SoBe Lean - Functional Foods

SoBe Lean

The SoBe line of  beverages is manufactured by the South Beach Beverage Company* – now a subsidiary of PepsiCo.  Their teas, juices and “Lifewater” drinks are fortified with various herbal extracts, nutrients and antioxidants.  The “Lean” line is fortified with 100% DV Vitamin C + chromium, as well as other nutraceutical ingredients such as Citrimax, ginseng, L-carnitine and/or guarana.  The drinks come in 6 flavors: Cranberry Grapefruit, Green Tea, Mango Peach, Peach Tea, Blackberry Currant and Energy. 

Manufacturer’s Description (Energy):  Be on top of the world and your diet with this low-cal version of SoBe Energy. It’s a thirst-quenching, citrus-flavored drink with zero sugar and lots of herbal infusions such as taurine, citrimax, ginseng and guarana.

Product Label:

Serving size 8 fl oz (240 mL)
Servings Per Container 2.5
Calories 5
Total Fat 0g
Sodium 15mg
Potassium 30mg
Total Carbs 1g
Sugars 1g
Protein 0g
Vitamin A 0%
Vitamin C 100%
Calcium 0%
Iron 0%
Chromium 35%
Caffeine 32mg
Ingredients: FILTERED WATER, ORANGE JUICE CONCENTRATE, CITRIC ACID, NATURAL FLAVOR, LEMON JUICE CONCENTRATE, GARCINIA CAMBOGIA RIND EXTRACT, ASCORBIC ACID (VITAMIN C), PECTIN, GUM ARABIC, ACESULFAME POTASSIUM, SUCRALOSE, CAFFEINE, L-CARNITINE, GLYCEROL ESTER OF WOOD ROSIN, TAURINE, PANAX GINSENG ROOT EXTRACT, GUARANA (PAULLINIA CUPANA) SEED EXTRACT, CARAMEL COLOR, CHROMIUM PICOLINATE, BETA-CAROTENE (COLOR). CONTAINS MILK AND SOY

Comments: I picked up a couple of 20 oz. bottles of SoBe Lean Energy (above) and Blackberry Currant on my last trip to the store. The Energy was my favorite of the two: it’s a citrus-flavored drink, with an interesting sort of tangerine-grapefruit flavor. It was tangy and lightly sweet…without being excessively so. I didn’t note any particular energy boost, but then again, I wasn’t expecting one…there are only 32 mg of caffeine in a serving. The Blackberry Currant was also reasonably sweet and refreshing, with a decent berry flavor, but seemed more ordinary, by comparison.

I noted that – while both flavors ostensibly contained Citrimax and ginseng, there was no information on either the bottles or SoBe web site on the amounts per serving. I would not be surprised to discover these ingredients are largely “label decoration” and not present in any significant amount. Of course, neither one really makes a significant contribution to either fat loss (Citrimax) or energy/stamina (ginseng), so it’s probably a moot point. But the drinks are tasty, and undeniably low in calories, so can legitimately own the label “lean” regardless of whether the nutraceutical content is debatable.

[usrlist “Taste:4.0” “Quality:3.0” “Efficacy:3.5” “Value:4.5″ avg=”true”]

*no connection to the South Beach Diet

Author: elissa

Elissa is a former research associate with the University of California at Davis, and the author/co-author of over a dozen articles published in scientific journals. Currently a freelance writer and researcher, Elissa brings her multidisciplinary education and training to her writing on nutrition and supplements.

5 Comments

  1. What happened to the flavor called “Citrus”?? The complete name was: “Sobe Lean Cirtus”. It was awesome! I was buying it in Tom Thumb and all of a sudden, it was gone! Now I buy Blackberry Currant. I miss the Citrus–I wished I knew why you stopped making it, or pulled it from Dallas/Plano, Texas stores? I would love to see you bring it back–I’m ready to buy it again!!!!!!

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  2. I agree! I used to buy a lot of Sobe Lean Energy Citrus – I loved it. Pepsi stopped that flavor so now I don’t buy any Sobe or any other Pepsi product…

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    • I bought 5 cases at a time of the citrus flavor. I had my grocery bringing in the back room for me. Then Pepsi discontinued the flavor. I don’t understand why, I drove the sales in my market all by myself.

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  3. I am type 1 diabetic, so I tried the SoBe Lean when it first came out.. but only twice… since after both times.. I ended up in the emergency room for dehydration and uncontrollable vomiting.. what ever it has, it definitely reacted with my diabetes, blood sugars went sky high, even tho it is sugar free.. now I took some “5 hour energy” no hosp visit, but blood sugars sky high again… I definitely will forget this junk…

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  4. I also bought the SoBe Lean Citrus for several years, then all of sudden it was gone. I have tried several other flavors, but have not bought on regular basics. From my experience there were alot of people who bought the sobe lean citrus, whenever I went to buy some, it was gone and I had to search for a store that might have still some. Please bring it back!!! WE MISS IT!!!

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