drinks

We believed that imagination was exclusive to humans. Kanzi, the bonobo who drinks “invisible coffee”, has just proven the opposite

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For decades, cognitive science has drawn a firm red line between us and the rest of the animals that is the imagination. Although animals can use tools and even solve complex problems, the ability to disconnect from immediate reality and imagine a scenario that does not exist was considered something exclusive to humans. Until Kanzi arrived. Kanzi. A bonobo that is world famous for its mastery of lexigrams to communicate and that has now starred a published study this week in the magazine Science that could rewrite the books of evolution. And it is no wonder, since Kanzi not only knows how to order food, but also knows how to pretend to eat it when it’s not there yet, and being completely aware of what it does. The tea party. The study published earlier this month presents the strongest evidence to date for the representation of pretend objects in a great ape. And for a human Pretend you are drinking coffee by imagining you have a cup in your hand It is something very simple to do. But until now in apes it was something unthinkable. But to prove us wrong about our exclusive quality, the studio designed an experiment where they sat Kanzi down and interacted with empty objects. Specifically, they pretended to pour juice from an empty bottle into a juice or eat “grapes” that did not really exist. But the best thing is that it was not a simple imitation, but Kanzi followed the game with astonishing precision as if he really imagined it. The juice trick. The objective here was to rule out that Kanzi was simply copying movements without understanding the basic concept, and to do this the team designed three tests. The first of them began with the researcher pretending pouring juice into one of several empty glasses. Kanzi was then asked to interact with them by picking one up. In this case, in 68% of the 50 tests, Kanzi chose the glass that “contained” the imaginary juice, ignoring the other identical but “empty” glasses. Fact versus fiction. This is where the crucial point of the investigation is, since if Kanzi were confused, he would treat real and imaginary juice the same. This was not the case, since when given a choice, Kanzi preferred the real object in 78% of the cases. Something that may seem insignificant, but that shows that it maintains two simultaneous mental representations: the physical reality of the empty glass, and the fake reality where we play that the glass has juice. The same thing happened when imaginary grapes were used instead of juice, where Kanzi maintained a 69% success rate in identifying the location of the pretend food. Decoupling reality. The technical term being discussed here is decoupled secondary representation, which is the brain’s ability to hold an image of the world that contradicts direct sensory information. That is, what is being seen or heard. Until now, it was debated whether this ability emerged with modern human language, but Kanzi’s results suggest that this “spark” of imagination was already present in the common ancestor we share with bonobos and chimpanzees. between 6 and 9 million years ago. This is something that also changes our understanding of childhood play, since when a two-year-old takes a banana and pretends it is a telephone, he is exercising a cognitive muscle that evolution has been refining long before telephones or cultivated bananas existed. Exception or rule. It must be taken into account that these experiments have not been done with just any bonobo, but rather an “enculturated” ape since it has spent its life surrounded by humans and trained in the use of lexigramsmaking it have extraordinary capabilities. This gives rise to some critics, such as comparative psychologist Daniel Povinelli, who usually argue that these results could be the result of intensive training that “humanizes” the ape’s mind, rather than a natural capacity in the wild. Although it is something that the investigation tries to counteract with rigorous controls to ensure that Kanzi was not responding to human clues. Images | Will Rust In Xataka | Humans are evolving live on the Tibetan plateau. And understanding what happens there will be essential in space

If the question is why are non-alcoholic drinks so expensive if they are not taxed, the answer is simple

