http://www.care2.com/greenliving/soft-drinks-easy-greening.html
Soft Drinks: Easy Greening
By Melissa Breyer, Producer, Care2 Green Living
America’s first sodas were made by pharmacists for curative purposes and were flavored with ingredients like birch bark and dandelions. Today’s soft drinks are chock full of artificial ingredients and are proven to increase health risks. Soda vending machines are like kid magnets, and with school starting it’s a great time to think about alternatives. (For us adults, too!) Here’s why you should just say no to soda, and what to wet your whistle with instead.
We are so surrounded by soda that it’s easy to think that a daily pop is fine. But studies show that consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks not only increases weight but also increases the risk of other health issues.
Believe it or not, the average 10- to 12-year-old boy consumes the equivalent of 15 teaspoons of refined sugar a day from drinking soft drinks. Teenage girls are taking in about 10 teaspoons a day. Sound like a lot? It is, and equals the government’s recommended daily limit for sugar from all food.
It comes as no surprise then to hear that studies by the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health found that children and adults who drink soft drinks regularly are heavier on average, in addition to being much more likely to develop diabetes later in life. One study showed that women who drank a minimum of one soda a day could increase their chance of developing type-2 diabetes by a staggering 85 percent!
Products that use artificial sweeteners pose some concern as well. Sucralose, known as Splenda, is marketed as a “natural” sweetener since it is derived from sugar (what a great pitch) but is rendered unrecognizable as a natural ingredient after the intensive processing it receives in the lab. Long term studies have not been conducted on Splenda, and many believe it will eventually prove harmful to our health. Other artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame, are suspect as well.
Besides the sugar content which adds to tooth decay, most soft drinks are also acidic—frequent sipping of these low-pH drinks can have adverse effects on tooth enamel, namely in the form of erosion.
Studies show that children who drink soda drink less milk, and that decrease in calcium can be a huge problem because soda further decreases calcium in the body. The high level of phosphates in soda leads to calcium loss in the bones. Kids who drink soda have a risk of bone fractures three to four times higher than those who do not drink soda. This bone mineralization also can lead to osteoporosis.
One last thing to know about soda is this: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other agencies have found that some sodas commonly sold in the States have concentrations of benzene above the legal limit set for drinking water. Benzene is not added, but can occur as a reaction between phosphoric acid and preservatives used in some sodas. Benzene is classified as a known human carcinogen by the EPA, and is associated with leukemia, aplastic anemia and other blood diseases.
Recent studies show that pre-schoolers are now beginning to show up with soda in their lunchboxes, and that there is an increasing trend in drinking soda with (and sometimes instead of) breakfast. Good golly! It’s time to open our eyes to the power of soda marketing and try some of these mouth-watering alternatives!
1. The best alternative is water, water and water. At school, make sure your kids know where the drinking fountains are! And fill a reusable, inert water bottle with filtered water from your tap. (See Easy Greening: Water Bottles for information about water bottles and where to buy safe reusable ones.)
2. Fruit juice mixed with sparkling water. Juice is packed with vitamins, but is also high in natural sugars so consumption of straight juice should be limited to 6 ounces per day.
3. Organic milk or milk alternatives (rice milk, almond milk, goat milk—we fell utterly in love with hemp milk during one of our vegan spells).
4. Flavored milk (or milk alternative). If you absolutely can’t get your child to drink plain milk, keep this in mind: The Adolescent Health journal found that even dairy products with added sugar are significantly better than soda in the development of children and adolescents. We suggest making your own with organic milk and vanilla extract or organic chocolate: This way you can control the amount of sugar.
5. Homemade healthy cream soda. Mix equal parts milk (or milk alternative) and sparkling water, add a little honey and vanilla extract. Serve over ice.
6. All-natural, low-sugar soft drinks. These are better than conventional sodas, but they still create a “taste” for soda. Some believe it is better to get out of the soda mind-set altogether.
related stories
-
(16 comments)
-
(106 comments)
-
(6 comments)
Robyn
Melissa
Deepak
Eric
Dave
Dr. Brent
Isha
Susan
Delia
Michelle
Wendy
Megan
Hilary
Ann
Judi
Ronnie
Kelly
Lily
Terri
Betsy
Cait
Andrew
Jana
Annie B.
Veronica
50 comments
add your comment »thankyou...
Kabin
Konteyner
mega kabin
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Veganism isn't a "spell." If you could care less about animals, it's nothing but a strict vegetarian diet.
I don't drink soda, but come on... is it really necessary to suggest MILK as an alternative? After all the health problems dairy is proven to cause? I think the deceitful dairy commercials are already doing a good enough job advertising...
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
As a grateful cancer survivor, I know that sugar is off limits, so I drink lots of plain water and eat whole fruit. I also drink camomile tea - an acquired taste, after much perseverance. I give myself a sugar treat once a month, and spend the rest of the month planning the next one !!!
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
i'm glad to say that i stopped drinking coke every day a couple months ago. having a couple cokes a day for me was as normal as it is for many who drink coffee every day.
i went on a major colon cleanse for over a month and the whole thing seemed to awaken my gall bladder and kidneys and so now i'm about to do a big gall bladder flush this weekend after having prepped myself drinking a half a gallon of apple juice every day this past week and eating very light.
as for milk, i've never been one to drink that but i do like rice dream, both the chocolate and regular flavored.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Thanks to all for your informative comments and to Melissa for bringing this article to our attention. I used to get what I thought were frequent Bladder infections when I drank diet sodas. Now I know that it was the artificial sweeteners that irritated my bladder and gave me false symptoms. Since I gave up pop all together, I have never had a "pseudo" bladder infection again. I learned also that the use of artificial sweeteners is linked to bladder cancer. What a surprise!
It is my believe to best stay away from any processed foods and drinks,
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Melissa Breyer is right !
*_.Soft drinks not only raises one's resistance to insulin as one approaches 40 plus, that is the risks of DIABETES-II, but also raise blood-pressure and clogs up and harden the arteries from the associated OBESITY
*_.The livers of people younger than 40 years, especially those under 20 do not escape either as their OBESITY is associated with the non-alcohol consumption LIVER DAMAGE known as NASH or 'Non-Alcoholic-Steato-Hepatitis". This means 'FATTY-ACID' clogged (steato-) INFLAMMED liver (hepatitis). ALL this caused by OBESITY resulting from excessive consumpyion of 'Sodas etc' whilst gorging oneself with CHIPS or POPCORN watching Baseball or COUCHED like a potato on a settee !
SUGAR- RICH SOFT-DRINKS MAY BE AS DANGEROUS AS HARD, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE IN THE TEENS !
TAKE CARE
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
I have never been a big pop drinker prefering water or juice. Lately it has come my attention that most juices contain fructose which is a GMO corn syrup derivative and is just as bad if not worse than sugar. Fructose cannot be used by the body as sugar can and there are many doctors such as Dr. Mercola who state that it is one of the causes behind the rise in diabetes. Fructose can be found in so many products now that it pays to read labels and reject all products that contain it.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Watch the diet ones - artificial sweetners could be even worse for you than the sugar!
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
I might have a ginger ale if I am not feeling well settles the stomach down for me. Other than that it is water with some lemon etc.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
I believe one is healther, if one would make a healthier choice. I do not drink sodas at all.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Facebook account: