www.which.co.uk58 | October 2011 www.which.co.uk October 2011 | 59

health drinks health drinks

Probiotic shots that help your digestive system, drinks for weight-loss and juices to keep joints supple – do any of these really work?

are health drinks?

Supermarket shelves and health food shops are bursting with drinks claiming to keep you healthy, support your immune

system or help you lose weight. But are these claims really worth the labels they’re written on?

Products that offer additional benefits, over and above their nutritional qualities, are widely known as functional foods. Manufacturers have made sensational claims for these products for years, without their validity being independently checked.

But things are now changing. Since 2008, a European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) panel has assessed health claims on food and drinks. Now manufacturers must submit evidence to substantiate their claims and, so far, many major brands and products have seen their claims rejected. When scientific evidence is compared with the claim, it often doesn’t stack up – to date, around 80% of submitted claims have been rejected.

A growing mArketA list of approved health claims is due to be published in 2012. Brands whose claims have been rejected by EFSA will then have six months to remove them from labels and ads. In the meantime, we are still faced with claims that may be unproven. The functional food and drinks market, valued at £719 million in 2009, continues to grow – 20% of us say we buy more functional foods now than a year ago*. As prices rise and the average food bill grows, it’s even more important that we don’t waste money on items that don’t deliver what they promise.

our reseArchWe selected widely available functional drinks, looked at the claims and contacted their makers to show us the evidence behind the claims. A leading dietitian** assessed this evidence. We also used EFSA verdicts if the drink had been through its assessment.

Health food shops are packed with products

promising to help with a multitude of ailments. There are drinks that claim to keep your joints supple, support your immune system and keep your heart healthy. But which ones help and which are a waste of money?

Many adults take glucosamine supplements to help their joints and, for some, ActivJuice for Joints orange cordial (£7.39, 500ml) might seem like a tastier alternative. The packaging claims that one serving of the drink is equivalent to a daily

dose of supplements (three 500mg tablets), and will ‘help maintain healthy joints, bones, muscles, tendons and ligaments’.

LAck of evidenceResearch has failed to prove a benefit – the EFSA panel concluded that there was not enough evidence to prove that glucosamine supplementation (either in drink or tablet form) maintains healthy joints or reduces inflammation.

Our expert concluded that this was a misleading claim, saying:

‘Glucosamine has no influence on muscles, tendons or ligaments, as is claimed on the ActivJuice label. Glucosamine is produced naturally in the body and adds to cartilage, helping maintain a sponge-like buffer to protect joint bones from frictional damage.’

thumbs up for tomAtoesThat’s not to say all wellbeing drinks don’t work. The claim by Sirco that its fruit juice (£2.15, 1 litre, available in supermarkets and health food shops) ‘helps maintain a healthy heart and benefits circulation’ has been assessed by EFSA. The drink contains a standardised extract of

water-soluble tomato concentrate (WSTC), registered under the trademark Fruitflow.

The EFSA panel concluded that a cause and effect relationship was established and that the tomato concentrate ‘helps maintain normal platelet aggregation’ in a target group of adults aged 35 to 70 years. Platelet aggregation is important in blood clotting. You wouldn’t be able to get the same benefit from eating tomatoes or drinking tomato juice.

eLusive heALth cLAimsNot all drinks make such specific boasts – some products’ claims are much more elusive.

We’d all like a quick fix when it comes to losing weight and

the thought of a drink that could help you shed pounds certainly appeals. Aspire (£1.69, 250ml, health food shops and some supermarkets) claims to ‘burn the fat from your diet more efficiently’ and the website promises ‘you can burn over 200 calories a can’.

We contacted the company and lab that carried out the research. Aspire was only tested on 20 subjects at rest – their energy expenditure was measured over three hours after drinking Aspire.

On average the subjects burned 209 calories – impressive, until you compare this with the placebo. Subjects who drank Aspire burned 27 calories more (equivalent to a bite of a chocolate digestive biscuit) than with a placebo.

Aspire includes the stimulants taurine, ginger, caffeine, green tea, guarana and L-carnitine. Our expert says there is no published clinical evidence that guarana ‘raises your body’s metabolism and suppresses appetite’, as claimed on the drink’s website.

And EFSA has rejected claims that green tea can help achieve

ust how healthy a normal body weight or reduces body fat mass. Our expert felt that the small increase and short duration of altered energy expenditure is likely to be due to the effect of caffeine on your metabolic rate.

Appetite controL NeuroTrim (£1.90, 430ml, available at independents) promises weight loss support and contains a fibre that the company calls LuraLean – a gel-type fibre also known as konjac. It claims that LuraLean, when consumed, expands in the stomach, filling it and thereby controlling appetite.

In August 2011, the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) upheld a complaint that claims by NeuroTrim on its website stating that it was ‘designed to promote weight loss’ were misleading.

EFSA concluded there was a relationship between consuming konjac fibre and the reduction of body weight in overweight adults.The ASA ruled that NeuroTrim’s weight loss claims were misleading because they failed to make clear that any efficacy was dependent on an energy-restricted diet and consuming 1g of the fibre at least three times a day before meals, along with 1-2 glasses of water.

Konjac root capsules form a gel in the stomach when mixed with water, helping to slow digestion. There’s no evidence that konjac root in a drink has a similar effect.

Wellwoman’s low-calorie drink (£1.15, 250ml, available in health food shops and chemists) ‘delivers nutrients for energy release’ and ‘helps maintain health and vitality’.

