“If you want kids to be less violent, stop giving them this,” said the headline on Twitter. To find out more, I clicked on the link and found an article titled “Soda drinking tied to violent behavior in kids” by the Daily News.
The news said that children consuming four or more servings of soda per day are likely to display bad behavior. Studies show that these kids may have withdrawal and attention problems, destroy other people’s belongings and get into fights and physical attacks.
Here are six more problems related to drinking soda and sugar drinks:
Sugar overload
A 20 oz. Mountain Dew contains 77g. of sugar and a 7 Eleven 64 oz. Double Gulp Coke contains 186g of sugar. Dr. Mercola has an article on What Happens to Your Body Within an Hour of Drinking a Coke.
He said within the first 10 minutes, you get 10 teaspoons of sugar in your system, within 20 minutes your blood sugar spikes and your liver responds and turns the sugar overload into fat. By 40 minutes, your blood pressure rises and your liver dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. After an hour you’ll start to have a sugar crash. (Read more here.)
Read:
The Truth about Sugar Addiction
The nine benefits of drinking water
Additives and artificial color
A question, “Do you use additives in Coca-Cola?” was posted on Coca Cola Britain’s site. The answer was “We do use additives in some of our drinks, including Coca Cola.”
What are the additives found in your soda drink and why are they harmful? The Consumer Report said caramel color is added to many soft drinks to turn them brown and some of these contain carcinogenic chemical called 4-methylimidazole (4-MeI). They tested the 12-ounce samples of Pepsi One and Malta Goya to have 29 micrograms per can or bottle of 4-MeI. They tested on 81 cans and bottles of popular soda brands from five manufacturers.
Read more about 4-MeI on FDA’s website.
Bad for the teeth
PubMed’s report on “Dental erosion and severe tooth decay related to soft drinks: a case report and literature review” said that the acids and sugars in soft drinks have both acidogenic and cariogenic potential. In layman’s term, it will result in potential tooth decay and enamel erosion.
The publication said sugar-free soft drinks have the same erosive potential as sugar-containing soft drinks. So those with artificial sweeteners will pose the same problems.
Dehydration
We may have come to the assumption that any form of liquid will help hydrate our body. Soda and sugar water may give us an immediate quench of thirst but the reality is the sugar and caffeine inside will speed up dehydration.
Dehydration will then lead to tiredness and mood swings.
Increase obesity and diabetes
“If a child drinks just one soda a day, it will lead to 15.6 pounds of weight a year,” said UCSF. These are empty calories loaded with sugar, additives and caffeine. If a child drinks one soda and two glasses of Kool-Aid each day, he or she would have consumed 390 calories a day.
One pound of fat is 3,500 calories. If the child drinks that amount every day, he or she would potentially increase 40 pounds of weight from drinking soda and sugar drink.
Are sugary drinks the major contributor to obesity in America?
To Harvard School of Public Health the answer is YES. The study is poignant and here are some highlights of why sugary drinks including soda are dangerous to our children’s health:
1. The standard size soft drinks before 1950s was 6.5 ounces.
2. By the 1960s 12-ounce cans were introduced.
3. Early 1990s, 20-ounce plastic bottles were normal.
4. 2011 the 1.25-liter (42-ounce) bottle was introduced.
5. In the 1970s, sugary drinks made up about 4% of US daily calorie intake
6. 2001 risen to 9% and by 1999 to 2004 the average was 224 calories (11% of daily calorie intake) per day from sugary drinks.
Kids ages 6 to 11 consume 130 to 209 calories per day by 2008. (Source: Harvard School of Public Health)
It is not surprising when I saw the chart on CDC showing:
Between 1976-1980 and 2007-2008 obesity among children ages 6 to 11 rose from 6.5% to 19.6%.
Bad behavior
The Journal of Pediatrics reported on August 16, 2013 “Soft drinks and behavioral problems in young children.” In the study, the journal finds that aggression, attention problems, and withdrawal behavior are all associated with soft drink consumption in young children.
This study assessed about 3,000 5-year-old children from 20 large U.S. cities, and 43% of children consumed at least one serving of soft drinks per day, 4% consumed four or more.
Poor diet, obesity, bad behavior, dental problems, type 2 diabetes and poor health have been linked to sugar drinks and soda.
Are your kids drinking soda or sugar drinks?
What are the alternatives to soda and sugar drinks for your kids as they are heading back to school?
Surprisingly more soda and sugar drinks are being consumed at home than outside. I found a Math Project by an elementary school in Waikele Hawaii. The Math Project showed on average the 464 families consumed four cans of soda per family per day. A total of 1,856 per day, 12,992 per week, 55,680 per month and 668,160 per year.
The average cost per can of soda was 31 cents. The 464 families spent $575.36 per day, $4,027.52 per week, $17,260.80 per month and $207,129.60 per year. That’s almost a quarter of a million dollars on soda for an average size elementary school with 464 families.
That’s just one case study. How about your kids’ school?
What would happen if they drank pure water, added a drop or two of pure 100% therapeutic grade
· Lemon
· Orange
· Tangerine
· Slique
· Peppermint essential oils to the pure water or
NingXia Red to the water?
I would love to hear your thoughts. Please leave me a comment below.
Disclaimer: This information is not meant to diagnose, prescribe, treat or cure any illness or disease. It’s strictly for informational, educational, or entertainment purposes ONLY. The products I talk about are not meant to diagnose, prescribe, treat or cure any illness or disease. Any information I give you about them is for informational or entertainment purposes only. They have not been evaluated or approved by the FDA. Please seek the qualified health professional of your choice when making health decisions for yourself, your family and your pets.