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Taking a look at the drinks menu of any establishment is a contradiction: non-alcoholic beer It is worth the same as one with alcohol. The same thing happens as with the decaffeinated coffee and the easiest thing is to think that it doesn’t make sense. If you don’t have alcohol, the rules don’t apply. specific taxes on alcohol. The problem is that there are a lot of factors that come into play. The contradiction. Than the price of non-alcoholic beer equal The counterpart with alcohol is something that is not reserved for locals: it is also seen on supermarket shelves. The price of these versions not only equals that of alcoholic beverages, but can exceed it in some cases, and is not limited to beer: also non-alcoholic wine or to refined alcohol products. It’s… strange, especially considering that there are a series of taxes levied on alcoholic products. Guardian echoed this situation, pointing out that the prices of a liter of non-alcoholic beer It is 5% higher than the alcoholic counterpart in supermarkets, 25% higher in pubs. Cider without is 10% more expensive than with and with wine and liquors Something curious was happening: the same price or cheaper in the supermarket, more expensive in the bars. Taxes. In the United Kingdom, about 10% of the price of beer are taxes, but it is not something exclusive to the islands. In Spain, Italy or France there is also the tax to beer and it depends on whether they have more or less alcohol, also if it is artisanal or not. Wine has VAT in Italy, Germany and Spain, but in France it has a tax between 4 and 10 euros per hectoliter and the highest taxes are observed for distillates. That is to say, it is evident that part of what is paid for a non-alcoholic drink is taxes and logic tells us that, if a drink does not have alcohol, it should be between a little cheaper -beer- and much cheaper -0% spirits-. The reason why this is not the case is quite simple. R&D. There are three elements that come into play to prevent it from happening. The first is that, in many cases, production is more complex and expensive than that of alcoholic beverages. In the case of non-alcoholic beer and wine, production starts exactly the same as with alcoholic versions. This implies that the drink is made with fermentationwhich is what raises the graduation. However, then you have to take that extra step that costs money: dealcoholization. It is something that involves specific technology to remove alcoholic content preserving both flavor and texture. In the elimination process, part of the liquid is lost, so producers must use more raw materials to “fill” and, in addition, the alcohol works as a flavor enhancer and, when eliminating it, it is necessary to incorporate additional ingredients such as extracts, aromas or whatever each brand has in its formula. In short: it is not so much the ingredients as the times and processes, which are not eliminated with alcohol, but rather increased. “The industry has made the decision that non-alcoholic drinks are versions of premium products, seeking to ensure that ‘non-alcoholic beer’ is not associated with something cheap and of lower quality” Economy of scale. More or less. That is one of the factors. The second is that yes, it seems that we have embarked on the fashion to stop consuming so many alcoholic beverages. It is something that the industry, especially the beer and wine industry, has observed in recent years, when there has been a significant increase in consumers of non-alcoholic products. If we look back, the non-alcoholic beer market has explodedbut if we look at the total, non-alcoholic beverages only represent a small percentage of volume sales in the alcoholic beverage market. Since there is less demand than the counterpart with alcohol, they do not benefit from economies of scale. That is: the factories that produce bottles, cans, labels, advertising and the alcohol products themselves produce such a high quantity that the cost per unit is low. When non-alcoholic drinks are produced, different labels are made, but as the quantity produced is smaller, the cost per unit is higher. As for the big brands: the independent ones that only produce non-alcoholic drinks have invested a lot of money in research and machinery and cannot afford aggressive margins because they want to recover that investment. and psychology. And the third factor is something that seems silly, but also plays an important role in all of this. The Guardian article alluded to the fact that wine or non-alcoholic spirits were priced the same or lower than alcoholic versions in the supermarket, but in bars, things were different. And it is something that has to do with the positioning of the brands and the perception of the user themselves. Mixing the psychology and marketingif the price of one of the products were significantly lower, it could be perceived as inferior quality. Therefore, in the case of beer, for 0.0 to be seen as a legitimate substitute, the price must be comparable to the alcoholic equivalent. If we see a price equal to or slightly lower than the alcoholic equivalent, the reason may be that it is a version made by an already established brand, with a massive infrastructure that allows them to play with margins and their own brand image. And it also comes into play that non-alcoholic beers from not so long ago were pretty bad. They have improved a lot in recent years, but John Holmes, director of Sheffield Addictions Research Group (a public health think tank based at the University of Sheffield), point that, to improve the image, “the industry has made the decision that non-alcoholic drinks are versions of premium products, seeking to ensure that ‘non-alcoholic beer’ is not associated with something cheap and of lower quality.” He assures that “if you want to reform the reputation of a product, you launch a premium version.” … Read more

In full boom of energy drinks, Coca-Cola has decided to bet on something else: “advanced hydration”

