Who Wants A Soda?
April 27, 2016
The hot weather is upon us. It's still spring, but in my part of the country we are having days that are warm enough to be called summer. For most of us, summer is BBQ, picnic, and beach season.
When it's hot outside you naturally reach for cold drinks to help cool your core body temperature. Too often our choices are limited to soda. Have you ever wondered what makes soda so terrible for you?
5 Reasons To Skip The Soda
Here are the main strikes against commercial sodas and they're all important enough to make you think twice before picking up a soda this summer:
1. Drinking just one sugary soda per day is linked to an increased risk of diabetes.
You will recognize diabetes as the disease that causes blindness, neuropathy (numbness) in the hands and feet, and amputation of your lower legs. Is that one soda a day worth the risk of losing your lower legs?
2. I'll take a can of cancer please.
Dark colored soda contains a caramel coloring called Mel-4. This coloring has been proven to cause cancer in mice models. California and other states are in the process of petitioning the FDA to take caramel coloring out of all soft drinks.
3. Soda hurts the ocean and kills marine life.
Yep, that is right: when you drink a plastic bottle full of sugary soda, that harmless looking plastic bottle will likely end up in the ocean, EVEN if you recycle it. Next time you want to drink a nice cool plastic bottle of soda, just think of a sea turtle choking to death on a slice of green plastic.
4. Were you thinking that drinking soda out of an aluminium can might be a better choice?
Aluminum cans are lined with BPA (bisphenol A). Over 90% of humans have BPA in their bodies. This is problematic since BPA causes hormone disruptions with the consequence of breast cancer, low sperm count, and erectile dysfunction.
This is a serious regional problem caused by consumption of sugary carbonated drinks. The citric and phosphoric acid in soda actually breaks down the enamel on your teeth. Then the sugar in the soda feeds bacteria that decays the entire tooth. Teeth come in handy for eating grass-fed steak and jerky; so I would skip the soda if you want to keep chewing your food.
Healthy Alternatives
There are plenty of non-toxic and health promoting beverages that you can substitute for sugary soda.
San Pellegrino
San Pellegrino is a naturally carbonated mineral water that doesn't contain citric acid, sugar or phosphorus. You can even get San Pellegrino in most Costco stores.
Kefir Water
The best and most healthful drink you will ever consume is kefir water. Kevita makes the tastiest and most refreshing kefir water I have ever had. Next week I will share my recipe for homemade kefir water and my favorite homemade soda. If you can screw on a bottle top, you will be able to make either one of these bubbly and health promoting brews.
Other resources
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/sugary-drinks-fact-sheet/
http://www.medicaldaily.com/pulse/soft-drink-dangers-8-ways-soda-negatively-affects-your-health-319054
