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NEW YORK Diet Pepsi is tweaking its formula to stay sweet a little longer.

PepsiCo Inc. is testing new artificial sweeteners that let the soda keep its taste for a longer period of time. The problem is that the current sweetener used in the soda aspartame loses its potency faster than high-fructose corn syrup, the sweetener that's used in most regular sodas.

A person with knowledge of the situation says the company had considered importing versions of Diet Pepsi sold in other countries to the U.S. But now it's testing other sweetener mixes, with a new version set to come out as soon as next year.

The new version will use the same formula that creates Diet Pepsi's overall taste, according to the person, who requested anonymity because she wasn't authorized to speak publicly. But it will use a mix of artificial sweeteners, including acesulfame potassium, or ace-K, that has a longer shelf life.

Aspartame on its own is more sensitive to heat, which is a problem when sodas are sitting in trucks or waiting to be shipped to retailers.

In an e-mailed statement, PepsiCo said that it's "always looking at ways to provide the best consumer experience," but that it has no plans to change the taste formula of Diet Pepsi. Candice Choi, The Associated Press

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Diet Pepsi formula being tweaked for longer shelf life

DENVER, Aug. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --A just-released meta-analysis study entitled "Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Clinical Trials of the Effects of Low Carbohydrate Diets on Cardiovascular Risk Factors" being published in Obesity Reviews reveals that the Atkins Diet is a safe and effective plan that demonstrates positive health outcomes for both weight loss and cardiovascular health.

"This article is unique in that it's not trying to pit the low carbohydrate diet head-to-head with another diet, rather it investigated whether parameters improve while on the diet, and they did. The article shows how the low carbohydrate diet improves multiple risk factors compared to the baseline diet," said Dr. William Yancy with Duke University Medical Center and a researcher for the study.

The aim of the study was to identify randomized clinical trials which analyzed the effects of a low carbohydrate diet on body weight and other markers of cardiovascular risk. There were strict criteria surrounding the selection of studies. The authors identified a total of 23 reports, corresponding to 17 clinical investigations, as meeting the pre-specified criteria.

The findings showcased that compared with the baseline diet, the Atkins Diet was shown to be associated with improvements in key health markers including significant decreases in body weight, BMI, abdominal circumference, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, plasma triglycerides, fasting plasma glucose, glycated haemoglobin, plasma insulin, and plasma CRP (an inflammation marker), as well as an increase in HDL-cholesterol. LDL cholesterol did not change significantly.

The overall picture obtained from this investigation is that low carbohydrate diets like the Atkins Diet are safe and do not negatively impact markers for cardiovascular health or other risk factors. Of particular interest is that the low carbohydrate diet was able to increase HDL-C a goal frequently difficult to achieve. Another key finding was the decrease in waist circumference given that it is an established risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and it has been stated that waist circumference explains obesity-related health risk more accurately than BMI.

Obesity is a growing health problem. According to the World Health Organization, in 2008, 1.4 billion adults (20 years of age and older) worldwide were overweight. Of these, more than 200 million men and nearly 300 million women were obese.

"The meta-analysis study findings demonstrate once again that the Atkins Diet is a safe and effective diet plan. Atkins is not only backed by thousands of success stories, but has consistently shown that it is effective at diminishing health risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease," said Colette Heimowitz, vice president of nutrition and education for Atkins Nutritionals, Inc.

Inclusion criteria for the studies included were that the study had to be a randomized clinical trial implemented in an adult population of at least 100 subjects, the trial was required to have at least a 3-month follow-up period after the initiation of the diet, weight loss had to be considered a major outcome, as well as examinations of variations in other cardiovascular risk factors. Exclusion criteria for the studies included subjects with a specific pathology other than obesity (such as diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer, epilepsy) or altered endocrinological state (such as pregnancy or menopause) were excluded, as were studies written in languages other than English, Spanish, Portuguese or French.

The article can be referenced here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22905670

About Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. is a leader in the $2.4 billion weight control nutrition category, and offers a powerful lifetime approach to weight loss and management. The Atkins Diet focuses on a healthy diet with reduced levels of refined carbohydrates and added sugars and encourages the consumption of protein, fiber, fruits, vegetables and good fats. Backed by research and consumer success stories, this approach allows the body to burn more fat and work more efficiently while helping individuals feel less hungry, more satisfied and more energetic.

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New Analysis Study Demonstrates that the Atkins Diet is Safe and Effective

Friday, Aug. 31, 2012

OSAKA Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, achieving a major political goal, welcomed the Diet's passage Wednesday of legislation to merge the Osaka prefectural and municipal governments.