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You just need to enter a power shop and see the refrigerators full of cans of a thousand and one colors to get to the conclusion that if there is any saturated sector in this country that is that of drinks. But Coca-Cola believes that it is not enough. That is why he has just announced that It disembarks in Europe with ‘Bodymarmor Lyte’its commitment to “revolutionize” the segment of advanced hydration; A sub-director who, in the next three years, will grow 24%. And he will start with Spain. And that is perhaps the most interesting question: how have we gone from living in a world hooked to energy drinks to another in which the largest world giant of drinks bet everything to a product To “squeeze life to the fullest and that sometimes experiences moments of exhaustion that prevent you from maintaining your usual rhythm”? What is the ‘advanced hydration’? An almost Marketinian term to call a “hydration approach” that beyond simple water consumption. It incorporates additional components such as electrolytes, vitamins, antioxidants or other ‘technologies’ to enhance “water absorption, retention and nutrient rebalancing.” It is used in several areas, but what interests us today to understand Coca-Cola is its use in the sports field. There, it comes to basically mean the use of water with electrolytes. Water with things. That’s where Bodymor Lyte enters. As explained from the companyit is a non -isotonic drink, low in calories, designed to improve water absorption (thanks to electrolytes) and B6 vitamins. And it is curious because Coca-Cola already has two very popular brands in this range: ‘Aquarius’ (with a composition based on mineral salts) and ‘Powerade’ (especially formulated for “rehydration and resistance” in sport). More than a curiosity … While ‘Aquarius’ is a product of daily, massive and accessible hydration, ‘Powerade’ focuses a lot on the sports field. This is important because with ‘Bodyarmor Lyte’, Coca-Cola is doing something similar to the turn that Apple with the Apple Watch: a turn towards health and the premium. Because? It is true that the great phenomenon of drinks in recent years has been energy. Coca-Cola, in fact, participates with own products (such as Burn) and also with participation in others (such as Monster). However, as the energy segment grows, so does the health sector (that of drinks without caffeine). In fact, it has been the boom of the “coffee” drinks that has driven the contracting of ‘Better-For-You. That’s where Bodymor Lyte wants to settle. A vision too uniform of an increasingly segmented market. In 2004, Malcolm Gladwell He told the story of Howard Moskowitz. Moskowitz was asked to find the perfect spaghetti sauce. The problem is that, after spinning and more turns, he realized that he could not make a sauce that liked everyone. It was then that he proposed to get more from a sauce. As Gadwell explainedfollowing his advice, “Preno introduced the extra thick sauce and, during the next 10 years, they earned 600 million dollars with their line of thick extra sauces.” In 2004, RAGU had 36 varieties of pasta sauce. Something almost unimaginable 20 years before, when there was only one. The world becomes increasingly diverse (or perhaps we see more and more) and that allows them to grow totally opposite phenomena. Who was going to tell us that a drink was going to reveal the difficulty we have to design policies in today’s world? Image | Coca-Cola Company | GKGRAPHIX53 In Xataka | We already know what energy drinks cost your rest. They are bad news for your dream

