Are you crazy?
You might think I'm crazy but I think soda pop is a
wonderful drink. Whenever you're thirsty there is nothing better than a glass
of your favorite bubbling soda pop in a tall glass with ice.
Short History of Carbonated Drinks :
In 1767, Englishman Joseph Priestley first discovered a
method of infusing water with carbon dioxide to make carbonated water. His
invention of carbonated water is the major component of soft drinks.
Let's Blame Soda Pop
Soft drinks have a very interesting history. They are still
popular today as they were in the past. I remember the time I had my first
taste of Coca Cola at a Smorgasbord restaurant. Drinking Coca Cola was a
pleasure when eating out. I also remember my nauseousness I had after eating at
the smorgasbord. My mother would always say after eating out, "Did you drink too much soda?" I
never drank too much soda and yet she always blamed the soda for my ills. It
wasn't till later in my life when I found the real culprit for my after dinner
sickness. It wasn't the pop it was MSG the restaurant put in their salad. It
used to be a common practice for "all you can eat" restaurants to use
MSG in order to give their diners an artificial fullness so they would not
eat up all their food.
Carbonated drinks are always given a bum rap in society. We
all drink them and yet we are constantly hearing how bad they are. I remember a
film at school where they showed teeth being dissolved in a glass of soda
drink. It really hit home. I started believing that carbonated drinks were
really bad. I remember a funny remark someone made about the film. This pro-soda drinker said, "It okay to drink soda pop, just
don't keep it in your mouth longer than 30 minutes."
I just recently saw a video where someone took coke and
poured it on a rusty bumper. The bumper became shiny as they washed it
using soda pop. Everyone who viewed the video was surprised and alarmed. One
viewer said, "I am never going to drink Coke again." Many others
agreed. I personally did not see any rust removing action. I saw a dirty bumper
being cleaned by a flowing liquid. You could
have used water with the same effect.
Did you know that lemon juice is acidic? Outside the body
lemon juice has a pH below 7; however, inside the body lemon juice has an
alkalizing effect and raises the pH of body tissue.
Did you know the acidity of your blood is somewhere between
7.35 to 7.45 pH? How does the body handle soda pop which has the pH of 2 to 3
pH? Do our internal organs begin to dissolve from the battery type acid of our
favorite carbonated beverage?
Your body is like an automatic car, it handles the pH
automatically. Did you know that your stomach acid has the pH of 1 to 3? If you
are worried about the pH of your soft drinks consider your stomach acid. How
are you going to control your own body's supply of acid in order to obtain
maximum health? Don't worry; there is no need to drain your stomach acid for
normal blood pH. Like I said it is automatic.
Your body has three major mechanisms at work at all times to
prevent your pH of your blood to go to extreme ranges. These mechanisms are:
Buffer Systems
1.
Carbonic Acid-Bicarbonate Buffer System
Protein
Buffer System
Phosphate
Buffer System
2.
Exhalation of Carbon Dioxide
3.
Elimination of Hydrogen Ions via Kidneys
Buffer systems change the strong acid into a weak acid.
To make it simple there are a few things you need to do to
help with these buffer systems to maintain proper pH.
1.
Exercise (including aerobics)
2.
Eat Foods that have high protein, calcium, and
minerals.
It sounds like the two pillars of health to me. Daily eat
fresh garden vegetables, herbs, fruits and exercise. If you do that, your body
will take care of itself and the occasional soda pop that you might drink.
What about processed foods?
Processed foods are weak nutritious foods. If
you do eat them, like I do, try to eat the foods with less fat. Processed foods
put on the pounds; not muscle but fat.
Soda Pop Verses Water:
In my brief study, I found that Americans
drink nearly more soda pop than water. The one who made this statement said
Americans are pathetic for drinking so much soda.
I read a Readers Digest article that said,
"We have the safest drinking water in the world—except for the pesticides
that sometimes sneak in. And the rocket fuel. And the antibiotics …"
I live near a place called, "Lead
Mine." I know some people who are so concerned with their water safety that
they would always buy bottled water. It is a shame that we can't trust our
water. I talked with a local store owner who had gas pumps out in front of his
establishment who felt guilt over his neighbors across the way. He said he often
wondered if his gas tanks contaminated his neighbor's drinking water when they
were alive. He felt responsible for them dying of cancer.
I often wonder about pathogens in our water.
The things we cannot see may really hurt us. Inadequately treated water may
contain disease-causing organisms, or pathogens. Pathogens include various
types of bacteria, viruses, protozoan parasites, and other organisms.