Now talk is turning toward the increasingly influential national role Hashimoto and his Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka) local group will play in the next Lower House election, with the popular mayor announcing specific numerical goals for a slimmed-down Diet.

"It took a long time, but finally the Diet passed the merger legislation. However, we're just standing at the entrance and more work needs to be done," Hashimoto said Thursday.

The Diet's approval of the Osaka merger plan paves the way for turning the entire prefecture into one governmental entity, the same as Tokyo, with wards that have a great deal of autonomy. However, there is a long way to go to actually achieve this. The exact ward structure has to be decided and agreed on by local governments.

The plan then has to be put to a local referendum, which Hashimoto hopes to have held by early 2015. This has led to speculation about whether he and Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui, who serves as secretary general of Osaka ishin no Kai, would remain in their posts until then or quit and run in the next Lower House election, which must be held no later than next summer.

Hashimoto and Matsui have both previously denied they will run for the Diet. they repeated that assertion following Wednesday's passage of the merger bill.

"To get the Osaka merger approved by referendum, we first have to present a convincing case, and we want to work to get a mandate," Matsui said Wednesday.

In the meantime, Hashimoto's plans for a national party were accelerating Thursday. A party platform is expected to be ready by around mid-September, but Hashimoto said earlier this week he wants to include a pledge to halve the number of Lower House seats from the current 480 to 240. At his regular press briefing Thursday, he offered more details.

"The problem with the current Diet structure is that electoral districts are too small, so Diet members spend a lot of time attending local festivals like Bon dances. That's the kind of thing that should be done by local politicians so Diet members can think about national issues.

Continued here:
Diet passes Osaka merger plan; Hashimoto must sell it

Friday, Aug. 31, 2012

Diet business has reached paralysis as the opposition forces on Wednesday passed a censure motion against Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. Following passage of the motion, the opposition forces plan to boycott all the deliberations in both houses of the Diet on bills submitted by the government.

The last day of the current Diet session, Sept. 8, is likely to come without enactment of two important bills one to rectify the imbalance in the value of a vote between urban areas and depopulated rural areas in the Lower House election and the other to float bonds worth 38 trillion accounting for about 42 percent of the fiscal 2012 budget. This parliamentary deadlock will only deepen people's distrust of politics.

Mr. Noda and his ruling Democratic Party of Japan seem to be primarily responsible for causing the current impasse. Obviously their Diet policy related to the two bills was solely based on the idea of promoting partisan interests. At the same time, the opposition Liberal Democratic Party cannot escape criticism, as it opposed the bond flotation bill apparently in an attempt to prod Mr. Noda to dissolve the Lower House soon.

The consequences will be grave. The Supreme Court may nullify the results of a next Lower House Election because of the failure to rectify the vote-value disparity and nearly half of the fiscal 2012 budget may not be implemented.

The Supreme Court in March 2011 ruled that the results of the 2009 Lower House election are "in the state of being unconstitutional" due to the vote-value disparity although it stopped short of declaring the election results null and void.

If some 42 percent of the budget is not implemented, it will seriously affect people's lives. Although the DPJ faced the LDP's opposition to the bond issuance bill, Mr. Noda and the DPJ seem to have forgotten that enacting and fully implement a budget is a very important and urgent job for the government.

The DPJ rammed the vote-value rectification bill and the bond issuance bill through the Lower House on Tuesday and sent them to the Upper House without coordinating with the opposition forces or persuading them to cooperate.

For the sake of rectifying the vote-value disparity, the LDP had submitted a bill to simply reduce the number of Lower House seats from single-seat constituencies by five through elimination of one single-seat constituency in five prefectures.

But the DPJ submitted a different bill, which features not only reduction of the number of the seats from single-seat constituencies by five but also reduction of 40 seats from proportional representation and a scheme to give some advantage to small parties in proportional representation.

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Diet business at an impasse

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

In with the new, out with the old, indeed! This fall, Diet Coke is giving the soft drink aisle something to talk about by re-introducing its stylish cropped logo design for its aluminum can and launching a new, refreshed ad campaign. Just in time for fashion week, the bold move will help extraordinary individuals stay refreshed on runways - from the airport to the shows - and everywhere in between.

The campaign is the latest evolution of Diet Cokes iconic Stay Extraordinary platform and features a modern, bold look on the Diet Coke can, a series of new print and out-of-home ads, as well as a new, limited-edition T-shirt available in Target stores this fall.

