Day Sixty-Two: Sodas

In the 1960s, the average size of a soft drink sold was 6 and 1/2 ounces.

Today, the average soda size is 20 ounces. Sodas are sold at just about every gas station, convenience store, movie theater, grocery store, and shopping mall. They are sold in 64 ounce containers at both movie theaters and convenience stores. At fast food restaurants, they often come with free refills.

Alarming?

According to the National Soft Drink Association (NSDA), consumption has surged in America, and is now estimated at over 600 12-oz servings per person per year. The highest consumption population is amongst males between the ages of 12-29, who average a 1/2 gallon per day. In the early 1980s, the average 12 year old boy used to drink over twice as much milk as soft drink. Now, that's reversed.

So why do many health food advocates call soda, "liquid candy"?

According to the NSDA, about 21% of the sugar in the American diet comes from soft drinks. It is a huge source of unneeded and unwanted caffeine in the body of a growing child or adolescent. High fructose corn syrup, highly correlated with obesity rates in children, is the sweetener of choice in soft drinks as very few sodas use cane sugar as a sweetener. They are linked to osteoporosis, are acidic in nature, and correspond with depleting oral health (teeth and gums). Multiple studies have been published material correlating soft drink consumption with cardiovascular disease, stroke, heart attack, and high cholesterol levels.

So, how about that diet soda?

Just because diet soda doesn't contain sugar or high fructose corn syrup doesn't mean that its good for you. In fact, its quite the contrary. High amounts of artificial sweetener consumption has been linked to cancer. What diet sodas lack in calories, they make up for in sodium. Too much sodium causes us to retain water, so instead of looking thinner we look and feel bloated. Also, artificial sweeteners that are used in sodas often cause hunger cravings. So, we may drink less of our calories, but make up for that by what we snack on.

There is no health benefit to drinking a soda....none. While fruit juices are high in calories and sugar, and milk can be high in fat, they both have health benefits. Iced tea, hot tea, green tea, even coffee all have antioxidant benefits, but a soda....nope. People can drop a quick 3-5 pounds just from giving up soft drinks...between the water retention, the empty calories, and the mindless snacking that accompanies consumption of these beverages.

I challenge you to think about your soft drink consumption, making changes where necessary.