The alcohol-free replica of the Cuban cocktail contains astronomical amounts of sugar and could ease the transition to alcohol consumption.
It’s the fashionable “mocktail” in these summer times. The mojito, a famous cocktail of Cuban origin, has had its alcohol-free version for some time and we can, at first sight, rejoice in it: cooling off without getting drunk, this is one of the most virtuous behaviors. A little mint, sparkling water, lime… and sugar. Lots and lots of sugar.
That’s the problem. On social networks, defenders of the health cause are moved by the appearance, on the shelves of supermarkets, of these ultra-sweet drinks which are adorned with virtues that they do not have. Far from an acceptable beverage for the body, the alcohol-free Mojito as produced by manufacturers turns out to be a time bomb for the liver.
Explosion of sugars
And for good reason: that of the Carrefour brand, to name a few, contains 27 grams of sugar per 200 ml glass… While the World Health Organization recommends not to exceed 25 grams per day, as pointed out on Twitter Stéphane Besançon, director of the NGO Santé Diabète. In the end, this Mojito turns out to be even sweeter than a glass of Coca Cola (21 grams)… You have to do it!
New #drink sold in #France which contains 27g of sugar per glass – as a reminder of the recommendations of @WHO are at 25g per day! Shame! pic.twitter.com/p5q0m8f7jK
— Besançon Stéphane (@StephBesancon) July 31, 2017
While diabetes and NASH, or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, are gaining ground in France, the presence of these drinks poses a problem. The product pinned by the NGO also made the deputy Olivier Véran (LREM), General Rapporteur of the Social Affairs Commission, wince.
It is time to act to make these manufacturers responsible. Diabetes kills 35,000 people a year in France, the cost to social security reaches 15 billion. https://t.co/hboitPNq74
— Olivier Veran (@olivierveran) July 31, 2017
Initiation
Especially since the target targeted by the marketing departments of distribution chains are non-drinkers… overrepresented among the youngest, children and pre-adolescents. This is also one of the criticisms made, this time, by addictologists. How to train the palate of future alcohol consumers who are still unaware of themselves? By familiarizing their innocent taste buds and their ingenuous spirit with these flavors.
In fact, from the non-alcoholic Mojito to the traditional cocktail, there is only one step that consumers will be all the more ready to take when they have been trained to drink ersatz of these nectars. So… let’s have a drink, kids?
Especially since the strategy is to make a bridge for the alcohol mojito! @olivierveran https://t.co/8rgR3zIb19
— Federation Addiction (@FedeAddiction) July 31, 2017
.
