OLEDA TALKS….On AgeLess BEAUTY AND HEALTH! The Health Dangers of Soda Pop (Carbonated Soft Drinks)

By: Oleda Baker

So very often our health problems do not BEGIN on their own. WE encourage illness and disease little-by-little every day by NOT PREVENTING their cause. We even know better sometimes, but our bodies’ cells can’t be fooled about what we put in our mouths.

Take soda pop for instance.  Some people drink it as if its water and they allow their children to do the same. Sure, carbonated soft drinks are primarily water, but all the other “stuff” in them can be…toxic…poisonous.. lethal… venomous… seriously harmful. I never drink soda pop!

Look at the ingredients in soda pop and the effect each might have on your body:

Phosphoric Acid: May interfere with the body’s

ability to use calcium, which can lead to osteoporosis or softening of the bones and teeth. Phosphoric acid also neutralizes the hydrochloric acid in your stomach, which can interfere with digestion. The soft drink industry argues that the phosphoric acid in soda pop contributes only about 2 percent of the phosphorus in the typical US diet.  But, there’s growing concern that if you drink a few cans of soda a day it can be damaging when they are consumed during the peak bone-building years of childhood and adolescence. A study published by the FDA’s Office of Special Nutritionals noted that a pattern of high phosphorus/low calcium consumption, common in the American diet, is not conducive to optimizing peak bone mass in young women. In adulthood with less calcium available, the bones become more porous and prone to fracture.

Sugar: Soft drink manufacturers are the largest single user of refined sugar in the United States. It is a proven fact that sugar increases insulin levels, which can lead to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, weight gain, premature aging and many more negative side effects. Most sodas include over 100 percent of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of sugar.

Aspartame: This chemical is used as a sugar substitute in diet soda. There are over 92 different health side effects associated with aspartame consumption including brain tumors, birth defects, diabetes, emotional disorders and epilepsy/seizures. Further, when aspartame is stored for long periods of time or kept in warm areas it changes to methanol, an alcohol that converts to formaldehyde and formic acid, which are known carcinogens.

Caffeine: Caffeinated drinks over time can cause jitters, insomnia, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, elevated blood cholesterol levels, vitamin and mineral depletion, breast lumps, birth defects, and perhaps some forms of cancer.  Colas average about 28 percent of the amount of caffeine found in an 8-ounce cup of coffee, but diet colas — usually chosen by those who are trying to dodge calories and/or sugar — often pack a lot more caffeine.

Don’t wait for bad things to happen.  If you’re a soda drinker, switch to fruit juice or water

The average American drinks an estimated 56 gallons of soft drinks in a year.  Teenagers and children, who many soft drinks are marketed toward, are among the largest consumers. In the past 10 years, soft drink consumption among children has almost doubled in the United States. Teenage boys now drink, on average, three or more cans of soda per day, and 10 percent drink seven or more cans a day. The average for teenage girls is more than two cans a day, and 10 percent drink more than five cans a day. If you or your children are among this group, remember this:

• Research has found that women who went from drinking less than one non-diet soda a day to one or more were nearly twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes over a four-year period as women who drank less than one soft drink during a day. (The women who drank more soda also gained more weight over the same period.)

• A study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism suggested that fructose, a sweetener found naturally in fruit juice and typically used in concentrated amounts in soft drinks, may induce a hormonal response in the body that promotes weight gain.

• Soft Drinks, especially light-colored drinks, and canned iced tea appear to “aggressively” erode teeth enamel in laboratory tests—and it didn’t matter whether they were diet drinks or regular ones, according to a study published in General Dentistry. It is then advised to avoid these kinds of drinks and improve your oral health through professional dental care and cosmetic dentistry services.

• Aside from the negative effects of the soda itself, drinking a lot of soda is likely to leave you with little appetite for vegetables, protein and other food that your body needs.

Until next time,

Love, Oleda

See you on facebook.

Biography
About Oleda Baker:  Oleda, 75, began her career as a high fashion model with the prestigious Wilhelmina Model Agency,  in New York City,  doing print and TV assignments in New York and Europe. She is the author of ten books on beauty and health. She was beauty editor of Model’s Circle, a monthly beauty magazine, for which she was also responsible for two articles filling three pages a month. Oleda is founder and CEO of Oleda and Company, Inc., her 37-year-old anti-aging products company. www.oleda.com  Her latest  book, “BREAKING THE AGE BARRIER Great Looks and Health at Every Age,” is due out in November 1, 2010. Oleda is also a visionary artist.  Her oil paintings have been exhibited in museums and galleries around the country, the latest one happening last year at the Museum of Florida Art, DeLand.