2021 Beverage Consumption Trend Insights report
Be wary of the "health" pitfalls of beverage consumption
Reporter Chu Chao
When you go out or eat, do you usually want mineral water, boiled water or tea, or other beverages?
If you want to drink, which type do you prefer?
Recently, CBN Commercial Data Center and Tmall released the "2021 Beverage Consumption Trend Insights" report (hereinafter referred to as the report). The report shows that "health upgrades" have become one of the 3 new trends in beverage consumption. That is to say, in the matter of drinking beverages, consumers are no longer satisfied with simply quenching their thirst, but to meet a higher level of health needs. Statistics show that 75% of consumers believe that health is very important for beverages.
The consumption scale of sugar-free beverages increased 5 times in 3 years
Health Tips:
Sugar-free ≠ no sugar, sugar substitutes will also be fat
The report mentions that with the enhancement of consumers' health awareness, "natural additive-free" has become the main reason for consumers to choose healthy drinks. From 2019 to 2021, the consumption of sugar-free beverages on the Tmall platform increased by 5 times. White-collar workers are more enthusiastic about this type of beverage. Among them, sugar-free pure tea drinks have always been the object of consumer pursuit.
So, are sugar-free drinks really sugar-free?
According to the current "National Standard for Food Safety and General Principles for Nutrition Labeling of Prepackaged Foods", as long as the sugar content per 100 grams of solid food or per 100 ml of beverage is less than 0.5 grams (including 0.5 grams), it can be labeled as "sugar-free". That said, sugar-free drinks are not absolutely sugar-free.
The high consumer demand for sugar-free beverages also makes sugar substitute beverages highly sought after. Because sugar substitute drinks can meet the health needs of consumers, but also meet the needs of sweet and delicious taste.
Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention experts introduced:
Sugar substitutes are not sugars, but sweetening additives.
There are roughly 3 categories:
1. Artificial sugar substitutes, mainly including saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame potassium and new sweet.
2. Sugar alcohols, mainly including xylitol, sorbitol, erythritol, mannitol and isomaltitol.
3. Natural sugar substitutes, mainly including stevia, monk fructosides, glycyrrhizin and trehalose.
However, sugar substitutes do not equal healthy products. Regular consumption or consumption of sugar substitutes can disrupt the balance of the intestinal flora and even increase the risk of obesity and diabetes. Cen Zhuoxian, a nutritionist at Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, said that studies have shown that drinking too many sugar-substituted drinks increases the risk of diabetes by 18%, which is higher than that of sugary drinks (an increase of 9%) and pure fruit juice (an increase of 15%). Although sugar substitutes do not cause blood sugar to rise, they can disrupt insulin secretion.
Consumption of pure tea drinks is on the rise
Do not drink within 6 hours before bedtime
The report shows that consumers' pursuit of pure and natural has become a trend. From 2019 to 2021, the consumption of pure natural ingredient beverages on the Tmall platform has doubled. The consumption scale of products such as pure tea beverages, NFC juice (non-concentrated reduced juice) and real juice tea is constantly rising, of which pure tea beverages are the largest.
For pure tea drinks, Xing Jia, deputy chief physician of the Rehabilitation Department of Dongfang Hospital of Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said:
Many tea drinks contain caffeine, which easily excites the nerves and causes insomnia. Therefore, it is best not to drink it within 6 hours before going to bed to avoid foodborne insomnia.
Yearning for "pure nature", NFC juice is sought after
It's fresh but easy to spoil
For the NFC juice mentioned in the report, Liao Xiaojun, dean of the College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering of China Agricultural University, introduced that NFC fruit and vegetable juice can be called "industrial fresh juice", which retains the original taste of fruits or vegetables to a large extent; compared with the fresh juice made by juice shops, restaurants, families, etc., NFC fruit and vegetable juice is sterilized and more secure in food safety. However, NFC fruit and vegetable juice has high requirements for raw materials, and if the raw materials are not fresh, consumers can taste them as soon as they drink them. In addition, NFC fruit and vegetable juices often have a short shelf life, and once they leave the cold chain or exceed the shelf life, they are easy to spoil and endanger health.
Electrolyte drinks are popular
More than a certain exercise intensity is required
The report mentions that in a healthy environment, the consumption of nutrient-rich beverages is rising, among which electrolyte drinks are more popular.
Electrolyte beverages usually refer to beverages containing minerals such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, chloride, phosphate, etc., which help to supplement the body's water consumption, maintain osmotic pressure balance, and ensure the normal operation of the body and organs.
However, electrolyte drinks on the market tend to contain sugar. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has reminded people that electrolyte drinks containing carbohydrates are only suitable for physically active people who regularly engage in high-intensity endurance exercise.
Zhou Qinlu, a researcher at the Beijing Institute of Sports Science, said that exercise hydration is very exquisite, and the simplest way is to judge according to weight, using the formula of "(pre-exercise weight - post-exercise weight) ÷ pre-exercise weight" to calculate the proportion of dehydration to body weight. When this ratio is less than 1%, you will feel a slight thirst, at which point you only need to replenish regular water. When this ratio is 2% to 3%, it is necessary to supplement brine with a concentration of less than 0.9%. Only when this proportion is greater than 4%, it is necessary to supplement sports drinks containing electrolytes. In addition, if you only do moderate-intensity exercise within 1 hour of exercise every day, the diet and hydration before exercise are enough to ensure the stability of electrolyte levels without additional electrolyte supplementation.
Hyaluronic acid drinks attract beauty lovers
Cosmetic results may not be achieved
In the report, in addition to electrolyte drinks, probiotic drinks, vitamin drinks, dietary fiber drinks, collagen drinks and hyaluronic acid drinks are more popular. Among them, hyaluronic acid drinks are a new thing. At the beginning of this year, the National Health Commission approved hyaluronic acid as a food raw material, and its use was expanded to include milk and dairy products, beverages, alcohol, chocolate and chocolate products, candy and frozen drinks. Subsequently, hyaluronic acid drinks appeared on the market, attracting the attention of some beauty lovers.
So, can hyaluronic acid drinks really be beautiful?
Ruan Guangfeng, director of the Science and Technology Department of the Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center of Kexin, said:
After ingestion, macromolecular hyaluronic acid will be digested and decomposed through the gastrointestinal tract, first converted into small molecules of sugar, and then absorbed by the body. The small molecules absorbed usually enter the body's blood circulation and do not penetrate the skin.
Zhu Danpeng, an analyst in the Chinese food industry, said that even if some of the hyaluronic acid that enters the digestive system can be absorbed by the human body, it is also minimal, and the absorption rate of each person is different, and the beauty effect is limited.
The pictures in this article are from the Internet
Edit || Chu Chao Wan Tao
The duty director || Fan Hongbo
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