Why to escape from soft drinks….
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Focus on Your Health:
In it we post health commentary & reviews of books, eBooks, & other things that improve or protect your health or which enable you to live longer, to be more prosperous, & to be more effective.
Today's post: Monday, 9-11-2006
Why to escape from soft drinks….
You only try to escape from things that will harm you if don’t.
The evidence has been building for some time that both regular & diet soft drinks ARE dangerous & will harm your health.
And, they BOTH tend to make you & keep you fat.
Today, in the MSN Health & Fitness section, we found an article that explains this research so well, we’ve quoted several excerpts from it & have added our comments below that.
“The case against Soda”
the average American-who drinks 18 ounces, or two full glasses, of soft drinks a day. In fact, according to a study last year, soda and other sugar-sweetened drinks have become the largest source of calories in the American diet, replacing white bread. The proliferation of soda tells the story: 450 different varieties are sold in the United States. While soft drinks are still king, with sales reaching $68.1 billion in 2005, sports drinks sales have increased 19.3% over the past year to $1.5 billion.
People may think they're doing something healthy "by grabbing a bottle of Powerade instead of a can of Coke," says Kara Gallagher, PhD, an assistant professor of exercise physiology at the University of Louisville and a Prevention advisor. But at 10 calories per ounce, that Powerade is almost as bad as a can of Coke, which has 12 per ounce. "Unless you're exercising vigorously, you don't need sports drinks. They have a lot of empty calories, just like anything else," she says.
Liquid sugar is a problem-but the type of sugar used in the majority of soft drinks may be making things worse. Although the research is controversial, there's evidence that the man-made high fructose corn syrup used in most sodas fails to suppress the production of ghrelin, a hormone made by the stomach that stimulates appetite.
"Unlike carbohydrates containing 100% glucose, such as the starch found in rice, potatoes, bread, and pasta, fructose doesn't seem to trigger the hormones that help you regulate appetite and fat storage," says Peter Havel, PhD, a nutrition researcher at the University of California, Davis. "So the body never gets the message to stop eating." Drink a six-pack of cola-900 calories, or about half of the total calories the average woman would need for a day-and your body feels no fuller than if you'd just swallowed water.
Researchers found that women who drank one or more sugary drinks a day gained more weight and were 83% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who imbibed less than once a month.
"Anything that promotes weight gain increases the risk of diabetes," explains Ludwig of Children's Hospital Boston, one of the researchers. "But rapidly absorbed carbohydrates like high fructose corn syrup put more strain on insulin-producing cells than other foods." When sugar enters the bloodstream quickly, the pancreas has to secrete large amounts of insulin for the body to process it. Some scientists believe that the unceasing demands that a soda habit places on the pancreas may ultimately leave it unable to keep up with the body's need for insulin.
Also, insulin itself becomes less effective at processing sugar; both conditions contribute to the risk of developing diabetes.
Interestingly, women who consumed a lot of fruit juice-which is high in natural fructose-were not at increased risk of diabetes, leading researchers to speculate that naturally occurring sugars may have different metabolic effects than added sugars. They also speculate that vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytochemicals in fruit juices may have a protective effect against weight gain and diabetes, counterbalancing the adverse effects of sugar.
Diet sodas may not even help ward off weight gain. When researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center examined data from the San Antonio Heart Study, a 25-year look at health habits, study author Sharon Fowler, an epidemiologist at the center, found that the more diet sodas a person drank, the greater his or her risk of becoming overweight.
An explanation may come via a recent animal study by researchers at Purdue University. They found that artificial sweeteners can interfere with the body's natural ability to regulate calorie intake. This could mean people who consume artificially sweetened items are more likely to overindulge.
Most scientists agree that when it comes to bone health, diet drinks are just as harmful as sugar-sweetened ones. Because diet soda lovers tend to substitute these drinks for milk, they're at higher risk of calcium deficiency.
Sugar-free drinks aren't healthier for your pearly whites, either. "There's a myth that diet soda is okay because it's not sugary," says Poonam Jain, director of community dentistry at Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine. Her research revealed that diet drinks were nearly as acidic as regular; thus they, too, can erode tooth enamel and lead to tooth decay.”
Here are our added comments.:
Two additional pieces of information are worth noting:
1. Many people, particularly women, have lost truly astonishing amounts of excess fat just by giving up soft drinks & adding a modest amount of regular exercise to their lives.
The woman who was featured in the MSN article lost 90 pounds doing just that.
And, one of the women who works in the office where I do, lost 25 pounds recently & really looks great. I asked what she did. She gave up soft drinks & started going to the gym just twice a week.
2. Most of the alternatives to soft drinks have health BENEFITS.
For example, a recent study found that people who drink as little as four or more glasses of fruit & vegetable juice total each week, have a dramatically lower risk for getting Alzheimer’s disease.
For people who need a mild caffeine kick, green tea works; & its antioxidants protect your health & seem to help prevent most cancers, including breast cancer & prostate cancer.
Even the antioxidants in coffee are health protective. And, even though there aren’t as many antioxidants in coffee as in green tea, coffee may actually help prevent Parkinson’s disease & Cirrhosis of the liver quite a bit better than green tea.
People who do OK drinking milk & who drink nonfat or 1 percent lowfat milk tend to have lower blood pressure than people who don’t -- & that’s in addition to the protein, B2, B12, calcium & added vitamin D they provide.
And, no surprise, people who drink a few glasses of water each day are considerably less fat than people who don’t according to yet other studies.
