Soda...

This week I am going to kick off a series "I know its not good for me but just how bad is it?"

Let's start with soda, we all know it is not good for us and we still drink it.  I myself find it sometimes easier to avoid things more often if I understand more about what it is doing to me.  I don't tend to drink a lot of soda anymore but I do get on a kick once in a while where it seems that I drink one everyday.  And I find most often it is the carbonation I crave not so much the taste of the soda.  So I did some research on the effects of soda and then some suggestions on what to replace it with.  Bad news first, some of these I knew but some of it I didn't.

1.  A well-known effect is increased risk of diabetes and obesity.  This is what we hear most about.  Each soda increases your risk by 1.6 times.  That is quite a bit for a single can of soda.

2.  Soda has high counts of phosphorus and little to no calcium.  Not a shock but here comes the part that was new to me...If you get high levels of phosphorus and low levels of calcium in your blood, your body will resort to taking calcium from your bones. This is a major factor contributing to osteoporosis.  And children who drink soda have a higher risk of breaking bones.

3. The sugar in one can of soda damages the white blood cells ability to ingest and kill gonococcal bacteria.  What is that you may ask. (I did)It is the bacteria that cause gonorrhea. Further information on gonorrhea....well that is a whole new topic we won't go into that.

4. Soda has the same ph level as vinegar! If vinegar and soda were both put on metal they would both cause it to rust.  You have probably heard "to clean battery cables use Coke" it really works imagine what it does to our insides.

5.  Large amounts of aspartame can lead to brain tumors.  Now I did not do much research into this as to what levels are considered large and such but if you have concerns about this I would suggest digging a little deeper.

6. The acid in soda dissolves tooth enamel.  You would often think that it would be the sugar but it is the acid.  So which soda is the worst?  You would think it would be Coke after the battery cable cleaning but it is...MOUNTAIN DEW! Followed by Arizona Iced Tea, Sprite and Ginger ale. These were 2-4 times as corrosive as the colas.  A&W Root Beer showed no damage. Hmmm..Root beer floats any one! Okay scratch that last thought.

These findings left me thinking... So how much is a safe level to consume?  Obviously to completely eliminate would be best but I like the idea of all things in moderation.  What I found is a can a day is probably not going to kill you but your safest bet is to minimize it to occasional consumption.  So what are some healthier alternatives? Here is a list:

Green Tea, Jeltzer (mix 1 part your favorite fruit juice with 3 parts Seltzer), Stevia, Tonic & Lime with a sprig of fresh mint (I would guess you should probably leave out the Gin on a regular basis), Red Wine is fine in moderation (4oz a day for Women, 2 drinks for men), Low sodium vegetable juice, soy milk, tea infuser or coffee without cream and sugar.  The jeltzer thing caught my eye because as I stated before I tend to crave the carbonation more than anything and when that is the case vegetable juice just is not going to cut it. Should have wrote this before I went grocery shopping. So think twice next time you pop a top on another soda.  See what you can come up with for alternatives it just might give you the boost you needed.