If you’re having a problem battling
the bulge, it could be what you’re drinking. In carbonated sugary
soda’s hay-day, it was the beverage of choice. One manufacturer,
The Coca Cola® Company touted their sugary sweet bubbly drink
“as the real thing.” Other soda manufacturers jumped on the marketing
bandwagon to encourage Americans to drink up. It did not take
consumers of all ethnicities to become addicted to ‘soda pop’.
Merely, forty years later, Americans are drinking carbonated
soda by the gallons. The calories from ‘pop’ can add up fast.
Recently, the subject of carbonated beverages has gained significant
debate. For the soda addicted, the calories from soda can account
for up to 25 percent of daily caloric intake.
The unhealthiness of excessive soda consumption has been related
to obesity. Studies released by the top echelon of nutritional
experts have found soda to one of the causes of the obesity
epidemic in America.
Due to the findings a national panel of nutritionists recommends
more water consumption. The panel urges only an eight ounce
of sugary soda should be consumed once a day with an increase
of water intake (50 ounces daily). Also, the nutritionists encourage
up to 40 ounces per day of herbal, green and black unsweetened
tea. Coffee can be substituted for the tea but it’s a second
option. As a result, up to 16 ounces of fat-free milk, skim
milk or soy beverages are good beverage choices.
The 8-ounce limit is particularly eye-opening, in these days
of the Big Gulp, the "Super-size," and the endless
refills offered at movie theaters. Whereas vending machines
once offered only 10-12 ounce drinks, these days it's hard to
find soda machines that offer anything other than 20-ounce bottles.
In an effort to endorse healthy beverage consumption, both
elementary and high schools are removing sodas from vending
machines. Other schools are limiting the purchase of carbonated
beverages to after school hours and events. Regardless of anyone’s
age, carbonated sweetened sodas should be ingested in limited
supplies.