Focus on Your Health:
In it we post health commentary & reviews of books, eBooks, & other things that improve or protect your health or which enable you to live longer, to be more prosperous, & to be more effective.
Today's post: Monday, 9-11-2006
Why to escape from soft drinks….
You only try to escape from things that will harm you if don’t.
The evidence has been building for some time that both regular & diet soft drinks ARE dangerous & will harm your health.
And, they BOTH tend to make you & keep you fat.
Today, in the MSN Health & Fitness section, we found an article that explains this research so well, we’ve quoted several excerpts from it & have added our comments below that.
“The case against Soda”
the average American-who drinks 18 ounces, or two full glasses, of soft drinks a day. In fact, according to a study last year, soda and other sugar-sweetened drinks have become the largest source of calories in the American diet, replacing white bread. The proliferation of soda tells the story: 450 different varieties are sold in the United States. While soft drinks are still king, with sales reaching $68.1 billion in 2005, sports drinks sales have increased 19.3% over the past year to $1.5 billion.
People may think they're doing something healthy "by grabbing a bottle of Powerade instead of a can of Coke," says Kara Gallagher, PhD, an assistant professor of exercise physiology at the University of Louisville and a Prevention advisor. But at 10 calories per ounce, that Powerade is almost as bad as a can of Coke, which has 12 per ounce. "Unless you're exercising vigorously, you don't need sports drinks. They have a lot of empty calories, just like anything else," she says.
Liquid sugar is a problem-but the type of sugar used in the majority of soft drinks may be making things worse. Although the research is controversial, there's evidence that the man-made high fructose corn syrup used in most sodas fails to suppress the production of ghrelin, a hormone made by the stomach that stimulates appetite.
"Unlike carbohydrates containing 100% glucose, such as the starch found in rice, potatoes, bread, and pasta, fructose doesn't seem to trigger the hormones that help you regulate appetite and fat storage," says Peter Havel, PhD, a nutrition researcher at the University of California, Davis. "So the body never gets the message to stop eating." Drink a six-pack of cola-900 calories, or about half of the total calories the average woman would need for a day-and your body feels no fuller than if you'd just swallowed water.
Researchers found that women who drank one or more sugary drinks a day gained more weight and were 83% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who imbibed less than once a month.
"Anything that promotes weight gain increases the risk of diabetes," explains Ludwig of Children's Hospital Boston, one of the researchers. "But rapidly absorbed carbohydrates like high fructose corn syrup put more strain on insulin-producing cells than other foods." When sugar enters the bloodstream quickly, the pancreas has to secrete large amounts of insulin for the body to process it. Some scientists believe that the unceasing demands that a soda habit places on the pancreas may ultimately leave it unable to keep up with the body's need for insulin.
Also, insulin itself becomes less effective at processing sugar; both conditions contribute to the risk of developing diabetes.
Interestingly, women who consumed a lot of fruit juice-which is high in natural fructose-were not at increased risk of diabetes, leading researchers to speculate that naturally occurring sugars may have different metabolic effects than added sugars. They also speculate that vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytochemicals in fruit juices may have a protective effect against weight gain and diabetes, counterbalancing the adverse effects of sugar.
Diet sodas may not even help ward off weight gain. When researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center examined data from the San Antonio Heart Study, a 25-year look at health habits, study author Sharon Fowler, an epidemiologist at the center, found that the more diet sodas a person drank, the greater his or her risk of becoming overweight.
An explanation may come via a recent animal study by researchers at Purdue University. They found that artificial sweeteners can interfere with the body's natural ability to regulate calorie intake. This could mean people who consume artificially sweetened items are more likely to overindulge.
Most scientists agree that when it comes to bone health, diet drinks are just as harmful as sugar-sweetened ones. Because diet soda lovers tend to substitute these drinks for milk, they're at higher risk of calcium deficiency.
Sugar-free drinks aren't healthier for your pearly whites, either. "There's a myth that diet soda is okay because it's not sugary," says Poonam Jain, director of community dentistry at Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine. Her research revealed that diet drinks were nearly as acidic as regular; thus they, too, can erode tooth enamel and lead to tooth decay.”
Here are our added comments.:
Two additional pieces of information are worth noting:
1. Many people, particularly women, have lost truly astonishing amounts of excess fat just by giving up soft drinks & adding a modest amount of regular exercise to their lives.
The woman who was featured in the MSN article lost 90 pounds doing just that.
And, one of the women who works in the office where I do, lost 25 pounds recently & really looks great. I asked what she did. She gave up soft drinks & started going to the gym just twice a week.
2. Most of the alternatives to soft drinks have health BENEFITS.
For example, a recent study found that people who drink as little as four or more glasses of fruit & vegetable juice total each week, have a dramatically lower risk for getting Alzheimer’s disease.
For people who need a mild caffeine kick, green tea works; & its antioxidants protect your health & seem to help prevent most cancers, including breast cancer & prostate cancer.
Even the antioxidants in coffee are health protective. And, even though there aren’t as many antioxidants in coffee as in green tea, coffee may actually help prevent Parkinson’s disease & Cirrhosis of the liver quite a bit better than green tea.
People who do OK drinking milk & who drink nonfat or 1 percent lowfat milk tend to have lower blood pressure than people who don’t -- & that’s in addition to the protein, B2, B12, calcium & added vitamin D they provide.
And, no surprise, people who drink a few glasses of water each day are considerably less fat than people who don’t according to yet other studies.
posted by David at 12:37 PM
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