Here is something nice to read from the EPA: "To
protect drinking water from disease-causing organisms, or pathogens, water
suppliers often add a disinfectant, such as chlorine, to drinking water.
However, disinfection practices can be complicated because certain microbial
pathogens, such as Cryptosporidium, are highly resistant to traditional
disinfection practices. Also, disinfectants themselves can react with
naturally-occurring materials in the water to form byproducts, such as
trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids, which may pose health risks."
Is Soda pop safe?
Did you know that the acid in soda pop makes drinking it fairly
safe? Phosphoric acid is deliberately added to soft drinks to give it a
sharper flavor and also to slow down the growth of molds and bacteria that would
otherwise multiply rapidly in the sugary solution. If it wasn't for phosphoric
acid we would be drinking a sugary fluid full of bacteria and mold.
I remember the time I had a painful yeast infection in my throat.
The doctor said it was the soda pop machine that you find at restaurants. When the machine is not cleaned daily, yeast will begin to grow. So it wasn't the soda I needed to fear but the
worker who never cleaned his soda machine.
Let me ask you a question. If you were in a foreign country which would you rather
drink? Would you drink the local water or a bottle of pop? I know I would
prefer the so-called elixir of ill-health than water. Who wants to take a
chance on having dysentery while traveling? There are times that soda pop is the only alternative than drinking contaminated water.
Is the acid forming nature of soda pop a threat to teeth and enamel?
It is true that soda pop can dissolve
teeth and enamel?
If you constantly hold it in your
mouth, I do see a problem. However, more factors are involved before we should become scared about losing our pearly white teeth.
Drink pop with ice
I don't know about you, I like
ice in my drinks (not while traveling abroad). You would think that water would dilute
the acid and keep your teeth safe. But there is something better than diluted
soda drinks. It is called saliva.
Saliva stops acid in its tracks
This is gross. I remember as a young kid I was an aspiring trombone musician. I wasn't really that great but one time I was able to con my way into practicing and playing with an city-wide orchestra that included escaping regular school class work. It was during a
day of practice with the orchestra that I found my trombone contained a spit valve. I
never knew that. I took few lessons so I was rather dumb about my
instrument. It was during practice that I opened my newly discovered spring loaded valve and
released the saliva contained in my instrument. It quickly poured forth like a
stream and puddled under my feet. There was so much saliva coming forth that I was really embarrassed. My saliva had created a pond under my feet. I kicked at it hoping it might dissipate but no: it spread out further upon the floor and grew larger. Thank
God the practice session was soon over. I quickly swim (I mean ran) to the
nearest exit. I felt like Urkel, "Did I do that?"
Saliva in Action
Saliva is wonderful at neutralizing acids that can erode your teeth. Saliva has molecules called buffers that neutralize
the acid, reducing its effect on our teeth. When the acid is so strong it can also demineralize our teeth. However, our saliva will neutralize the acid, and replace
the lost minerals with calcium and phosphate. This is all done automatically by
our body.
Don't Drink Diet Sodas
Synthetic sweeteners like aspartame are toxic. The research
is out there. Here is a link: http://www.md-health.com/Aspartame-Poisoning.html
Conclusion:
I could go on and on about Soda
Pop. How caffeine depletes our body of B-vitamins. However, I think if our body is so malnourished
that we cannot replace a few B-vitamins, maybe we should consider not drinking carbonated
beverages containing caffeine. But for the average consumer of carbonated
drinks that eat a proper diet and exercise; soda pop is the least of our worries. Your body is fearfully and wonderfully made. It can take a lot of
abuse. If we give it proper nutrients by juicing live green foods (I am a
proponent of juicing vegetable, and herbs) you will be able to enjoy other foods
that many would consider unhealthy for us.
If your body lacks certain
minerals, it is up to you to replace them. Knowledge is essential in
maintaining health. Don't let fear or others sway you from the occasional fizzy
delight. Take charge of your life and tell the naysayers what you really think
about foods. Don't let anyone make your feel bad or intimidate you in not drinking colas. Hold your
can up high and let the world know, "I am a soda pop drinker and proud of
it."
I wonder if ice-cream is really
bad for us? I now have a craving for a root beer float.
More study can be done. Knowledge
is power and there is always learning to be done. For example, is sugar toxic? If it
is, how toxic is it. Is it worse than insecticides or polluted air? How does
your body control excess sugar? I don't know about you but I think most warnings
made by health professional are often inflated in order to panic us and become their followers. Perhaps
someday I'll look more into the sugar connection but for now, where is my soda
pop?
"Do everything in
moderation. And in moderation you'll find the means in maintaining your health."
Larry Zoro
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