Sweet Poisons
Drinking soda - even occasionally - is definitely not good for you. For one thing the stuff makes you fat. And it doesn't matter whether it's diet or not. According to a new study a daily soft drink will increase your risk of gaining weight and developing diabetes.
Researchers tracked the health of 6,000 middle-aged Americans over the course of four years, and found that the people who drank a soda a day, whether diet or regular, had an increased risk of getting fat and becoming unhealthy.
"We were struck by the fact that it didn't matter whether it was a diet or regular soda that participants consumed," said Boston University professor Ramachandran Vasan. Both groups of soda drinkers had the same increased risk of becoming obese - 31 percent - and a 44 percent higher chance of developing risk factors for heart disease and diabetes.
One researcher, Ravi Dhingra, told Agence France-Presses: "It may be that soft drinks condition a person's palate" for sweets. The researcher went on to speculate that it could also be that diet soda doesn't cause eating habits and disease; instead, it may be that people who already have a weakness for sweets tend to gravitate toward soft drinks.
Well, whether it's the cause of weight gain or not, the study results are clear: there is a relationship between the consumption of carbonated soft drinks and weight gain in America. But there are a lot of reasons to stop drinking soda, all sodas - the low calorie stuff that they call "diet" as well as that "liquid candy" known as "regular." There's the fact that frequent consumption may also increase your risk of osteoporosis - drinking soda while trying to strengthen your bones is just counter productive; then there's the tooth decay problem (due to the large amounts of sugars, mostly high-fructose corn syrup) and dental erosion (due to the acids).
I could say more, but I feel a tirade coming on. It really pisses me off that companies continue to market these concoctions, these sweet poisons, as "refreshing" and wholesome "thirst-quenchers" which we keep consuming, becoming fat and fatter, and more and more unhealthy in the process - so don't get me started!
Peace, LR
Researchers tracked the health of 6,000 middle-aged Americans over the course of four years, and found that the people who drank a soda a day, whether diet or regular, had an increased risk of getting fat and becoming unhealthy.
"We were struck by the fact that it didn't matter whether it was a diet or regular soda that participants consumed," said Boston University professor Ramachandran Vasan. Both groups of soda drinkers had the same increased risk of becoming obese - 31 percent - and a 44 percent higher chance of developing risk factors for heart disease and diabetes.
One researcher, Ravi Dhingra, told Agence France-Presses: "It may be that soft drinks condition a person's palate" for sweets. The researcher went on to speculate that it could also be that diet soda doesn't cause eating habits and disease; instead, it may be that people who already have a weakness for sweets tend to gravitate toward soft drinks.
Well, whether it's the cause of weight gain or not, the study results are clear: there is a relationship between the consumption of carbonated soft drinks and weight gain in America. But there are a lot of reasons to stop drinking soda, all sodas - the low calorie stuff that they call "diet" as well as that "liquid candy" known as "regular." There's the fact that frequent consumption may also increase your risk of osteoporosis - drinking soda while trying to strengthen your bones is just counter productive; then there's the tooth decay problem (due to the large amounts of sugars, mostly high-fructose corn syrup) and dental erosion (due to the acids).
I could say more, but I feel a tirade coming on. It really pisses me off that companies continue to market these concoctions, these sweet poisons, as "refreshing" and wholesome "thirst-quenchers" which we keep consuming, becoming fat and fatter, and more and more unhealthy in the process - so don't get me started!
Peace, LR
3 comments:
Great to read such a post...I have something for you that, I am proud to say I just finished week 5 on my weight loss program and have lost 17lbs already! The best part is I have more energy and feel great about myself. I know there a lot of programs out there, but I recommend Fatlossity.com
Thanks Chris. Sorry, it's taken this long to get back to you. Been busy offline working on political stuff. I check out the link you left. Moreno
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