The Evils of Soda and Juice

When talking about a healthy diet, you often refer to what you eat, but what you drink can also have a huge effect on your fat burner program. These “hidden” calories can derail a leaner diet faster than you can crack a pop-top.

Almost everyone knows that normal soda pop – Coca Cola, Pepsi, 7-Up, Fanta, etc… contain tons of sugar. In fact, 100% of the calories in soda come from the refined sugar. It’s just a simple carbohydrate – one that can turn you into a bloated beach ball - quick. One can of Coke Classic, for example, has 160 empty calories. It also has a small amount of salt. Times 2 per day and that’s about 20% of the recommended calories for a normal person! Big, fat empty calories that do absolutely nothing to burn the fat.

No problem, you say, I drink diet Coke. Think again. Although Coca Cola Zero has very few calories, you still are ingesting a volatile mix of harsh chemicals: phosphoric acid – Coke has a PH of 2.5, caffeine, artificial sweeteners - Aspartame, along with preservatives like sodium benzoate, sodium citrate, and sodium cyclamate. It’s these items that can provoke long term health problems like kidney disease and osteoporosis. Aspartame can provoke some very serious health problems indeed – see the links at the bottom of this article and while you here take a look at this video below:

There is another serious draw back to sodas – they don’t quench your thirst. Since they contain chemicals, salts and sugars, your body will require additional liquids to process them – the soda companies would like you to simply drink more soda – eventually, you will feel full – full of chemically enhanced sugar water. Caffeine – a diuretic – will also dry you out. Not exactly the best diet choice, is it? Nor does it solve your original problem in the first place – which is, of course, quenching your thirst.

Many have switched from sodas to teas or caffeinated drinks like Red Bull and Sobe – now owned by Pepsi. These sometimes nasty tasting concoctions – especially the heavily caffeinated ones – are supposed to be better, but they often contain high levels of carefully disguised sugar. The caffeinated drinks, on the other hand, actively proclaim the huge caffeine jolt they give users. In addition, they often contain other compounds of dubious value and unproven effectiveness in improving your health. And, they have a ton of sodium – up to 25mg per 8 fl. oz. The calorie content? The same as normal sodas – so no help there, either.

With carefully crafted names like Wisdom, Power and Karma, you might think these beverages will actually make your smarter, faster and better in the sack. Wake up – more marketing BS. The trace amounts of ginko biloba, yohimbe and beta carotene will do nothing – scientific studies have proved this years ago. Add that to the fact these items can cost $1.50 each and not only to you get nothing but you pay a small fortune.

But hey! What a about fruit juice? That can’t be bad for you, can it? While it is certainly an improvement over drinking soda or soda-like drinks, fruit juice has its drawbacks – especially if you’re trying to burn the fat.

First off, it has a ton off calories – again mostly from refined sugar. Then, most “juice” is adulterated – normally it’s less than 25% real fruit juice. The rest is water, ascorbic acid or citric acid and the normal array of artificial flavors and colorants. Oh yeah, don’t forget the added sugar in the form of fructose. In fact, anything ending with an “-ose” is some type of sugar. Normally you will find this as the first or second ingredient.

If you drink 100% natural fruit juices available in health food stores the benefits are excellent since the products contain all the natural trace nutrients and vitamins without the preservatives and chemicals, but the calorie content is much higher – higher even than sodas. The calories come from the same source – sugar, just in a more natural state. These items are healthy, but drink them very sparingly since they will add calories – serious calories - to your diet. Cost is another problem as well since these juices run up to $5 US per bottle. Limit them to less than 4oz. per day at most and don’t try to quench your thirst with them.

What about things like Gatorade and its copycat competitors? Unfortunately, they are also full of sugar. Many believe they need this “sport drink” to “re-hydrate” – hogwash. Very few persons actually exercise hard enough to need the sugar and salt found in these drinks. All you are doing is adding calories – about the same as a normal soda. Gatorade is primarily sugar and salt – 180 calories, 42 grams of sugar and 300 mg of sodium in a 710 ml bottle. More than in a 12 oz. can of soda. Not exactly what you need to burn the fat, now is it?

What to drink, then? What nature intended you to drink all along – water and lots of it. Drinking water – 4 to 8 large glasses per day or more – will keep you healthy and accelerate your fat burner program. Water is the ultimate drink – cheap, clean, and zero calories. Not only that, it will effectively quench your thirst and help you feel full.

Think of all the money you’ll save to boot. And with the extra savings you can buy a new wardrobe to show off your new, lean body.

Here’s a fun, fact-filled quiz about Coca Cola

The possible link between Colas and Kidney Ailments:

Read this about Aspartame Poisoning:

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