared drink; how it compares to sugar, and why the dose matters more than the name
• Aspartame — the Diet Coke sweetener: the ADI, the PKU warning, and what the 2023 WHO classification actually meant
• Sucralose — in most “zero” sports and energy drinks; the gut-bacteria and appetite research since 2022
• Acesulfame potassium (Ace-K) — the sweetener that’s always paired with another one and rarely on the front of the can

Caramel color and the FD&C dyes

• Caramel color — why cola is brown, the four classes, and the 4-MEI warning California almost required
• Red 40 — the most-used dye in American food: is it banned, what it does to kids, and the 2026–2028 phase-out timeline
• Synthetic food dyes — all nine FD&C colors in one place: Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, the banned Red 3, and what’s replacing them

Preservatives and acidulants

• Phosphoric acid — the cola acid: what it does to enamel, and the bone and kidney research at heavy intake
• Sodium benzoate — the preservative in diet sodas and fruit drinks, and the one chemistry quirk (benzene) worth knowing about

Stimulants and the ingredients sold alongside them

• Taurine — not a stimulant, not from bulls, and probably the safest thing in the can; what it does, how much is in each drink, and the 2023 longevity study

Head-to-head

• Is Celsius healthier than Monster? — yes against the green can, a near-tie against Zero Sugar: 0 g sugar vs. 54 g, 200 vs. 160 mg caffeine, and sucralose in both
• Coke Zero vs. Diet Coke — one sweetener vs. three, 46 vs. 34 mg caffeine, and an otherwise identical can; why it’s a tie
• Pepsi vs. Coke — the same six ingredients plus Pepsi’s sugar and citric acid: 41 g vs. 39 g of sugar, 38 vs. 34 mg caffeine, and a tie on health

Quick questions

• Does Sprite have caffeine? — no, and neither does Sprite Zero Sugar; what’s in the can instead, and the citrus sodas that do have caffeine

Lists: drinks and snacks without…

• Energy drinks without taurine — Bang, Reign, Zevia Energy, and coffee skip it; Red Bull, Monster, Celsius, Ghost, and Alani Nu don’t; what the taurine-free cans use instead

Sodas

• Coca-Cola — six ingredients, 39 g of sugar, and the cane-sugar version that changed the taste and nothing else
• Diet Coke — aspartame alone, more caffeine than regular Coke, and what the 2023 WHO review actually said
• Coke Zero Sugar — three sweeteners (aspartame, Ace-K, and a trace of stevia), built to taste like the original; how it differs from Diet Coke
• Pepsi — Coke’s label with a second sugar and citric acid; 41 g, and two zero-sugar colas with different sweeteners
• Pepsi Zero Sugar — Coke Zero’s formula under a Pepsi flavor, and 38 mg of caffeine, not 69
• Diet Pepsi — aspartame and Ace-K, 35 mg of caffeine, and the aspartame PepsiCo removed in 2015 and brought back
• Dr Pepper — a cola’s label plus a preservative, the same 39 g as Coke, and 23 flavors nobody outside the company can name
• Dr Pepper Zero Sugar — Diet Dr Pepper plus Ace-K: the same 41 mg of caffeine, phosphoric acid, and 60 mg of sodium
• Mountain Dew — the most sugar, the most caffeine, Yellow 5, and a trace of real orange juice; the BVO is gone
• Sprite — clear isn’t clean: no caffeine, no color, and still 38 g of corn syrup
• Sprite Zero Sugar — seven ingredients: two sweeteners, two potassium salts, no caffeine, no color, no phosphoric acid
• 7 Up — six ingredients, no benzoate, and no lithium since 1948
• Fanta Orange — more sugar than Coke, two dyes with a warning label in Europe, and zero orange
• Sunkist — Fanta’s label with 3 g less sugar and 19 mg of caffeine the front of the box doesn’t mention
• Poppi — a good low-sugar soda with 3 g of fiber, an $8.9M settlement over the gut claim, and a quiet reformulation under PepsiCo
• Olipop — the prebiotic soda whose fiber claim holds up: 6 or 9 g depending on the can, 4 g of sugar, and no caramel color in the colas

Sports and hydration drinks

• Sports drinks compared — all six side by side: the sodium number that sorts them, and which half fail it
• Gatorade — 34 g of sugar and 270 mg of sodium: a well-built exercise drink that most people drink at a desk, with Yellow 5 still on the bottle
• Gatorade Zero — the same electrolytes with sucralose and Ace-K instead of sugar
• Powerade — electrolytes on the front, corn syrup and Blue 1 on the back
• Prime Hydration — 700 mg potassium, 10 mg sodium: backwards for sweat, plus two sweeteners nobody mentions
• BodyArmor — the cleanest label in the cooler and the wrong electrolyte: “780 mg electrolytes,” 680 of them potassium and 25 sodium
• Liquid I.V. — 560 mg of sodium in a stick: essentially Pedialyte with cane sugar, and the one that works — when you actually need it
• Vitaminwater — 27 g of crystalline fructose, surplus vitamins, “electrolytes” with 0 mg of sodium, and the lawsuit where Coca-Cola said no one would think it was healthy