The refreshed packaging design was created by San Francisco-based design agency Turner Duckworth. It features a section of the Diet Coke logo, cropped to feature the "D" and the "k," set against the brand's signature silver backdrop, creating a sleek, modern look for the brand.

The can design first debuted as a seasonal design last fall. It was brought back by popular demand and overwhelmingly positive feedback from consumers and will begin appearing in market September 1. Despite the packaging change, the great taste remains the same for the number one zero-calorie brand in the nation.

"Fashion week is the perfect time of year to bring back the modern look of Diet Coke," said Erik Jenkins, Diet Coke Brand Manager. "Our fans told us they loved the sleek look of the cropped design, so this fall we're bringing back the bold can design for everyone to enjoy."

Another refreshed look for the brand comes in the form of a new, limited-edition Diet Coke T-shirt. Up-and-coming designer Gustavo Alonso, a student at Miami International University of Art and Design, won the recent Diet Coke Young Designer Challenge, edging out the competition with his dramatic and glamorous take on the cropped Diet Coke logo featuring a mysterious woman in a vivid red coat.

Conducted in partnership with the Council of Fashion Designers of America and Target, the winner of the Diet Coke Young Designer Challenge was selected by some of the biggest names in fashion, including luminary designers Zac Posen, Cynthia Rowley and LWren Scott. They were joined by Jeanette Carrell, Associate Creative Director for Target and Vince Voron, Associate Vice President, Strategic Design and Integrated Marketing Content, Coca-Cola North America, for a judging event to select the design best representing the multi-dimensional and aspirational Diet Coke brand.

As the winner of the Diet Coke Young Designer Challenge, Alonso will receive an extraordinary portfolio boost. In addition to winning a $10,000 scholarship and a trip to New York City to meet Posen, Rowley and Scott, Alonsos design will be sold in select Target stores nationwide beginning September 2.

"Gustavo's design captured how Diet Coke can break through and is more than just a great tasting refreshing drink," said Jenkins. "It's an extraordinary fashion statement."

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Diet Coke Gets Chic Wardrobe Makeover Just in Time for the Fall Fashion Season

The science of calorie restriction just got a lot more complicated.

Rhesus monkeys fed experimental low-calorie diets didnt live any longer than their high-calorie brethren, a result that conflicts with a 2009 report of long-lived, extra-low-calorie monkeys.

That had been the first demonstration of extended lifespans in primates, not just lab rodents, and raised hopes of the diet being a dinner-plate fountain of youth. The new findings seem to challenge that notion, though theyre far from conclusive.

More fundamentally, the findings pop the lid on a roiling scientific back-and-forth over calorie restrictions effects and mechanisms, a matter of vigorous contention thats belied by popular notions of the diet as a simple, straightforward longevity hack.

From the beginning, there have been people who were true believers in the effects of calorie restriction in every single species, said Rafa de Cabo, a National Institute on Aging gerontologist and co-author of the new study, published Aug. 29 in Nature. Often attention wasnt paid to data showing that in some cases calorie restriction wasnt good, or didnt produce the effects it should have.

De Cabos experiment started in 1987, right around the time as another, similar experiment at the University of Wisconsin. Both groups wanted to know whether calorie restriction cutting intake by up to 40 percent below whats typically considered healthy would have the same health-protecting, life-prolonging effects in primates that it seemed to have in lab animals.

In 2009, the Wisconsin group reported that CR, as the diet is known, indeed extended their monkeys lifespans. But in the new study, researchers led by de Cabo and fellow NIA gerontologist Julie Mattison report no extension, at least in monkeys who started CR in middle age or late in their lives. (Monkeys who started during infancy arent yet old, so their longevity results wont be known for another decade or so.)

De Cabo and Mattisons CR monkeys, 57 in total, have shown signs of better health, though theyre mixed. For example, males have low cholesterol and blood sugar, but not females. And even across-the-board health improvements would be underwhelming in comparison to calorie restrictions sometimes overwhelming expectations.

What some people were hoping is that CR would extend longevity beyond the normal, that with a good CR diet you would live for 120 years, said gerontologist Steven Austad of the University of Texas, who was not involved in the study. I think these studies show together that diet is not, no matter how you do it, going to get people living to 120.

Austads own work found that CR didnt work on descendants of mice recently caught in the wild, rather than bred from lab-adapted mice that may be so unnatural and intrinsically unhealthy as to give misleading results.

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Experimental Low-Calorie Diet Gets Puzzling Results in Monkeys