The Soft Drink Monster Presented
By
The Science of Wellness Society
For Educational Purposes
Taken from the AZHEALTH Magazine August 2004
In 2000, Americans spent $60 billion on carbonated soft drinks and on an average each drank 53 gallons of it. One of every four beverages consumed in America today is a soft drink.
THE AVERAGE CAN OF POP CONTAINS ABOUT 40 GRAMS of refined sugars, an addictive stimulant in caffeine and carbonation, a known irritant to stomach and esophageal disease. Few would argue that a soft drink is not the healthiest beverage of choice.
WHY KICK THE SOFT DRINK HABIT
ANYWAY?
Kicking the soft drink habit is a critical step for achieving lasting health and weight loss for everyone, regardless of what kind of diet they pursue. Newly published research has shown the consumption of high fructose corn syrup-the primary sweetener in soft drinks-is strongly linked to Type II diabetes and obesity. Yet beyond the risk of developing these chronic diseases, there are many other health consequences associated with the frequent consumption of soft drinks.
Shifting to diet soft drinks isn't any better. Avoiding the refined sugars found in regular soft drinks by turning to diet soft drinks simply trades one metabolic disrupting ingredient for another. You may be avoiding high fructose corn syrup, but if you drink diet soft drinks, you are ingesting artificial chemical sweeteners, usually aspartame. Aspartame has its own serious health consequences.
There's also the caffeine addiction factor, which is very strong for regular consumers of soft drinks. Caffeine can be highly addictive. Soft drink manufacturers rely on its addictive qualities to hook consumers, in much the same way cigarette companies rely on nicotine to keep people smoking. Quitting soft drinks means overcoming this very strong caffeine addiction.
THE HEALTH DANGERS OF ASPARTAME
When metabolized, aspartame breaks down into methanol, also known as free methyl alcohol. Methanol is a chemical regulated a by the U.S. Environmental Protection of Agency due to its environmental impact.
Interestingly, it's illegal to dump methanol into rivers and streams, but it's not illegal for soft drink manufactures to use an ingredient that breaks down into methanol in your body.
Methanol, when metabolized in the human body, breaks down into two other substances as with various health implications: formic acid, which is an irritant and mild poison, and, formaldehyde, which is the same liquid used to preserve laboratory specimens such as frogs, insects and organs for educational purer poses in anatomy and basic science courses. It's this formaldehyde that presents the greatest potential threat to consumers of diet soft drinks.
Formaldehyde is a potent nerve toxin, which is probably why the vast majority of complaints received by the U.S. Food, alcohol and Drug Administration. Methanol is a chemical regulated Drug Administration (FDA) in association with aspartame consumption exhibit a pattern of nervous system disorders. These disorders include seizures, dizziness, shaking and tremors, mental confusion, alteration in mood and even permanent blindness. The FDA receives thousands of such complaints each year; and aspartame alone accounts for nearly three-fourths of all complaints received by the FDA in conjunction with foods and beverages.
Many people who suffer from migraines, such as seizures, dizziness, confusion and other problems associated with the consumption of diet soft drinks experience a stark reversal of those symptoms once they eliminate aspartame from their diets.
Aspartame, however, may not be the worst part about diet soft drinks. Diet soft drinks present another health threat that receives little or no media attention. It is virtually unknown to the public. This risk is present in both regular and diet soft drinks.
Soft drinks contain excess phosphorous. In order to rid the body of excess phosphorus, the body automatically starts stripping calcium from the bones and eliminating both calcium and phosphorus through the kidneys in order to return the body to a healthy state. A serious mineral imbalance can continue if you keep drinking soft drinks.
Consider options such as naturally flavored mineral water, herbal teas and nutmilk.
(Source: The Consumer Wellness Research Center. AZHEALTH MAGAZINE August 2005
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