Make September Soda-Free!
This month, make a
healthy choice and
reduce your soda intake
One of our Healthy Habits for
Life slogans is "Sometimes and
Anytime" Foods. Too many of
us have made drinking soda a
daily habit, or an "anytime" food.
Have you ever thought about the
effect of this soda intake on your
health?
Many of the ingredients in
soda have health consequences
most of us don't ever think about.
Probably the worst ingredient in
soda is the phosphoric acid. This
is in both diet and regular soda.
When large amounts of phosphates are in the blood, your
body draws calcium from the
bones to neutralize the phosphates; leading to a loss of bone
density and osteoporosis. Unfortunately, there is also a negative
correlation between the amount
of soda consumed and milk intake. The more soda a person
drinks, the less milk consumed
daily. This in and of itself, is a
A little
health risk. Low intake of calcium from milk can lead to decreased bone density and osteoporosis. Add the extra phosphates in the blood from the soda
and this loss of bone density
occurs even at a younger age.
2009 is the 8-ounce mini-can.
As these portions have increased,
have you noticed how our waistlines have also increased? Unfortunately most people do not
adjust their food (calorie) intake
to compensate for this increased
portion size.
A LITTLE MATH
The acidity in soda is similar
to vinegar. This is masked by the
large quantity of sugar or high
fructose corn syrup. Besides the
loss of bone density, the acidity
can also cause tooth decay and
kidney damage.
Assume you drink two 12-ounce
cans of regular soda (not diet) a
day. Each can contains approximately 150 calories. Over a year,
this would be 109,500 calories
(150 calories x 2 cans x 365
days). There are 3,500 calories
in a pound, so this would be 31
pounds gained in a year, due to
soda alone! Just think, you could
lose weight just by kicking your
daily soda habit, a great idea!
PORTION SIZE
Instead of Soda, Try
Another cause for concern,is the
portion sizes of soda. When the
first soda was introduced, CocaCola was served in a 6-ounce
glass bottle. From there we went
to the 12-ounce aluminum can
and now the industry standard is
a 20-ounce plastic bottle. The
smallest soda size available in
• Unsweetened
Did you know?
•
ing soda are marked
with the "hazardous"
materials sign.
•
Tea
• Water with a Twist of Lemon or
Lime
trunks. What for?
• A glass of milk
To dissolve blood on
the pavement from an
auto accident.
•
Soda can dissolve a
nail in about 4 days
Assume you drink two 12-ounce cans of regular soda (not diet) each
day. Not unrealistic for many people. There are approximately 10 teaspoons of sugar in each can, adding up to 20 teaspoons of sugar daily from
these two cans of soda. Add this up over one year (365 days), and this is
7,300 teaspoons of sugar a year. This would be 152 cups of sugar a year
alone from soda. Knowing that there are 2 cups of sugar for each pound,
this would equal 76 pounds of sugar from drinking 2 soda cans each day!
due to the acidity,
imagine what it does
to your teeth!
Although diet soda contains no sugar, the health risks of bone density
loss, tooth decay (and staining), kidney damage and Type 2 Diabetes remain the same. The only difference between diet and regular soda is the
calories.
Now is a good time to begin to begin to make September and the rest of your life "Soda-Free".
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Some state require
the CHPofficers to
carry 2-litre bottles
of soda n their
• Crystal Light Lemonade
more math ...
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Semi-trucks hauling
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