YourHub.com \\ Tri-Lakes \\ Stories \\ Health

Got pop?

e-mail to a friend | print this | link to this

Contributed by: Kathy Loidolt on 2/1/2008

We Americans love a soda! And no wonder! It tastes great, gives us a boost and feels like a celebration drink. I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but do we know what we are drinking? Most of us are aware that there is a lot of sugar in pop (High Fructose Corn Syrup is a concentrated sugar) that's why it tastes so good, right? Sugar, among other things, lowers our immune sytem, making us susceptible to illnesses.

The bad news is, sugar is the least of our concerns when we drink pop. Many soda pops contain color dyes, which have been known to cause ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and impotence. Another common soda pop ingredient, sodium benzoate, is a chemical compound that has it's own MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) filed with OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Organization). The MSDS for sodium benzoate states "Caution! Harmful if swallowed or inhaled!" The manufacturers are instructed to wear protective goggles, lab coats, gloves and use a vented hood. Now, I know we all drink sodas and feel fine right after, but what is this chemical doing to our bodies, soda after soda, year after year?

The "natural and artificial flavorings" is ingredients code for MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) which has been linked to migraines, MS, IBS, fibromyalgia, anxiety, seizures and depression. If you are drinking diet soda, you are getting lots of MSG, as it is a flavor enhancer used to make foods and drinks without sugar still taste good.

Of course, we all know that pop also contains carbonated water. Soda pop has been nicknamed "osteoporosis in a can" because the carbonation in the soda takes calcium right out of our bones through a three stage process:

1. The carbonation irritates the stomach.

2. The stomach tries to cure the irritation by secreting the only antacid at its disposal, calcium. It gets this calcium from the blood.

3. The blood, now low on calcium, replenishes its supply from the bones. If it did not do this, muscular and brain function would be severely impaired.
Osteoporosis has been shown to be five times worse in kids and women who drink dark cola than in those who drink other types of soda.

So next time you have the kids at a restaurant and they ask if they can order a pop, pull this article out and read it to them! Maybe they'll choose water.

by Kathy Loidolt
Author - Shopper's Guide to Healthy Living

[Report this as objectionable content.]

SUBMIT COMMENT

Rate the above story

Talk Back : submit comments to the story

*Note: you need to log-in to add a comment or rating.

Thank you! Your comment has been updated.

CONTRIBUTOR INFO

Kathy Loidolt

Monument , CO

Kathy Loidolt has posted 5 stories and 0 comments since joining on 1/16/2008. Kathy Loidolt 's average story rating is 0.

view profile » view other postings from Kathy Loidolt »