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Cancer-Causing Chemical Found in Soft Drinks

Common sense will tell you that any drink loaded with sugar is not exactly a healthy beverage. Even then, refreshments like soda are consumed by millions of people on a daily basis. The irresistible taste and fizz of a soda pop is just so insatiable for some that the immediate satisfaction of having one outweighs the health risks.

A new study now shows that sugar is not the only factor you should be concerned with when consuming soda. A recent study found that most soda beverages – including the globally popular Coke and Pepsi – contain a caramel coloring ingredient that is linked to cancer. The ingredient in question is a chemical known as 4-methylimidazole, also known more simply as 4-MI. The coloring is not derived from natural caramel; it is produced using a mixture of chemicals that involves ammonia.

4-MI has been shown to induce cancer in lab rats, though whether it can have the same harmful effect on humans remains unknown at this time. 4-MI is found in both regular and diet soda. The amount found in a 12-ounce can exceeds the limit that is recommended by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.

Despite the health risks posed by 4-MI, health experts insist that there is no cause for alarm. The dosage in a single serving is practically negligible. High fructose corn syrup is a far more serious health risk factor than 4-MI.

There are hundreds of reasons you shouldn’t be drinking soda; its contents are nothing but empty calories, it has no nutritional benefits, and it can lead to obesity. However, 4-MI does not appear to be one of those reasons you should be concerned over. As long as you have soda in moderation, then there is no need to worry about any harm from being exposed to a little caramel coloring.

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The Green Light Is On Kool-Aid

The popular drink known as Kool-Aid was invented by Edwin Perkins and his wife Kitty in Hastings, Nebraska, in the United States of America.

Its predecessor was a liquid concentrate which was called Fruit Smack. In an attempt to reduce shipping costs, in 1927, Perkins discovered a way to remove the liquid from Fruit Smack, leaving only a powder. This powder, he called Kool-Aid. The production was moved to Chicago in 1931 and Kool-Aid was sold to General Foods in 1953.

Hi-C is a similar product. A juice drink made by the Minute Maid division of The Coca-Cola Company. Niles Foster created Hi-C in 1946. Ecto-Cooler was a Hi-C product tie-in with the cartoon series The Real Ghostbusters, based on the 1984 live-action film, Ghostbusters. It is green. The company struck a deal in 1987 to promote the series by developing a special green fruit drink. Well, the drink was successful beyond all reckoning and continued after the series’ 1991 cancellation to be produced for more than a decade.

While traditionally an apple red color, old-fashioned Kool-Aid may come in other colors as well. Green is a personal favorite. Here is a recipe for a Green Kool-Aid Cocktail:

2.0 oz – Mandarine Napoleon Orange Liqueur

2.0 oz – Vodka

2.0 oz – Blue Maui Maui Blue Hawaiian schnapps

Use Blue Maui Schnapps. Mix together and stir.

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Health Cop: “Stop Soda Pop!”

soda popA world famous expert on alternative medicine, Dr. Maoshing Ni recently did a study on the health pros and cons of soft drinks. For the category of cons, he found a lot, for pros not so much.

First of all, they just about always contain little to no vitamins or other essential nutrients known in a healthy diet. And the caffeine, carbonation, simple sugars, sugar substitutes and other additives and preservatives which they do contain, can in fact do damage to one’s health.

In fact, tooth decay, heart disease, type-2 diabetes, nutritional depletion and obesity in young children is often caused by an unhealthy diet, consisting of a soft drink overdose.

Also, if you were thinking that diet or sugar-free soda is a better health choice, think again. While the sugar overdose risk is cut in half with diet drinks, the sugar substitutes used in them is equally unhealthy. For instance, saccharin has been found to be a carcinogenic.

Aspartame, or nutrasweet, tricks the brain into thinking that it is sweet. It breaks down into acpartic acid, or phenylalanine and methanol at 86 degrees. This is bad because your tummy is usually about 98 degrees.

Breaking it down:
Sugar: The USDA recommendation for sugar consumption is about 2,000 calories per day. Most soft drinks contain more than this.

Dr Mao says:

“When you drink sodas that are packed with simple sugars, the pancreas is called upon to produce and release insulin, a hormone that empties the sugar in your blood stream into all the tissues and cells for usage. The result of overindulging in simple sugar is raised insulin levels. Raised blood insulin levels beyond the norm can lead to depression of the immune system, which in turn weakens your ability to fight disease.”

