Good ol’ Coca Cola…it’s been a US staple since the 1900’s- a sponsor of the World Cup, owning a patent store on the Vegas Strip itself– it’s been an important part of the American lifestyle and now we shall see why some cultural norms just do a society no good.
To start off this article, did you know that Coca Cola is named after its two primary ingredients from back in the 1880’s? These are coca leaves (yes, the ones that produce cocaine) and kola nuts from which caffeine is derived.
The use of coca leaves in this world-renowned soft-drink has since ceased, but the negative effects of consuming soda are extant. Below you will find 3 reasons why you shouldn’t drink soda.
Sugar is a Drug
And here we stand in 2015 with cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines as illegal yet we turn our view from long lines at Krispy Kreme and the exhausted American at the Safeway check-out with 5 Snickers Bars in his cart. All are going through the same– sugar withdrawals.
Soft-drinks are notorious for their high-sugar content. For example, in 12 fl oz of Mountain Dew, you’ll find 46 grams of pure, synthetic, type-2 diabetes inducing sugar. That’s 3.83 grams of sugar per oz of soda. As a comparison, a cup of blueberries has 15 grams of sugar- not to mention a load of antioxidants.
With so much sugar, it’s easy to understand why soda is so addictive. It has nothing to do with any nutritional benefit of the drink itself. Your body is responding to a need for energy and quite possibly reacting the way a crack-addict reacts from coming off of drugs.
Put the soda down and go for a walk. Your body will thank you.
Pretty Teeth are White Teeth
When we look at the hottest celebs shining their million-dollar smiles at the camera, the one thing we don’t see are icky, brown, stained chompers.
A great smile spreads joy to others. It lets the world know you’re happy and if you have nice unstained teeth, you’re more likely to show your grin to those around you thus exuding confidence and self-esteem.
So where does soda come in in all of this?
Soda stains your teeth- particularly dark colored soda. Over time, your enamel absorbs that lovely brown caramel coloring and you get some not so lovely dark caramel teeth.
But staining aside, soda is a highly acidic compound which leads to tooth erosion. This occurs with clear and diet sodas as well.
The double whammy here is that as your teeth erode, they become more susceptible to staining. Yuck!
Calories Galore
Weight loss and maintenance is fairly simple. If you burn more calories than you take in, you’re gonna lose weight. If you take in more calories than you burn, you’re gonna gain weight.
Soda is the dark villain when it comes to weight loss. You might as well call it Sauron or Walder Frey. For one thing (and I speak from personal experience), while you’re drinking soda, you’re not paying attention to the volume which you’re ingesting.
Case in point, it’s 7PM and you’re just leaving work. You’re starving because the last meal you ate was at noon. You roll into the Burger King drive-through and ask for a Whopper. They ask you if you want to be super-sized and you say yes because you’re so tired, you’ve lost control of your mental faculties. They hand you that Whopper and a 64 oz Coke. Now– you’d think the Whopper is bad enough. This king of the coronary bypass has 660 calories BUT the 64 oz Coke actually trumps it at 776 calories. That means that in ONE meal, you are consuming over 1,400 calories– and I haven’t even mentioned the fries. That’s close to the average DAILY calorie intake for a 130 lb 26 year old- and most of that came from your soda. Think about it.
NOTE: A Big Mac has 549 calories. Just thought some of you might like to know.
In conclusion, there are so many better ways to “spend” your calories and foods that are known to increase energy and vitality– even brighten up your smile!
If you need to get off of soda, I recommend you begin juicing with higher sugar content fruits and lessen the amount of sugar on a gradient so that your body is not going into a huge plunge from what it’s used to. Adding spirulina and chlorella to your juice or shake is also quite helpful to maintaining energy levels.
All very true. I stopped drinking soda a long time ago and I’m glad I did!