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common myths about soda- debunked By Lacie Glover Published September 02, 2015.
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Soda has been a big part of American pop culture since the 1800s, when it was
first marketed as a brain tonic to "invigorate the system" and cure
headaches. It tasted good, too, and the popularity of soft drinks grew, until
the late 1990s, when studies revealed that a third of Americans were obese and
another third were overweight. Much of the blame fell on sugar-sweetened
beverages such as full-calorie Coke and Pepsi that offered only sugar, caffeine
and flavoring. As Americans' waistlines expanded and news coverage of the
obesity epidemic surged, consumers got the message and started to reduce
calories, including those from soda. Caffeine and sugar aren't the only
problems some have with soft drinks. Many other ingredients in soda have come
under scrutiny, such as the additives that give soda its color that some
experts say may cause cancer. About 17 percent of Americans drink
sugar-sweetened soda on a daily basis, according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. About 58 percent of Americans drink soda less often,
but regularly. If you're one of them, we'll bust some myths about this sugary
beverage. Myth: A mini-can of soda is a healthy snack Before this idea gets too
entrenched, let's debunk it now. A recent Coca-Cola ad campaign includes professional
dietitians paid by the company promoting the soft drink as "a healthy
snack. While a can of soda here or there won't ruin your health, no
variety of soda is "healthy" because there are no nutritional
benefits to drinking it. For your health, you need good fat, carbohydrates,
protein and micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals. Soda contains none of
those nutrients, except for sugar, which is a type of carbohydrate. However,
refined sugar is far less beneficial to health than other types of
carbohydrates and should be restricted rather than viewed as a nutrient. Myth:
Just one soda a day is fine Moderation is the watchword in many dietary
recommendations, so you may think that the 12-ounce soda you have with lunch is
no big deal. But that can of sugary soda contains about 10 teaspoons of added
sugar, very close to the World Health Organization's recommendations for
added-sugar intake. The WHO recommends getting no more than 10 percent of
calories from added sugars, but that's an upper limit. For optimal health,
added sugars should be less than 5 percent of calories. In a 2,000-calorie
diet, 5 percent of calories works out to 6 teaspoons of sugar, and 10 percent
is 12 teaspoons, or about a quarter of a 'cup'. The American Heart Association
has similarly conservative recommendations. AHA recommends no more than nine
teaspoons of added sugars per day for men, and six teaspoons for women.
Not only is sugar not beneficial to your health, according to AHA, but
consuming too much can cause health problems. Too much sugar on a regular basis
can cause rapid tooth decay and help you pack on the pounds, possibly leading
to obesity, heart disease, and type II diabetes. Myth: Sugary-beverage
consumption is higher than ever In the late 1990s, Americans' sugary beverage
consumption - including soda - hit an all-time high, coinciding with a rise in
obesity and generating big headlines. But the decrease in soda consumption that
followed received much less media attention. In fact, the number of calories
Americans consume from soda has decreased from about 196 per day in 1999 to 151
per day in 2009, according to a study published in the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition. The study was designed to look at the impact the 2008
recession had on calorie consumption, and whether the economy affects obesity.
The researchers found that Americans had been decreasing the number of calories
they consume since 2003, long before the recession.: While soda
isn't healthy, some claims of danger may be overblown. For instance, you may
have heard that preservatives or caramel color additives in soda cause cancer.
These claims come from studies in rodents and can't be verified in humans just
yet. Usually, the rodents in those studies are given chemicals at high
concentrations, and a human is unlikely to receive a proportional amount. While
it's possible there are carcinogens in soda that should be regulated, more
trials are needed to know if the chemical threatens humans. The Food and Drug
Administration keeps a close eye on studies of all possible carcinogens, and
issues warnings and regulations as soon as plausible connections are found.
While it might not give you cancer, a soda habit can still damage on your
health, and cutting consumption to once a week or less is in your best
interest.
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