THE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT WE DRINK

When did natural stop meaning natural?

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Artificial Flavors

Artificial flavors are lab-made chemicals that mimic real flavors without any nutritional value. Often derived from substances like petroleum or paper pulp, they replicate taste at a lower cost.

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Natural Flavors

Natural flavors, like artificial ones, are created in a lab. The key difference? Their base comes from a “natural” source—anything from fruit or vegetable juice to spices, meat, or dairy, per the FDA. Surprisingly, natural flavors can include up to 100 chemicals and even animal byproducts—like raspberry flavor sometimes sourced from beaver glands. They’re chemically almost identical to artificial flavors.

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