Dietitian’s Comments on Nutritional Quality

‘Mother’, ‘Coca-Cola,’ and ‘Diet Coke’ are not suitable
for children because they contain caffeine.
Each can (250ml) of ‘Mother’ contain about five
teaspoons of sugar, and a can (375ml) of ‘Coca-Cola’
or ‘Fanta’ contains about nine teaspoons of sugar.
Although ‘Fanta’ is promoted as a fruit drink, it only has
5% fruit content.
While there is no sugar in ‘Diet Coke’, it does contain
artificial sweeteners and should not be consumed
in large amounts. Diet soft drinks do not contribute
energy to the diet, but regular soft drinks provide
only ‘empty kilojoules’ and should not be consumed
by children. The acidity and/or sugar content of
the soft drinks could be damaging to teeth. It is of
concern that these products may displace healthier
drinks such as water (which contains fluoride) and
milk (which contains calcium).