Our expert said: ‘The B vitamins contained in this drink are associated with carbohydrate metabolism and energy release. As this drink provides one sixth of the RDA (recommended daily allowance) of these nutrients these claims are justified.’

But our expert was not as convinced by Wellwoman’s other claims of maintaining ‘good urinary tract health’ (cranberry) and ‘immune health’ (green tea) – both were rejected by EFSA.

functionAL wAterFunctional waters, such as Vitamin Water (£1.42, 500ml, widely available) are flavoured drinks that contain added vitamins and minerals. Our expert said: ‘They’re unnecessary – the nutrients they provide are widely available in a normal diet.’ Earlier this year, the ASA upheld claims of misleading advertising against Coca-Cola (Vitamin Water’s owner). A poster stating ‘enhanced hydration for the nation – delicious and nutritious’ was banned, because consumers would not expect a nutritious ‘water’ drink to contain 23g sugar – almost five teaspoons – an amount found in many regular sugary soft drinks.

Weight-loSS drinkS

Wellbeing drinkS

* ‘F

un

ctio

nal F

oo

ds’

re

po

rt fr

om

Min

tel,

Se

pt 2

010

. **

Cath

erin

e C

olli

ns,

Prin

cip

al D

ietit

ian a

t St G

eo

rge

’s H

osp

ital i

n L

on

do

n

dO yOu regularly buy health drinks? Whether you swear by a daily dose of Actimel, are thinking of giving Wellwoman a try, or believe that health drinks are a total waste of money, we’d like to hear from you on Which? Conversation www.which.co.uk/healthdrinks

 ✘

 ✔

 ✘

 ✘

 ✘

 ✘ph

oto

gr

aph

Y bY: eug

enio

fra

nc

hi

www.which.co.uk60 | October 2011

health drinks

which? says

Although many manufacturers have had their claims rejected by EFSA,

some, such as cholesterol-lowering brands Benecol and Flora ProActiv, have been given official accreditation. These products are useful first-line treatment for those concerned about the side-effects of prescribable medications.

Our bodies produce cholesterol and we need it to make cell membranes, insulate our nerves and to produce hormones. A healthy total cholesterol level is 5 millimols per litre (mmol/l). But eating a diet high in saturated or total fat can increase our cholesterol levels, which our bodies then struggle to dispose of.

the power of pLAntsPlant stanol esters and plant sterols have been proven to lower your ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol by up to 15%, by partially blocking the absorption of cholesterol from the gut and preventing it from entering the bloodstream. Benecol products contain plant stanol esters and Flora ProActiv contains plant sterols.

Although naturally-occurring in corn, wheat, rye, vegetable oils and fruit and vegetables, our daily diets typically only contain around 0.4g of plant sterols and stanol esters. To lower cholesterol we need to consume between 2-3g a day – one Benecol or Flora ProActiv shot contains a daily dose.

These products are only of benefit to those with high cholesterol and are most effective if taken with a main meal. The benefits only last as long as you’re taking them.

If you don’t have high cholesterol these products won’t benefit you, and consuming one of these drinks daily could add £230 to your annual shopping bill. If your cholesterol level is much above 5mmol/l speak to your GP – you may need cholesterol-lowering medication.

CholeSterol-loWering drinkS

energy drinkS

Although not falling into quite the same category as the other drinks we’ve looked

at, energy drinks are a growing market and make health claims. Most contain the same sugar levels as an equivalent volume of Coca-Cola. A 250ml can of Red Bull contains around 28g of sugar and a 500ml can of Relentless contains more than 50g (10 teaspoons) of sugar.

Caffeine is proven to increase alertness and benefit exercise performance. But most of these drinks contain as much caffeine as a coffee (32mg/100ml) – coffee gives the same kick, without the sugar. Taurine and guarana are also often found in these drinks, but claims of increased energy or improved cognitive function have been rejected by EFSA.

Claims promising digestive health benefits resonate with many people,

making probiotic yogurt drinks a large sector of the functional drinks market. One person’s daily dose of one of these shot drinks can

add up to £126 to their shopping bill over the course of a year.

But these drinks don’t replace anything in our natural diet and are add-on supplements. To date, general claims linking prebiotics and probiotics to improved digestive health, gut function and intestinal flora have all been rejected by EFSA. As a result, many brands have started to change their advertising.

Many of us will remember ads extolling the virtues of ‘friendly’ bacteria, with Actimel advertising itself as a ‘daily defence drink’. But in 2009 the ASA banned television ads claiming that Actimel protected children against illnesses and bad bacteria, helping to ‘support your kid’s defences’. Now the product advertises under the vague banner of ‘bring it on’.

Many probiotic manufacturers have been allowed to resubmit their evidence to EFSA to try to identify specific claims related to specific types of bacteria. In the meantime, their advertising messages have changed – gone are the claims of ‘helps your digestive tract’, but the unproven claims of these stronger, earlier adverts stick in many people’s minds.

ProbiotiC drinkS

Which? continues to work to ensure consumers are not misled by claims on packaging. With family budgets squeezed more than ever, it’s vital we get what we pay for. For years, companies have made exaggerated health claims – these claims should not be allowed on products until proven. We welcome the EFSA process but, until it’s complete, consumers are still faced with claims on products that may not be proven. In cases where EFSA has rejected claims, we urge companies to act responsibly and remove the unproven claims from packaging and advertising now, rather than waiting until it is enforced.

 ✘

 ✘

 ✘

 ✘

 ✔  ✔