purifies it and sells it as CO2 to make soft drinks

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In Garray, a town of Soria, the smoke of a biomass plant is no longer lost in the air. There they have mounted a plant capable of catching the CO₂, clean it and sell it as if it were any other industrial product. The result is called “Co₂ Green” and today travels to refreshment factories, greenhouses or chemical companies. What was previously a residue is now a raw material. Short. The Life Co₂-Intbio project He has joined The Garray Biomass plant, underway since 2013, with a system to capture, clean and liquefied CO₂. It was developed for four years With a budget of 8.9 million eurosof which the EU contributed 1.9 million. The consortium is leaded by the Natural Heritage Foundation of Castilla y León, together with Metal Carbides, Garray Bioelectric and Enso Operations & Maintenance. According to project documentationthe objective is to demonstrate the technical and economic viability and create new value chains for a “green” commercial co₂. More in depth. The key is in the connection between the biomass central and the capture plant. Biomass provides biogenic combustion gases and energy/steam; The new plant, Designed by metal carbidessubject them to a process of chemical absorption with amines, followed by filtering, cooled and distillation. The result is liquefied and purified to food quality, Certificate under the FSSC 22000 standard. The complex has the capacity to produce up to 33,000 tons per year of “CO₂ Green”, which is distributed to beverage, greenhouses and chemistry companies in the area. In addition, proximity avoids long -distance transport: the project monitoring tool estimates a saving of about 295 tons of CO₂ per year only in logistics. And the plan includes a potential stop of up to 50,000 t/year if production is extended, According to the project itself. The first of its kind? Here it should clarify. This type of installation applies to a very concrete niche within carbon capture, since these are biogenic emissions, from biomass. In other words, it is not about the centrals that are dedicated To capture and store (CCS) nor of Direct air capture (DAC)but they transform it into a commercial product. Some media They mention it as the first European installation in operation dedicated to capture and value biogenic CO2 with food use at an industrial scale. However, other countries begin to explore this road: in Denmark, the Kassø project of European Energy This year began to produce e-methanol Using Co₂ captured a biogas plant, and the Tønder Biogas plant announced the first biogenic supply for that chain, According to information published by the company. The difference of Soria is that it already operates at an industrial scale and its CO₂ is not buried, but is used in the local economy. Another type of capture. Europe does not start from zero. In Norway, the Northern Lights consortium (Equinor, Shell, Totalenergies) injected the first tons of CO₂ into the Aurora submarine reservoir, 2,600 meters under the seabed. In parallel, the Heidelberg Materials cement inaugurated the Brevik CCS plant, the first large -scale industrial capture in the cement sector. There the co₂ of the furnaces is captured, liquefied and sent by boat to Northern Lights for storage. In other words, Brevik captures and dawns storage, Two pieces of the same CCS chain. New advances. Garray demonstrates that capturing biogenic and using it is technically and commercially viable in Europe. While Norway opens the way to large -scale geological storage, Castilla y León shows that the use of CO₂ can activate local economy and cut emissions tangible. The difficult – and decisive – will be climbing without self -enhanced: apply this tool where it provides value, replicate it in other parts of Europe and, above all, accompany it of what remains the most urgent task: emit less greenhouse gases. Image | Freepik Xataka | The plan to clean the air capturing as a blow of reality has just received: the earth does not have as much space as we believed

The amount of caffeine of the drinks we consume daily, exhibited in this graphic

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The caffeine It is one of the most consumed substances in the world. HE esteem that about 80% of the world’s population consumes caffeine daily and, although Coffee is an important sourceit is also present in tea, coffee, matte grass, cocoa pods or in Kola’s nut -Coca-Cola noticel-. However, it can also be produced synthetically to add it to soft drinks, energy drinks or supplements. And in this graph prepared by Visual Capitalistwe can see how much caffeine the drinks we constantly consume. The graph. Prepared with data from EFSA (The European Food Security Authority, in Spanish) After surveying To more than 66,500 people from 22 European countries, the graph is quite self -explanatory. In some publications of this type the brand is usually obvious, but the really useful thing about this graph is that, directly, the amount of caffeine in commercial drinks is indicated as Monster, Red Bull either Prime (A brand created by The controversial Logan Paul). It is also useful that both the milligrams of caffeine of drinks and the amount of liquid we consume are offered, since we can calculate more effectively “how many Red Bull I can take to have a safe dose.” A Monster It is what has the most caffeine, but also because the sample is half a liter. Prime, with less quantity (330 ml), is close to the caffeine of a monster with its 140 mg. And it is curious that the drink that gives us wings has on a boat the same amount as a double espresso: 80 mg. Not only caffeine. What happens with energy drinks is that, like EFSA itself detailsthe stimulant they contain is not limited to caffeine. Apart from that compound, they have other ingredients such as bullfighting or D-Gucorone-y-lactona. Bullfighting is an amino acid that participates in the control of cell calcium and cardiac function, associated with the improvement of sports resistance by allowing high efforts for longer, reducing fatigue. The D-Glucurono-Y-Lactona is a metabolite of the glucuronic that helps in the synthesis of vitamin C, and both are safe for their rapid metabolization, although they can have secondary effects such as some digestive discomfort in high consumption. And if caffeine, bullfighting and D-Glucurono-γ-lactone were little, something more harmful must be added to the cocktail: huge amounts of sugar in these energy drinks. Consumption by age. EFSA has created a table that indicates how many mg of caffeine we consume daily depending on our age: age range Daily consumption From 75 years 22-417 mg Between 65 and 75 years 23-362 mg between 18 and 65 years 37-319 mg between 10 and 18 years 0.4-1.4 mg/kg between 3 and 10 years 0.2-2.0 mg/kg between 12 and 36 months 0-2.1 mg/kg Among adults, the coffee It is the most important source of caffeine, representing between 40% and 94% of total daily intake. In Ireland and the United Kingdom, the thing changes, and that main source is tea, representing between 59% and 57% of the intake, respectively. Among teenagers, the main source of caffeine is chocolate (both in bar and cocoa drinks), followed by coffee, tail drinks and tea. And from 10 years down, coffee disappears and chocolate continues to reign, followed by tea and tail drinks. Safe consumption, but with asterisks. One of the issues that continues to worry who seeks to take care is how much caffeine is a lot of caffeine. The 400 mg a day have been taken as the universal measure to say that it is the “safe” amount, but it is something that depends on several factors. For example, unique doses of caffeine of up to 200 mg do not present security problems for the healthy adult population. But if you are a woman and you are pregnant, that safe figure goes down to 200 mg per day, distributed throughout the day. In addition, if unique doses of 100 mg are consumed before going to sleep, the sleep quality pattern can be altered, but it is something that does not happen in all adults. But of course, everything depends on a key term: healthy population, since there are studies that relate caffeine to negative effects on chronic sleep restriction phases and, although it is used as a stimulant in sports, Its effects will be more or less beneficial depending on the sport we practice or the decisions we should make. In Xataka | In 1985 Coca-Cola changed her formula when Pepsi was about to defeat her. It went wrong

