The skinny on soda pop

To reach optimum weight overall nutrition is important. And the American classic drink: ‘a ‘ is also an example of calories empty of nutrition. And since half of all Americans consume soda daily, we feel obliged to give you the skinny on why you need to move that pop to the guilty pleasure list rather than have it be a daily food group! So what’s the skinny on soda pop with respect to our weight.

[if !supportLists]1. [endif]Soda pop is not just be 'empty' of nutrition, but t may contribute to weight gain, weight retention, and the overall rates of obesity.

[if !supportLists]2. [endif]Caffeine has some benefits, but soda may have chemicals and phosphorus to make it fizzy, and it may have sugars or sweeteners.

[if !supportLists]3. [endif]The research on soda pop is not always clear, as some of the studies link sweetened sugary beverages in with sweetened sugary pop, and the newest study focuses on what they term "sugar content" when taking aim at why soda consumption should be limited. So be sure to check back in with your nutritionists to keep tabs on what is new. When looking at caffeine data the studies, including studies on miscarriages, link carbonated sodas with teas and coffees, and the salt consumption literature includes many other confounding factors.

[if !supportLists]4. [endif]The skinny on these very sugary beverages is that they contribute to obesity, and in this new large study it contributed to obesity related deaths. It was a headline in CNN, on today, March 20th 2013. In their study sugar-sweetened beverages are linked "This means about one in every 100 deaths from obesity-related diseases is caused by drinking sugary beverages," says study author Gitanjali Singh, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health, and the United States ranked as one of the most obese, and thus one of the countries with the most sugary beverage related illnesses and death. However, the American Beverage Association dismissed the research in this CNN report, as they have in the past, as "more about sensationalism than science." And nutritionists at Women's Health Practice caution that it's important to understand what beverages are the most healthy, and why some may be healthier than others, and some may lead to more successful dieting than others.

[if !supportLists]5. [endif]Rather than getting you to always make wiser choices, as we know that too much sugar can cause weight gain, no matter how you consume it, New York City tried to ban large size sodas. It probably won't work. A Judge puts a cap on NYC soda ban Christine Quinn on 'soda-gate' and we hear that New Yorkers are very happy soda ban doesn't seem to be standing up legal. Sugary sodas thus might contribute to diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers -- conditions referred to as obesity-related diseases. Researchers at Harvard in the 2010 Global Burden of Disease Study, which looks at the health and mortality of populations across the world and tried to control for TV watching, changes in physical activity levels, smoking and the consumption of all kinds of food and drink. When the researchers controlled for these factors, they were able to determine what percentage of deaths from diabetes, heart disease and cancer were linked to sugary drinks. "The investigators examined changes in sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and then its association with change in body fatness or BMI (body mass index), and subsequent deaths from cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer," says Rachel Johnson, professor of nutrition at the University of Vermont in Burlington and chair of the American Heart Assocation's Nutrition Committee, who was not involved in the study.

[if !supportLists]6. [endif]The issue is still why is soda itself a problem. The body does not seem to detect fullness as well when you drink sugary drinks. And your stomach may not be able to recognize the difference between that very sweet tasting diet pop vs non-diet pop either! Recently the American Heart Association came out with a scientific statement about sugar intake and heart health because it says there is new evidence about the relationship between the two. In fact their site has excellent resources on pop consumption. The statement says some research has found a link between sugar consumption and cardiovascular disease, while other research has not found a direct link.

[if !supportLists]7. [endif]Count your drinks in with your carbs! The AHA says that the best way to maintain a healthy weight and to decrease the risk of heart disease is to eat a healthy diet and to limit added sugar to no more than 100 calories a day for women and 150 for men (25 g of carbs total, so watch the overall carbs too!). Soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages are the main source of added sugars in the American diet, according to the statement. One 12-ounce regular soda contains the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar and has about 140 calories. So if you really want to be a bit skinnier, or just continue to be just this skinny, rethink that pop you are reaching for! And that is the skinny on soda consumption.

#nutrition #sugar