Soft drinks are so pervasive in our society that they are included in art work! Consumption has risen to an average of 600 twelve ounce servings per year per person. Unfortunately the growth in the soft drink market is due to kids drinking more and more soft drinks. And it doesn’t help that every place they purchase a soft drink continues to sell larger and larger containers of the stuff. The soft drink industry has done an amazing job of target marketing. The annual growth in soft drink consumption by kids and young adults in the U.S. is 25%. Consumption of soft drinks since 1978 has tripled for boys and doubled for girls. So why is this important?
Soft drinks could be defined as liquid candy. The ingredients include sugar or high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, caffeine, artificial flavors, citric acid as well as phosphoric acid. Where is then nutrition? An average serving of soda will be approximately 200 calories. This is approximately 10% of the calories needed on a daily basis and our children are consuming 10% of the calories they need to grow and develop as empty, useless calories.
Let’s take a look at the individual ingredients.
Refined sugar has been implicated as a causative factor in diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, tooth decay and ADHD. Harvard researchers reported in The Lancet, a British medical journal, the first evidence linking soft drink consumption to childhood obesity. This research indicated that twelve year old children who drank soft drinks regularly were more likely to be overweight that those children that did not drink soft drinks. For each additional daily serving of sugar-sweetened soft drink consumed during the nearly two-year study, the risk of obesity increased 1.6 times.
The researchers discovered that children who drank soft drinks consumed almost 200 more calories per day than children who didn’t drink soft drinks.
A federally funded study of nearly 3,200 Americans 9 to 29 years old conducted between 1971 and 1974 showed a direct link between tooth decay and soft drinks. Numerous other studies have shown the same link throughout the world, from Sweden to Iraq.
High fructose corn syrup can cause significant risk of weight gain and obesity. Princeton University completed a study of rats and found those fed high fructose corn syrup gained weight 300% faster than their counterparts. Consuming high fructose corn syrup is associated with the development of type two diabetes, high blood pressure, high levels of bad cholesterol, long term liver damage and mercury exposure. In fact, a study found that over 50% of samples of high fructose corn syrup contained mercury which causes irreversible brain and nervous system damage.
Nutra-sweet or Aspartame is a neurotoxin and is associated with 92 different health problems. The primary problems include brain cancer and brain tumors. Aspartame has been found to worsen the symptoms of MS, ADHD, diabetes, chronic fatigue and Alzheimer’s.
In my research I discovered an interesting fact about aspartame. Originally the FDA refused to approve this product. However during the Regan administration the CEO of Searle Industries (the original maker of aspartame) used his influence with the administration to get aspartame approved. The CEO of Searle Industries was Donald Rumsfeld. Now Monsanto owns Searle.
Caffeine is highly addictive, acts as a stimulant, causes insomnia and is associated with high blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat. Along with these issues consumption of caffeine can deplete your vitamin and minerals.
Artificial Flavors and citric acid often contain MSG. The risks associated with ingestion of (or even contact with) monosodium glutamate and other ingredients that contain MSG are simple and straightforward: brain damage, endocrine disorders (obesity and reproductive disorders), behavior disorders, and neurodegenerative disease.
Phosphoric acid interferes with calcium absorption and eats away the enamel of your teeth. A 1994 Harvard study indicated that young women and girls who drank soft drinks were five times more likely to suffer broken bones than their counterparts who did not consume soft drinks.
And there are more negative effects of drinking soda pop that I won’t cover now, suffice it to say it is time to examine your soft drink habit.
Jean Sumner has pursued an interest in wellness her entire life. An avid runner, she is passionate about exercise, eating healthy and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.Jean was diagnosed with cancer in May, 2009 this only served to fuel the flames of her passions and encouraged her to learn more about wellness. This diagnosis actually led to the beginning of World Wellness Education with a mission of “Teaching the world about wellness — one story at a time.”
As Jean pursued alternative methods of treating cancer she met countless individuals who had great stories to tell regarding how nutrition, spirituality and exercise helped them to overcome their various illnesses. Since these stories were moving, motivating and timely she thought that each of these stories may make a difference in others lives. With the knowledge that we learn from stories more quickly than other teaching methods an organization was born in hopes to make a difference in the well being of every individual on the planet.
This information is not meant to be medical advice. No action or inaction should be taken solely on the contents of this information. Instead, you should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to your health and well-being.