Probiotic Drinks More Sugar-laden Than Coca-Cola

The Times Online reports that some probiotic consumer drinks contain far more sugar than a bottle of Coca-Cola. I had no idea of this, and I doubt many people do.

The Times article notes a possible reason: A spokeswoman for Yakult said: “The purpose of Yakult and Yakult Light is to deliver very high numbers of probiotic bacteria. These are by nature very acidic and without added sweetness the products would be unpalatable."

I say "possible reason" because processed-food manufacturers are filling nearly every food product up with sugar, sugar substitutes, salt and sometimes all three. Sweeteners are often disguised under a variety of names (leave a comment with your favorite sugar pseudonym). As much as I like them, just because probiotic drinks have good bacteria doesn't mean they're not also pumped full of sugar to get us to drink more.