Energy, coffee, and tea drinks

• Energy drinks compared — six cans on one table: caffeine, sugar, sweetener, and which is “healthiest”
• Red Bull — 80 mg caffeine, 27 g sugar, 1,000 mg taurine; the smallest dose of the big names and the only one without artificial sweeteners
• Red Bull Sugarfree — the original minus 27 g of sugar, plus sucralose and Ace-K; same 80 mg of caffeine, 5 calories
• Monster Energy — 24 ingredients, two that matter, and sucralose hiding in the sugared original; 120, 160, or 240 mg depending on the can
• Celsius — 200 mg caffeine, the shortest label in the category, and a “thermogenic” claim worth examining
• Bang — 300 mg of caffeine, zero sugar, and the “Super Creatine” a jury found wasn’t creatine
• Ghost — 200 mg in a Sour Patch Kids can, with every dose printed on the label
• Alani Nu — Celsius in a pink can: 200 mg, two sweeteners, and the most-asked pregnancy question answered
• Starbucks bottled Frappuccino — five real ingredients, nothing artificial, 46 g of sugar, and caffeine the label doesn’t print
• AriZona Green Tea — high fructose corn syrup before the honey, 42 g of added sugar in a 22 oz can, and about 20 mg of caffeine

Chips and crackers

• Doritos — real cheese, MSG that’s safe, potassium salt, and three dyes still in the regular bag; the dye-free version is a separate line
• Flamin’ Hot Cheetos — a cheese puff in a hot coat: 210 mg of sodium, dyes still in the regular bag, and the red dust that started the school bans
• Cheetos — real cheddar (behind the whey), MSG by name, one dye instead of Flamin’ Hot’s three, and 200 mg of sodium in 21 pieces
• Takis — 420 mg of sodium an ounce, TBHQ, and the pediatric stomach complaints explained
• Lay’s Classic — potatoes, oil, and salt: 140 mg of sodium per 15 chips, the least of any chip we’ve covered, and 10 g of fat
• Pringles — a potato dough, not a sliced potato: four starches, 150 mg of sodium, and less salt than Goldfish or Doritos per ounce
• Goldfish — real cheddar, no dyes, no sugar, and 250 mg of sodium in 55 crackers: saltier than a serving of Doritos
• Cheez-It — skim-milk cheese, a TBHQ-preserved oil blend, and 200 mg of sodium: less salt than Goldfish, one more additive

Candy, cookies, and fruit snacks

• Skittles — five dyes, two sugars, zero fruit, and the “Skittles ban” that never happened
• M&M’s — real milk chocolate under a shell of five dyes in ten forms, 53 g of added sugar in a theater box that advertises 140 calories, and a dye-free version that’s online only
• Starburst — sugar, corn syrup, and hydrogenated palm kernel oil, with gelatin that makes the U.S. version non-vegetarian and four dyes in the store bag
• Chips Ahoy! — corn syrup before sugar, fudge chips made with hydrogenated oil, and 11 g of added sugar in two chewy cookies
• Oreo — sugar, palm oil, and Dutch cocoa, with no dairy in the cream and 13 g of added sugar in three cookies
• Nerds Gummy Clusters — 70% sugar by weight, gelatin, carmine, and four synthetic dyes on the old bags; the new bags say colors from real sources
• Sour Patch Kids — three sugars, no gelatin, an acid coating that’s rough on teeth, and four dyes Mondelez hasn’t set a date to remove
• Gushers — corn syrup first, four dyes in the Tropical pouch, and 10 g of added sugar; General Mills says the dyes go by the end of 2027
• Fruit by the Foot — dye-free colors from spirulina and juice, but sugar is the first ingredient and pear puree the fourth
• Welch’s Fruit Snacks — fruit puree first, but 8 of the 10 grams of sugar are added, and the box itself says it’s not a replacement for fruit

Cereal and breakfast

• Froot Loops — 12 g of added sugar and four synthetic dyes, with a dye-free recipe shipping by the end of 2026
• Cap’n Crunch — 16 g of added sugar a cup, 290 mg of sodium, two yellow dyes, and BHT in the cereal itself
• Cinnamon Toast Crunch — whole wheat first, no dyes, three sugars to reach 12 g a cup, and BHT still on the list
• Lucky Charms — the dyes are gone, the marshmallows now get their color from carmine and spirulina, and 12 g of every cup is added sugar
• Pop-Tarts — four kinds of sugar before the fruit, 30 g of added sugar in one foil pack, TBHQ, and three dyes still in the sprinkles

Meat snacks and lunch kits

• Slim Jim — beef, pork, and mechanically separated chicken, cured with nitrite: 450 mg of sodium a stick, not gluten-free, and no dyes at all
• Chomps — grass-fed beef with no sugar, soy, or filler, cured with celery powder that does what sodium nitrite does; 170 mg of sodium in a half-ounce mini stick
• Jack Link’s Beef Jerky — 10 g of protein and 1.5 g of fat an ounce, but sugar is ingredient three, 520 mg of sodium, and two front-label claims with asterisks
• Lunchables — a cured turkey tray, a cheese “product” that isn’t legally cheese, a Capri Sun, and a Reese’s: 530 mg of sodium and 17 g of added sugar in one Fun Pack

Snacks are the section growing fastest — the Food page has a ten-second guide to reading any snack label, and you can request a product.