Pepsi Special Helps You Lose Weight?

I am probably more of a Coca-Cola man than a Pepsi man, but I was intrigued by news that Pepsi has released a new soft drink in Japan called Pepsi Special.

Whoopee, I hear you say... but didn't you read the headline? Pepsi says that this drink will help the imbiber actually lose weight!

Whaaaaaaaa? Drink a cola and lose weight? I mean I know that some companies will say anything, but I respect Pepsi - and Suntory who are distributing it! Could this be some made-up stuff it is pedalling to the naive Japanese market? Apparently not.

 There's an added ingredient to the soft drink that makes the weight loss possible as it helps absorb fat. It's called dextrin.

Now, before you all run to to Google, I've already done that for you.

Dextrin is a natural fiber (arsenic is a natural ingredient) that can aid your body's natural ability to expel waste.

Waitaminute! Expel waste? You mean 'poop' right? None of the sites I visited actually used that word, but that's what happens... eating or drinking dextrin helps you poop.

Dextrin has binding capabilities... so that means your poop will NOT be diarrhea—but it also explains why dextrin is an ingredient in many glues, including children's glues—it's safe, cheap and non-toxic.

I like the non-toxic aspect of it, especially if I'm going to drink it.

Now... dextrin (basically) comes in two forms: one that can be broken down by the body, and one where it is indigestible.

Which type is in Pepsi Special? I have no idea.

You would assume that the drink would use the digestible one... but I'm going to suggest it's the other way around. Why? Because any fiber not digested by the body is, by the nature of dextrin going  to combine with toxins in your body (we still haven't said 'fat' - and we won't) which will then be expelled (pooped) out.  Dextrin may indeed be able to help remove difficult-to-pass toxins from your body.

Again... I did not say 'fat'... but any time you poop, you are getting rid of processed waste and toxins... pooping actually reduces your weight. Of course... depending on the nature of your farts... you farting methane, for example, since it is lighter than air, if you fart methane out of your body you are actually getting heavier.

Just saying' is all.   

According to a story I read, a study performed six years ago in 2006 (nothing more recent??!!) in Japan: rats fed dextrin and fat at the same time absorbed less fat than rats that weren't fed dextrin.

Well... that's good. And, just so you can put your ass at ease, Japan has certified Pepsi Special and Kirin Mets (another softdrink with dextrin) to be 'foods for specific health use'.

I wonder of that means you need a prescription? Probably not.  

But should everyone be trusting a six-year-old study using rats? Will it work on humans? Pepsi is counting calories it will.

As of this time, it IS only available in Japan. Caveat emptor.

Regardless... I would drink it.

Here's a Japanese commercial for it!

Cheers
Andrew Joseph