SODA: Liquid Candy & the Oppression of Our Health

High Fructose Corn Syrup, Aspartame, phenylalanine, phosphoric acid, acesulfame potassium, caffeine. Sound refreshing? It shouldn’t. A nice after lunch pick-me-up? Not as nice as the physical and emotional crash that comes an hour or two later.
Soda, the liquid candy, is one of the greatest contributors to the poor health and obesity problem facing Americans today, and increasingly countries across the globe. I am going to describe some of the adverse effects of drinking soda, effects that we have been blinded to by the veil of corporate marketing, the media, and systems in power that prioritize profit over our health. I do this with the hope of laying the groundwork for a change in our behavior. To move away from the sugars (or fake sugars) and chemicals we have been trained to be addicted to, and towards a more healthy life.
In 2005, soda and other sugar-sweetened drinks became the largest source of calories in the American diet, replacing white bread. The most prominent effect of soda on our health is its link to weight gain and obesity. The average American drinks 18 ounces of soda a day, which is an extra 225 calories. Dr. Ludwig of the Harvard school of Public Health stated that, “In my estimation, sugary beverages are one of the two leading environmental causes of obesity.” He and his researchers found that the odds of becoming obese increased 60% for each can or glass a day of sugar-sweetened soft drinks (Kanigel, 2006).
But why soda? There’s tons of sugar in all kinds of food. For one, liquid calories pass through the stomach more quickly than food, so the soda calories aren’t going to make you as full as eating the same amount in food. Secondly, it is the type of sugar used in soda, High Fructose Corn Syrup, that is another problem. There is evidence that HFCS used in sodas fails to suppress the production of ghrelin, a hormone made by the stomach that stimulates appetite. This throws off your appetite-regulating hormones and your body isn’t told that you are full. Aside from weight gain, this sugar intake is also linked to developing type 2 diabetes, tooth decay, osteoporosis, and bone decay by interfering with the body’s ability to absorb calcium.
“But I drink Diet Soda.” The chemicals and artificial sweeteners in diet sodas pose their own set of risks and hazards. The artificial sweetener Aspartame is found in more than 6,000 diet products, beverages, and pharmaceuticals. In 2006, compelling experimental evidence was published for the carcinogenic effects of aspartame at a dose level within range of human daily intake (EHP, Soffrittie et al.). Recent research has shown that the carcinogenic effects are magnified when exposure begins during fetal life (Mead, 2007). This is even more powerful when considering that children and women of childbearing age are among the greatest consumers of this artificial sweetener.
So, soda is bad for us. Probably not a huge surprise, but why do we still drink it? For one, it’s everywhere! Coca-Cola’s 1997 annual report stated that, “We’re putting (Coke) wherever you look at the supermarket, the video store, the soccer field, the gas station – everywhere.” We are pulled towards soda in the form of 300,000 fast-food restaurants, 3 million soft-drink vending machines, 20,000 coffee shops and kiosks, bottomless refills, and a billion dollars a year in advertising” (Jacobson, 2007). And they hook us early, Colorado Springs School District will receive between $8 and $11 million over the next ten years to sell Coke to it’s kids.
Falling victim to this childhood oppression of health myself, I fully understand the pull towards soda during our busy lives. However, through learning and understanding what I was putting in my body, and how this had an often unnoticed effect on my physical and mental health, I developed a passion for change. With this change a high and a crash will be replaced with sustained endurance, and an unhealthy addiction will be replaced with a healthy gratitude.Please email for research articles or list of references.