The counterculture gen Z does not smell like tobacco or drinks, but to coffee and early dinners

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Swallow at seven in the afternoon, or even before, it was until recently a gesture associated with tourists from northern Europe or retirees who surprised the waiters for their punctuality. But that costumbrista postcard is transforming. A new generation, the Z, has turned early dinner into an act of modernity: they reserve a table at six, they ask for mocktails instead of cocktails and, in parallel, they reinvent up to the holidays with coffee. CENING EARLY. According to a report from The TimesLondon restaurants record a growth of reserves at 18:00 of 11% compared to last year, and the new national average hour for dinner is 18:12. What was previously an empty shift is now full of young people looking for tranquility, trains on time and an environment where conversation is heard better than background music. A trend that was already settled in the United States. According to The Wall Street Journalrestaurants serve 10% of their customers between 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., twice as much as in 2019. Broadway advances functions at seven in the afternoon and cinemas have replaced night premises with Matinés. Even in New Orleans, where the holidays used to start at one in the morning, the concerts now end before eleven. Why is this hurry for dinner? What began as a postpandemic anomaly has become a structural change. “Those who telework usually start and end before, which naturally leads to dinner earlier,” explained Professor Lucia Reisch, from the University of Cambridge, In The Times. The confinement broke routines and allowed many rethinking the schedules. The idea of getting home at nine o’clock after dinner began to lose attractive. For restorators, this cultural turn opens a new front. Chef Joe Laker, at his local Counter 71 of Shoreditch, London, has summarized it in the same medium: “Many of our guests now live further than before. They want to have dinner early so they don’t have to run to take the last train.” Its £ 50 menu at six in the afternoon is not only a gastronomic change, but a symbol of accessibility: haute cuisine without the requirement of a late closure. Well -being before bustle. The movement is not explained only by logistics. There is an increasing awareness that eating late affects the body. According to Voguethe Z generation is popularizing the intermittent fasting in its 12/12 version, with an ideal dinner range between 17:30 and 19:00. Dr. Joseph Antun has explained it as a circadian issue: “That period of time to digest before the nightlife is activated.” Early dinner is not only digestive: it is preventive. “Going out to eat is becoming a way of socializing without sacrificing other objectives,” said Linda Haden, from Luminina Intelligence, In The Times. That translates into visible habits: More shakes and less cocktails at the tables, Skincare routines Before sleeping and morning training without hangover. Less alcohol, more coffee. Generation Z, As Business has stressed Insiderit relates distantly to alcohol. They prefer “sober” experiences and functional drinks. It is no accident that raves are also mutating. As we have explained in Xatakain cities like Madrid or Barcelona, the Coffee Raves triumph: morning parties in cafes converted into clubs where young people dance with cappuccinos in their hand. What at other times was synonymous with rebellion – excess, Blackout, hangover – is now replaced by an equal countercultural act: stay lucid, dance at dawn and connect with others without substance. “I didn’t want to give up the fun to leave, but I didn’t want to continue turning around something that became ill,” said Lauren Branc, founder of The Oracle Project, In a report on these parties. A consumption with conscience. The background of this transformation is broader than a schedule change. According to a Capgemini report73% of consumers of generation Z prioritize sustainable products, compared to 64% global. Early dinner is just one more piece of a lifestyle where health, planet and pocket are taken care of. In other words, rest, diet, sport and money management have become pillars of everyday life. Eating before is, in that sense, strategic: less expense in posterior glasses, more hours of sleep and more energy the next day. Table for six. “Senter at 18:00 indicates the end of the working day. It is not just about eating, but about recovering time,” Analyst Peter Backman has detailed to The Times. In that seemingly simple gesture – the table at six in the afternoon – generation Z is reformulating the relationship between work, leisure and health. The early dinner, which was once associated with Nordic and retired tourists, now becomes a symbol of modernity. It is not just a menu or clock change: it is a reflection of how young people rewrite their ways of socializing, taking care and projecting the future. Image | Unspash Xataka | The Z gene has disregarded the vice that is celebrating daytime raves with coffee and “Sound Healing”

