Some people have said that they become more alert and agitated after taking a bottle of Sprite, which leads to this question ‘does sprite have caffeine’? Also, because most Coca-Cola soft drinks contain caffeine, many wonders if sprite also contains caffeine.
This article reviews all you need to know about Sprite and its content.
What is Sprite?
Sprite is a colourless soda that is majorly produced from a mixture of water, citric acid, high-fructose corn syrup, sodium citrate, sodium benzoate, and natural flavours.
Over the years, different flavours of Sprite have been produced, like lime, lemon, cranberry, cherry, grape, orange, tropical, ginger, and vanilla flavour.
A 375ml can of Sprite contains 140 calories and 38g of carbohydrate, all of which come from added sugar. That jolt of energy and alertness you feel after you have taken a bottle of Sprite comes from its high sugar content.
IS SPRITE HEALTHY?
The answer to the question, if Sprit is healthy or not, depends on your level of consumption. When consumed in moderate quantity, Sprite is a nice refreshing treat, however, when consumed in excess, you put yourself at risk of developing certain health issues.
Looking at the nutritional profile of Sprite, it contains 38g of carbohydrate and also 38mg of sugar, which can be a contributing factor to excess weight gain, diabetes, heart disease, and other health issues.
Also, the sodium in Sprite is about 65mg and an excess level of sodium in your blood can lead to an increase in your blood pressure, making you hypertensive.
Citric acid is also one major ingredient found in Sprite, and excess citric acid intake can lead to tooth decay, so drinking sprite should be done at a moderate level in a healthy diet.
NUTRITIONAL PROFILE OF SPRITE
- The nutritional profile of 100ml of Sprite bottle read as follows:
Energy (Cal): 41cal - Energy (kJ): 172kJ
- Total fat: 0.0g
- Saturated fat: 0.0g
- Protein: 0.0g
- Carbohydrate: 9.9g
- Sugars: 9.9g
- Sodium: 14.0mg
From the nutritional profile you shoule be able to answer the question: ”does sprite have cafffeine?
DOES SPRITE HAVE CAFFEINE?
Caffeine is a popular stimulant you can find in almost any drink that is not water, from coffee to even your workout supplements.
It is a major ingredient found in most Coca-Cola and Pepsi products, but unlike most Coca-Cola soft drinks, Sprite does not contain caffeine.
So, does sprite have caffeine? No, sprite does not contain any caffeine eventhough it’s a Coca-cola product. The lemon-lime soda is caffeine-free and just like it had been stated, that jolt of energy you may feel after a bottle of Sprite is a result of its sugar content.
Feeling anxious, nervous, or jittery are symptoms you may experience from taking in excess coffee which contains a high amount of caffeine, but some people have reported having similar symptoms upon drinking Sprite, and so have concluded that Sprite does contain caffeine.
As shocking as it is, Sprite is and has always been a caffeine-free drink. The excess-coffee-similar symptom or energy boost you feel after drinking Sprite is a result of increased blood sugar because as you have seen from the nutritional profile, only a bottle of 100ml of Sprite contains as much as 9.9g of sugar, not to talk of the 172kJ of energy that might be responsible for your energy boost.
DOES SPRITE ZERO HAVE CAFFEINE?
Sprite zero is also a caffeine-free soda. The major difference between it and the regular Sprite is the absence of sugar. In the place of sugar, aspartame is used as an artificial sweetener.
Sprite zero was formerly known as “Sugar-Free Sprite” before it became renamed in 2006 as Sprite zero.
It contains carbonated water, citric acid, natural flavours, potassium citrate, potassium benzoate, aspartame, acesulfame, and potassium.
People who want to reduce their sugar intake believe Sprite zero is a healthier choice, however, research on the long-term effect of artificial sweeteners is yet to yield any conclusive result, so this claim can neither be said to be true nor false.
WHY DOES SPRITE NOT HAVE CAFFEINE?
Sprite is caffeine-free because caffeine is not added to it when it is being produced.
Originally, Sprite was manufactured by the Coca-Cola company as a competition against 7-Up, also a caffeine-free lemon-lime soft drink.
The purpose of producing a caffeine-free soft drink is to ensure that people with health issues resulting from consumption of caffeine, or pregnant women who have been advised by their doctors to withdraw from caffeine intake do not feel left out, or as stability for those who do not desire to enjoy the “caffeine effect”.
7-Up had originally contained lithium citrate, a mood-stabilizing drug, and continued until 1950. Including caffeine was never a part of the recipe and the Coca-Cola company knew that if they really wanted to compete, they needed to take caffeine out of the picture, so they made Sprite a caffeine-free Coca-Cola soft drink.
CONCLUSION
Sprite is caffeine-free and so is Sprite zero too. Although they contain a high quantity of sugar and may pose threat to your health, it is advised that you drink it in a moderate amount if you feel the need to drink.