Not even a spoonful of sugar

TATU – Zero grams of sugar and delicious!

One of the most important decisions we made when creating TATU Protein Water was deciding which type of sweetener to use. Our options included artificial sweeteners, sugar alcohols, sugar, and naturally derived sweeteners. We knew immediately that we did not want to use artificial sweeteners. We wanted TATU to have clean, simple, and pronounceable ingredients. That left us with three options.

Sugar alcohols—such as erythritol, sorbitol, and xylitol—naturally occur in many foods. These options are lower in calories and less sweet than sugar. There are two reasons sugar alcohols did not align with our vision:

  1. Sugar alcohols are carbohydrates and TATU is a carb-free, keto-friendly drink.
  2. Most shockingly, we found studies that link erythritol to increased risk of heart attack, blood clots, and stroke.

Using sugar as an ingredient in TATU was never an option since too much added sugar can lead to increased risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Harvard Medical School reports that soda/energy/sports drinks are ranked number 1 for proportion of average added sugar intake at 42.2%. That means the average person gets 42.2% of their added sugar intake from these drinks. TATU is a fantastic alternative to the sugar-ladened sports drinks that are currently on the market.

That left us with just one option: naturally derived sweeteners. We chose a specific blend of organic stevia leaf extract and organic monk fruit extract to sweeten TATU. There have been recent reports in the news linking the products added to some stevia ingredients to heart attack and stroke so it is important to note that the blend of sweetener we use does not have any added erythritol. Natural sweeteners are a good option to limit sugar intake while maintaining the superior flavor that TATU is known for.

 


Listen to Jacoba and four other beveage founders on the BEVNET Elevator Pitch podcast this month!