Too much sugar also results in weight gain and increases the risk of heart disease and cancer.

Carbonation:
Carbonated beverages contain phosphoric acid, which depletes the blood calcium level. This is bad for the bones and can eventually cause osteoporosis.
As for the risks incurred with overdosing on caffeine, well, you can probably make a nice educated guess.

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Avoiding Soft Drink Monsters

The old saying “you are what you eat (and drink)” is certainly true in today’s modern society when diet drinks and junk food have become a large part of many people’s diets. Have you ever wondered why many carbonated beverages are simply not available in most “real” whole foods stores? And this also goes for all those “junk” snack foods like most potato and corn chips, candies, and “ding-dong” type cupcakes as well.

The reason is very simple: these foods not only put on plenty of excess weight, but also load up the body with excess sodium and sugars, plus a number of chemicals (including aspartame) that can cause cancer and other diseases. And drinking large amounts of cola, either regular of diet, can eventually result in kidney stones and other problems as well.

Scientific tests have proven that most soft drinks (except natural fruit drinks) not only clause obesity and kidney problems, but can cause a dangerous mineral imbalance in the body that can result in loss of bone mass and be miss-diagnosed as osteoporosis.

Diet drinks often contain aspartame, also used extensively in non-sugar sweetener in many homes and restaurants, the chemical causes a number of disorders, including a severe reaction to people suffering from a condition known as phenylketonuria or PKU. About one in every 20,000 people are inflicted with PKU in which their bodies are unable to metabolize an amino acid known as phenylalanine, one of two amino acids present in aspartame. If sufficient amounts of phenylalanine are ingested by PKU affected people, it can result in severe reactions, including mental retardation. Even in normal people, too much aspartame can result in physical symptoms similar to multiple sclerosis, dizziness, severe headaches, and menstrual problems. And excessive ingestion of aspartame is also said to be linked to early onset of Parkinson’s disease. And of course, many soft drinks contain large amounts of caffeine.

Soft DrinksThere are many natural flavored drinks, some of them carbonated; that do not contain ingredients such as caffeine and aspartame, and do not cause the body to lose calcium or are damaging to the kidneys. Best places to find these drinks are in quality organic and whole foods stores, which also offer healthier snack foods, including those made from bananas, beets, apples and other fruits and vegetables, and that are not fried in harmful oils.

All and all, you can still satisfy your desire for a cold beverage or snack without abusing you body. As the saying goes, you truly are what you eat.

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Drinks Not Food May Cause Weight Gain Faster

Sweet DrinksPeople trying to prevent weight gain may be surprised to discover that what they drink may be a bigger factor in weight gain than food. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that weight loss is more associated with a reduction in liquid calorie consumption; and the liquid calorie intake had a bigger impact on weight gain than solid foods.

The results of the study, as published in the April 1 edition of the American Journal of clinical nutrition, found that although food and liquid drinks had an influence on weight gains, a reduction in liquid calorie intake was found to have a more significant influence on weight loss, than simply eating less. The study most noticed that in drinks containing sugar, a reduction of one serving resulted in a weight loss of 0.5 kg in six months and 0.7 kg in 18 months. The study was conducted on 810 adults aged 25-79, in an 18 month randomized, controlled behavioral intervention. The consumption by test subjects was measured by conducting unannounced interviews during various hours by telephone. Test beverages were divided in several categories, including soft drinks, fruit drinks, fruit punch, diet drinks with artificial sweeteners, whole and skim milk, coffee and tea sweetened with both sugar and artificial sweeteners, and alcoholic beverages.

Sugar sweetened beverages, especially soft drinks, were found to be significantly associated with weight at both the 6 and 18 month follow up periods. Although changes in the consumption of diet drinks and alcoholic beverages were inversely associated with weight loss the amounts were not statistically significant.

The conclusions of the studies were to encourage public health awareness programs to persuade people to reduce intakes of liquid calories, particularly from sugar sweetened beverages. It was also recommended that people significantly reduce the consumption of diet beverages containing aspartame and similar artificial sweeteners.

No doubt, drinking unsweetened bottled water instead of other types of beverages is better for one’s health in the long run.