Statistics show that the average American drinks an estimated 56 gallons of soft drinks each year. Before you grab that next can of soda, consider this: a can of soda contains about 10 teaspoons of sugar, 150 calories, and 30 to 55 mg of caffeine. Moreover, it is loaded with artificial food colors and sulphites, which are preservatives that can trigger migraine and headaches and can cause heart palpitations and arrhythmia.
Some of the major components of soda are the following:
* Phosphoric acid: It may interfere with the ability of the body to use calcium, thus contributes to increased chances of osteoporosis or softening of the teeth and bones. It can also get in the way of digestion and make it difficult to utilize nutrients from food since phosphoric acid has the effect of neutralizing hydrochloric acid in the stomach.
* Sugar: Too much sugar in the body can lead to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, weight gain, diabetes, and premature aging, to name a few. If you check the sugar content of a soft drink bottle, you will find out that it contains more than 100 percent of the RDA of sugar.
* Aspartame: This is a sugar substitute used in diet soda. Did you know that there are over 92 different side effects associated with aspartame consumption? Among these include brain tumors, diabetes, and birth defects.
The information mentioned above is very alarming, for it reflects a large amount of sugar, calories and harmful additives in a product that has no nutritional value. Moreover, studies have linked soda to osteoporosis, obesity, tooth decay, and heart disease. Despite this, soda accounts for more than one-quarter of all drinks consumed in the United States.
Among the largest consumers of soft drinks in America and the world are teenagers and children. In fact, soft drink consumption among children has almost doubled in the United States in the past 10 years. On the average, teenage boys now drink three or more cans of soda per day, and 10 percent drink seven or more cans a day. Meanwhile, teenage girls drink more than two cans a day on the average, and 10 percent drink more than five cans a day.
These numbers may sound high but they are not surprising considering that most school hallways are lined with vending machines that sell, of course, soft drinks. It will surely make a difference in the health of these students if schools get rid of vending machines on their premises--or simply replace their contents with pure water and healthy snacks.
If you or your child is in the habit of drinking soda, it is time to change the habit and go for healthier drinks. It may be difficult to stop this habit so you may want to replace your usual carbonated beverage with a sparkling mineral water. You can even make your own drink or teach students to prepare their own version of their favorite sodas using healthy alternatives.
For fruit sodas, combine pure juice with sparkling water. Fill the soda siphon with cold drinking water and then charge it with the right amount of carbon dioxide using a CO2 charger. Shake a bit. You can now enjoy your personal concoction of a bubbly fruit fizzy, thanks to the soda siphon. When you prepare your own soda, you might want to include some desserts for the enjoyment of your student and his or her classmates. Get a whipped cream dispenser, fill it up with a heavy whipped cream, and charge it with N2O to make it frothy. Shake the whipped cream dispenser for a few times and press the handle to make your own whipped cream recipe.
Often, one of the best solutions to have a healthy body is preparing your foods and drinks at home. Create this habit and teach your kids to do the same by furnishing your kitchen with easy recipes and handy tools like a fun whipped cream dispenser or a soda siphon to prepare their own treats.
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