Soda: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
by Susan Burke MS, RD, LD/N, CDE
How bad is soda? Not only does it bloat your waistline, but it also shrinks your wallet. Your body doesn't like soda. Soda pushes nutritious foods to the side. Diet soda may not have sugar, but it has the same affect on your pocketbook and your diet balance.
Our waistlines continue to expand and so do the dollars spent yearly on soda and sweetened soft drinks. A 1997 USDA study showed that Americans spent over $54 billion dollars to buy 14 billion gallons of soda, which means on average each American adult and child consumed 576 cans per year (1.6 cans per day). Carbonated soft drinks account for more than 27 percent of beverage consumption in America.
Newer studies report that per capita soft drink consumption among U.S. children has increased by nearly 500 percent over the past 50 years. Nearly half of all children age 19 and under consume carbonated soft drinks in a day. After age 10, soda is the most commonly consumed beverage among kids.
Health experts cite soda as responsible for the lowering of nutrition in our diet in two ways. First, soda, sweetened teas and "sports drinks" displace nutrients from milk and juice. Second, even though sweetened drinks contain a lot of calories, they do nothing to curb our appetite for food, and therefore we get a double dose of calories each day and that contributes greatly to the obesity plague.
Soft drinks have been around for over 100 years, but what a difference the years make. In the 1950s, Coca-Cola's 6.5-ounce bottle was the standard serving. Today's 12-ounce can are less favored than 20-ounce bottles and kids are encouraged to "supersize" at fast food franchises and buy 64-ounce "Double Gulps" at convenience stores.
Just talking about how much sugar is in a can of soda is less effective than visualizing it. One 12-ounce can contains about 9 teaspoons of added sugar. That's about a quarter cup. It's also about 150 empty calories. The average American drinks almost two of these each day so he or she is getting nearly a half-cup of sugar from soft drinks. Imagine spooning 18 teaspoons of sugar from the sugar bowl into a big glass of club soda, then adding a couple of drops of food coloring... would you drink it?
Diet sodas may be better in terms of calories and added sugar, however, the problem of nutrition remains. If you're substituting diet soda for milk or 100-percent fruit juice in a balanced diet, then your diet will be deficient in the important nutrients these foods provide. Most hard hit: calcium and vitamins C and D.
If you're worried about the health effects of artificial sweeteners in soda, the FDA has given its stamp of approval to the following: acesulfame potassium, aspartame and saccharin, as well as sucralose. Some consumers are wary of these sweeteners, but there are no known health risks associated with moderate consumption. There is one exception for aspartame: people with the rare genetic condition called phenylketonuria.
Other negatives linked to soda include:
- Caffeine! Many sodas contain caffeine (colas and non-colas). Caffeine is not only addictive, but it can also cause adverse reactions such as insomnia, irritability and racing heartbeat. Research by Johns Hopkins University examining the difference in consumption of caffeinated vs. non-caffeinated sodas show that consumption is driven by the "mood-altering and physical dependence of caffeine." To avoid "withdrawal symptoms, similar to symptoms of excess by tapering down slowly, and begin by replacing one of your regular, caffeinated sodas with a non-caffeinated soda every day for four days, then replace that non-caffeinated soda with an equal amount of clear, pure water. For variety, try sodium-free club soda, and add a squeeze of lime and/or lemon. Eventually, you'll wean yourself off the sugary stuff, and you'll feel so much better. Avoid the "added caffeine" drinks like Coca-Cola's Surge or Pepsi's Josta. Mountain Dew contains 55 milligrams of caffeine per 12-ounce can; Sunkist has 40, Coke 45, Pepsi 37, Sprite zero.
- Tooth decay! The link between sugary soda and cavities is well documented. But worse is the acids in all sodas, both colas and non-colas, canned ice teas and even diet drinks also can weaken and erode tooth enamel. The malic, tartaric, citric and phosphoric acids that impart familiar flavors corrode the tooth's protective enamel coating and draw calcium out of tooth enamel. Sodas and flavored teas were tougher on enamel than plain brewed tea, coffee and root beer.