The sugary drinks tax has been a resounding success. And there are those who want to extend it now to salt

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At the beginning of the week, Chris Hilson, a professor at Reading University, brought together the press and presented The most ambitious report which had been done to analyze the United Kingdom sugar tax. His data were begged: since the tax was introduced, the sugar content in the drinks 44% has been reduced. However, Hilson doesn’t want to stay there. Why not use this approach to improve food, address the obesity epidemic and promote a healthy and sustainable diet? Why not launch, for example, a salt tax? The salt? Indeed. Salt has been in the spotlight of doctors, nutritionists and health researchers for many years. And rightly: Reducing salt intake is one of the simpler and more profitable ways to reduce the incidence of diseases such as arterial hypertension, coronary heart disease or strokes. The problem is that we don’t even know how much salt we consume. And we don’t know because it is very difficult to know: According to the surveys availableapproximately 70% of the salt consumed by Western populations comes from processed foods. The “approximately” is key. It is not easy to measure at the individual level and not even biometric analyzes (such as urine) are very precise when determining consumption. But we know that, if we discount the effect of other critical factors, add salt to meals on the table It is related With a reduction of more than two years life expectancy in men and about a year and a half for women. It is not, seen what is seen, something lower. But what can we do? There it enters Hilson’s idea: “It is vital to extend sugar tax to all processed foods. The current tax has reduced sugar in soft drinks, but we need to see the same success in products such as milkshakes, cookies, yogurts and cereals for breakfast to improve public health,” said. In the background, according to your team’s data, well -designed regulations in the food sector in general could translate into “a healthier environment, as well as a healthier population.” A tax that always ends up. It is curious because salt taxes have historically been one of the most unpopular taxes. From French gabela to the Indian nationalist movementsSalt has played a very important role in the formation of contemporary political societies. It is true that the current tax that is being considered in places like the United Kingdom It is very different to those who disappeared throughout the twentieth century. The importance and scarcity of this resource changed radically with our technical capacity. However, it is still curious that this compound is in the pillory. As epidemics like obesity grow, more and more experts They believe that states They should take action on the matter. Above all, in well -being systems such as Europeans. The evidence shows that These types of interventions are effective. However, we are still taking the first steps in this field. Image | Timo Volz / Victoriano Izquierdo In Xataka | We have a problem with our salt consumption. And there are several alternative ingredients to remedy it

The government has been at war against sugar for years. Now he wants to ban the sale of sugary drinks in schools

