Soda the Healthy Choice?

            When moving through our everyday lives, we always think about the food choices that we make before a meal, but do we think about what we drink as well? One of the things I noticed out of all our class logs is that the choice of a soda was made quite often. We all have heard many health concerns about soda and its relation to obesity and diabetes, yet we continue to choose soda as a drink option. I recently cut soda out of my diet in order to get away from all of the artificial flavors that are found in soda products, but I know people that have it multiple times a day. Soda is something that can be had on occasion but should be avoided if it can.

            Many doctors and health professionals have found that there are multiple factors that soda has that negatively affect the body. In a study that forms opinions by looking at other works, there were four effects that were looked at. The first is energy consumption. It was found that energy consumption “was greater than what could be explained by consumption of the beverages alone” showing that soda is increasing the energy consumption, which makes appetite and hunger go up (Vartanian et. al 667). By having this increased amount of energy, it makes people hungrier and want to eat more, helping to contribute to the obesity problem. The second thing studied was body weight. Body weight factors were hard to study because there were many different definitions of body weight in the different studies drawn upon. When that body weights were averaged, there was still found to be an increase in body weight across the studies but many “outcomes varied” with the changing body weight (Vartanian et. al 669). The third outcome studied was the intake of milk and calcium. What was found is that there are “lower intakes of milk and dairy products” (Vartanian et. al 670). Drinking soda is causing less of an intake of milk, which results in less calcium intake that should be making our bones healthier. Soda is causing weaker bones in people, which should really be healthy. The fourth thing that was studied was the absorption of other nutrients and the relation to soda consumption. In the study, it was found that there was sufficient lack in things like protein, fruit, and riboflavin, to name a few (Vartanian et. al 671). The soda that we consume is blocking vital foods that are needed for our bodies. This study shows that we shouldn’t be making the choice to drink soda at meal times because it is not the healthy choice for our bodies.

            When we analyze the results from this study, we find that soda is really not the healthy choice for us to make when we sit down to eat. While having a soda on occasion would not hurt you as much, it should not be an everyday occurrence. In our eating habits, we should be making not only the healthy salad, but also the good choice in our drinks as well. Things like water and tea are not bad for you and can help us live an even healthier lifestyle. By cutting out soda, our bodies will be able to process milk and other foods better, making the correct nutrients work the first time. Part of the blocking of nutrients makes us need to eat more to get the same amount; a reduction in soda will get us to that point.

Bibliography

Lenny R. Vartanian, Marlene B. Schwartz, and Kelly D. Brownell.  Effects of Soft Drink Consumption on Nutrition and Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. American Journal of Public Health: April 2007, Vol. 97, No. 4, pp. 667-675.