In the Cadbury Bournvita vs Foodpharmer fight, dieticians drop the last word: NO

Bournvita is having a bad time on the Internet lately. It all started when influencer Revant Himatsingka, who uses the name Foodpharmer, claimed in an Instagram Reel that Bournvita was misleading consumers (mostly children and their parents) with its "health drink" advertising. 

Bournvita's parent company Cadbury responded with a legal notice against the influencer, forcing him to take down the reel and apologise. But it seems like Cadbury shot itself in the foot with the legal notice. 

The video is now being shared by several others on Twitter and Instagram. Scientists, dieticians and everyone else is having a field day debating the contents of Bournvita and other such so-called "health drinks".

In marketing terms, Bournvita is facing a Streisand effect, facing the unintended and negative consequences of trying to censor information.

But are health drinks like Bournvita good for you?

Mumbai-based dietician Bina Chheda told DailyO over a phone call that the answer is a resounding NO! Chheda said she wouldn't recommend Bournvita, or any such popular health drink for children and/or adults. 

Chheda believes in the mantra that "less sugar is better". She says that much of the body's daily sugar requirements are met by our regular meals.

Chheda is not the only one from the health fraternity to warn against the consumption of so-called health drinks.

Nupur Arya, consulting nutritionist and co-founder of Nutrimend, also says that sweetened health drinks such as Bournvita increase a "preference towards sweet foods".  

Dr Abby Phillips, scientist, and liver specialist, who goes by the Twitter name TheLiverDoc called out Cadbury for its misleading claims on muscle and bone growth, immunity enhancement, and brain development.

What amount of sugar intake is good for you?

According to the WHO, sugar intake should be restricted to 100 calories in a 2000-calorie diet, which is 5%. Other recommendations include no more than 25 g of sugar for children, about 25 g for healthy women, and 38 g for healthy men. 

• Bournvita recommends 20 g of powder per serving, which has 6.5 g of sugar.  
• One gram of sugar is roughly four calories. So, with 20 g of Bournvita, which has 6.5 g of sugar, you consume 26 calories (6.5 g x 4 calories). 
• Even though it seems like one scoop of Bournvita makes up for one-fourth of the daily sugar intake, the total sugar intake is much more since other ingredients in the product such as malt have naturally occurring sugars.

• Bournvita has 85.2 g of Carbohydrates per 100 g, which later converts into at least 45% of sugar. 
• Usually, when children or adults in India drink Bournvita with milk, they tend to add extra sugar to the cup. This further adds to the sugar intake in just one glass of Bournvita milk. 

What about the micronutrients? 

Cadbury Bournvita in its statement following the Foodpharmer row said that its powder contains several important nutrients such as Vitamin A, C, D, zinc, etc. So, does it mean you lose out on these micronutrients if you don't consume Bournvita? 

Consulting nutritionist Nupur Arya says:

TheLiverDoc also has something similar to say:

The best way to consume milk according to Dietician Chheda is without any additions. If someone doesn't like the taste of milk, Nupur Arya suggests trying "yogurt, paneer, fresh cheese, whey protein". 

Hidden sugar 

Bournvita is not the only wolf in a sheep costume sitting on the supermarket store shelves. People are sharing their newfound discoveries in the ingredient list of popular products such as Patanjali's Herbal Powder Vita, Yakult, and more. 

Hidden sugar is everywhere. And in cases like Yakult, the sugar content with the supposed helpful bacteria seems counterproductive. 

In the viral Bournvita video, influencer Revant Himatsingka also claims that colour 150c which is caramel colouring in the product is linked to cancer. Well, studies do say that sometimes manufacturing caramel colour may produce a carcinogenic substance called methylimidazole. However, only testing of Bournvita and other health drinks can tell whether there are any cancer-causing agents. 

For Bournvita and other malt-based health drinks, India is an important market. It is the largest market in the world for malt-based drinks, with 22% of the retail share.

So, the next time you reach out for any packaged food item, know that these products come with loads of unhealthy content.