| 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.
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