- Osteoporosis! Drinking soda can lead to excess consumption of phosphorus, which can lead to a depletion of bone calcium. This is especially worrisome to women. In a study of 460 high school students, girls who drank the most soda had three to four times the risk of bone fracture compared to those who drank none. Physically active girls were at the higher end of the risk ratio. Women are more prone to osteoporosis and need calcium to build their bones, especially before age 25. They need to keep their bones strong after menopause, and soda displaces intake of calcium-rich milk and calcium-fortified milk substitutes. This also increases the risk for broken bones.
- Obesity! The British medical journal Lancet reported evidence linking soft drink consumption to childhood obesity. Studies show that 12-year-olds who drank soft drinks regularly were almost doubly likely to be overweight than those who didn't. Just drinking one can a day equals more than a thousand excess calories per week. If you're trying to lose weight , just cutting out the soda for three weeks will allow you to lose about one pound. Stretched out over a year this could mean a 16-pound loss.
- Diabetes! Type 2 diabetes is closely correlated with obesity. In 2002, nearly 18.2 million Americans had diabetes. Diabetes is an epidemic. The number of victims has nearly doubled from 1990 to 2002. New research shows that women most prone to gaining weight had increased their consumption of sugary soft drinks from less than one a week to more than one a day. On average, those women gained 9-10 pounds in a four-year period. Women reducing their intake of soft drinks gained an average of 3 pounds or less. Other research shows that women who drank at least one sugar-sweetened soda a day were 85 percent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who drank less. In addition to the sodas' excess calories, their large amount of rapidly absorbable sugars could contribute to obesity and a greater risk of diabetes.
The number of Americans consuming sugar-free products increased from less than 70 million in 1987 to more than 160 million in 2000. During the same period, the consumption of regular soft drinks increased by more than 15 gallons per person. The latest in marketing schemes for soda manufacturers is hybrid sodas. They try to have it both ways by sweetening both with sugar and artificial sweeteners. Less sugar in soda means fewer calories, and for those who dislike artificial sweeteners, it may be more acceptable to have less. The problem of nutrient displacement remains, as soda still pales in comparison nutritionally to milk and 100 percent fruit juice. Water remains the gold standard for thirst quenchers.
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| 6 Reasons to Eat Your Vegetables
If you're like most Americans, you're probably eating only 3 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, if that. Big mistake. Research shows that the more veggies you consume daily, the better off you'll be, in terms of overall health and body weight. Aim for 5 to 9 or even 13 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Here are 6 reasons why:
- Helps you lose weight. Since fruits and vegetables have a lot of fiber, the more of them you eat, the fuller you feel. The beauty is they're low in calories, so you wind up satisfying your appetite without exceeding your daily calorie allotment. Recent studies show that increasing your fiber intake by as little as 14 grams a day can result in weight loss of just over four pounds in four months. It's the fiber in the fruits and veggies that does it, which is why it's better to eat the whole carrot or apple than drink carrot or apple juice.
- Fights cancer. In a comprehensive review of the best research on fruits, vegetables, and cancer by an agency for the World Health Organization, the authors concluded that eating more vegetables "probably lowers the risk of cancers of the esophagus and colon-rectum" and "possibly reduces the risk of cancers of the mouth, pharynx, stomach, larynx, lung, ovary, and kidney." Cooking certain veggies increases the body's ability to absorb cancer-fighting antioxidants-especially carotenoids (found in carrots). In fact, your body can absorb up to five times more carotenoids from cooked and mashed carrots than it can from raw carrots, according to a study led by Dr. Sue Southon of the Institute of Food Research in Norwich.
- Promotes heart health. A 14-year-long Harvard study of nurses and other health professionals found that the more fruits and vegetables a person ate daily, the lower their chances were of developing heart-related health problems like heart attack and stroke. People who ate more than eight servings of fruits and vegetables a day were 30 percent less likely to have cardiovascular problems. For every extra fruit or vegetable serving a person ate each day, their heart disease risk dropped by 4 percent.
- Lowers cholesterol. According to a study by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, people who ate more than four servings of fruits and vegetables a day had much lower levels of LDL or "bad" cholesterol than those who ate fewer servings.
- Reduces bowel problems. The fiber in fruits and vegetables relieves constipation and helps prevent diverticulosis and colon disease.
- Improves vision. Eating your vegetables may help prevent vision problems associated with aging. The antioxidants in veggies (particularly dark green leafy ones) fight damage from free radicals that harm the eye and can lead to the development of cataracts (clouding of the eye's lens) and macular degeneration (damage to the center of the retina).
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