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In recent years we have seen different administrations in many different geographical areas take measures to limit the consumption of sugary drinks and other similar products, such as industrial pastries and energy drinks. The last one has come from the hand of the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030. New regulations on the horizon. The Ministry of Consumer Ultimate vending and coffee shops in schools and institutes, As he has advanced The country. These products include industrial pastries, refreshing drinks, and energy drinks, products with more than five grams of sugar per packaged portion. The measure would also affect the advertising that can be shown in these machines; as well as the location of these, which would be out of access to students in early and primary education. More than sugar. The draft decree raises restrictions based on other criteria beyond the sugar content of the products. The measure contemplates, for example, limiting the kiloacalories by packaged portion up to a maximum of 200. This would be accompanied by an additional limit: no more than 35% They could proceed with fat. In addition, saturated fats may not provide more than 10% of the calories of the product. The salt content of the products would also be limited so that a 200 kcal portion could have a maximum of 0.5 grams of salt or the equivalent of 0.2 grams of sodium. Touring ahead. The future regulations still have to go through the State Council and the Council of Ministers before approval, which implies that the details may vary before entry into force. One more on the list. The last Biannual Aladino study, focused precisely on the Spanish child population was made in 2023. Although it observed a decrease in excess weight, overweight and obesity with respect to the 2019 report, the authors indicated that values ​​were maintained. Administrations have been serious in the fight against obesity, especially childhood obesity. Sugary drinks have been a usual target in this regard. A few years ago, for example, the United Kingdom introduced a “sugar tax” that affected this type of drinks. The resluent was a success according to a study published last year. In our closest environment the latest legislative changes in this direction have occurred at the regional level. In 2023, Galicia put on the table a proposal to limit the consumption of energy drinks among minors. These drinks, sometimes sugary represent an additional problem related to their high content in caffeine. In Xataka | We already know what energy drinks cost your rest. They are bad news for your dream Image | Kanishka Burnwal

Some researchers have analyzed the impact of sugary drinks on world health. They have taken their hands to the head

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The sugary soft drinks conquered the world a few years ago. Thanks to its flavor and Marketing strategiesthe soft drinks became the very image of globalization. Little by little we began to be more aware of the health hazards that the excessive consumption of these drinks carried, so much that, even in some European countries it was created THE REFRESCO TAX. With the, The consumption of free sugars was reduced In certain cases. But a new one study It reveals that its intake is still very high in many countries. So much that there is an alarming link between the usual consumption of these drinks and millions of new cases of Type 2 diabetes every year. Sugary pandemic. The trigger has been a study by the University of Tufts, in the United States. Reviewing the drinking data of the global dietary database, a database with more than 450 surveys with information on the consumption of sugary drinks and a sample of 2.9 million people belonging to 184 countries, they ran into an elongent figures . Approximately, and according to this study, sugary drinks would be related to 1.2 million new cases of cardiovascular diseases and 2.2 million new cases of type 2 diabetes. Every year and worldwide, something surprising if we take into account The normalized and integrated that these drinks are in all societies. The reasons. It is not a novelty that sugary drinks are related to type 2 diabetes, obesity and other disorders, but the reason is that they are foods that are digested quickly, causing very pronounced blood glucose spikes without providing essential nutrients. They are empty calories like those that a beer can have, but with a much larger amount of sugars. This absorption process, repeatedly, contributes to the weight gain already most important: insulin resistance that carries metabolic problems related to the aforementioned diabetes or cardiovascular diseases. Many cases, but … What does it mean? According to the study, 80,000 deaths per year for type 2 and 258,000 diabetes due to cardiovascular diseases related to soft drinks. Latin America and Africa. In countries that have fought in recent years to promote healthier diets and lifestyles, as well as the taxes we mentioned a few lines, that sugar consumption has decreased, but it is not something that happens throughout the world. In fact, in the study, researchers have focused on two territories: Latin America and Africa. According to these data, in Mexico the usual consumption of these drinks with almost a third of the new cases of diabetes is associated. In Colombia, the percentage rises to almost half. And in South Africa, about 28% of new cases of diabetes and 15% of new cases of cardiovascular episodes are related to these drinks. The explanation they have found is simple: in countries and communities with lower average income, little access to information and more limited preventive medical care, cases are triggered. Not all. Now, what drinks are we talking about? The study focused on the data of the sugary drinks with added sugars and, at least 50 kilocalories per 240 milliliters of product. It is something that includes soft drinks, energy drinks, fruit juices with added sugar, punch and even water with flavors to which sugar is added. Outside the focus is milk (which also has sugar), 100% natural juices without additives and without calorie products, being these sweetened drinks without added sugars. Of course, these drinks may be in the spotlight of subsequent studies, since researchers point out that, although they do not have added and not naturally present sugars, excessive consumption can also have negative health effects. Solutions. Laura Lara-Castor is the main author of the study and Comment that “urgent and evidence -based interventions are needed to curb the consumption of sugary drinks worldwide before more lives are shortened by their effects.” Dariush Mozaffarian is another of the authors, who believes that, above all, much more interest in Latin American and Africa countries should be put. Mozaffaian sees this as a real epidemic and considers that, “as a species, we need to address the problem of sugary drinks.” Now, as with almost everything, the study emphasizes the high and constant consumption of this type of drinks, since under normal conditions, a sporadic soda (without being healthy), is a whim that we can afford. In the end, the study does not want to focus on individual responsibility, but in a collective that involves governments and health systems. And, perhaps, at the most complex: The industry that creates that type of drinks. Image | Xataka In Xataka | There was a time when Coca-Cola had ‘cocaine’. That no longer has it is due to something surprising: racism

Global study reaffirms health damage caused by sugary drinks

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According to a study, 2.2 million new cases of type 2 diabetes and 1.2 million new cases of cardiovascular disease worldwide could be linked to consumption of soda, energy drinks, and other sugar-sweetened beverages in 2020. This is what an international research group reports in the magazine Nature Medicine. Sugary drinks: not suitable for quenching thirst A glass of Cola (250 ml) contains almost 27 grams of sugar: this is equivalent to almost 9 sugar cubes. Energy drinks, fruit drinks, and other soft drinks can also be sugar bombs. However, according to the study, more and more people are turning to these drinks, especially in Latin America and Africa. It is known that sugar-sweetened drinks are not good for your health. The German Nutrition Society writes that these are not suitable as thirst-quenching drinks: “They contain a lot of sugar (approximately 80-100 g per liter) and therefore provide a lot of calories.” The research group led by Laura Lara-Castor at Tufts University in the US has now calculated the health consequences of consuming sugary drinks in relation to type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Lots of advertising in low and middle income countries To do this, the team analyzed data from the Global Dietary Database: this database contains estimates on the consumption of sugary drinks based on nutritional surveys, as well as data on obesity and diabetes rates. The scientists used figures from the years 1990 to 2020 and combined data sets from 184 countries to calculate the probability of a connection between both factors. According to this, in 2020, 2.2 million new cases of type 2 diabetes and 1.2 million new cases of cardiovascular disease worldwide were attributable to sugary drinks. This would represent one in 10 new cases of type 2 diabetes and one in 30 new cases of cardiovascular disease. The study found the highest proportion in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. As for individual countries, Colombia, Mexico and South Africa were particularly affected. According to the study, the more countries develop and incomes increase, the more accessible and desirable sugary drinks become. More thirst for sweet drinks For Germany, the study shows only a slight increase in diabetes deaths per million inhabitants between 1990 and 2020 attributable to the consumption of sugary drinks, compared to other countries. Regarding deaths from cardiovascular diseases, a decrease is even observed, as in the US and Great Britain. According to the researchers’ data, almost 650 milliliters – or two large glasses – of these drinks were consumed weekly in Germany in 2020. This places Germany in the middle of the list of the 30 most populous countries among those studied. However, figures from the Economic Association of Non-Alcoholic Beverages (wafg) for 2023 suggest that soft drink consumption has increased again in the country. Demand for a “soda tax” As the authors themselves write, although their estimates are based on the best available data and educated guesses, they cannot provide evidence of cause and effect. Additionally, data for some countries is incomplete. The research team also emphasizes that sugary drinks are digested quickly and raise blood sugar levels without having nutritional value. Regular consumption leads to weight gain, insulin resistance and various metabolic problems related to type 2 diabetes and heart disease, two of the most common causes of death in the world. Scientists demand, among other things, health campaigns, stricter rules for advertising such drinks and tax measures. A “soft drinks tax” already exists in many countries, including Great Britain since 2018: this applies at the threshold of five grams of sugar per 100 milliliters. Manufacturers must then pay 18 pence (21 cents) per liter, and for 8 grams of sugar or more per 100 milliliters, 24 pence (28 cents) per liter applies. Since then, not only has consumption decreased, but manufacturers have also reduced the sugar content. Also in Germany, consumer advocates and health experts regularly demand such a tax, although so far without success. FEW (dpa, Nature Medicine) Keep reading: * More affordable insulin in New York starting in 2025 * How much fruit can a person with diabetes eat? * 3 Harvard recommendations for diabetics who want to lose weight

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