Happy & Healthy Wellness Counseling

So, they took the cocaine out of Soda almost a hundred years ago, but surprisingly, as far as your body can tell….not too much has changed.  Confused?  Take a look to see how your body reacts to America’s most consumed beverage and how the reaction is similar in the way your body reacts to one of the most addictive, deadly drugs….  

Have you ever wondered why Soda comes with a smile? It’s because it gets you high. Yes, in 2008, despite the absence of cocaine, soda junkies everywhere are unsuspectingly subjecting themselves to a “high”.  By simply drinking what is known as a  staple beverage in the Standard American Diet (or SAD, as I prefer to call it) we are playing a deadly game of Russian Rulet with our health and exposing ourselves to diseases the more that we indulge in this commodity.

 By now, I am sure you are wondering what I am talking about.   What is the good old culprit responsible for these highs? It's none other than....Sugar!  But- this is not just any old sugar that we are talking about here.  It is the mother of all sugars…high fructose corn syrup!  I suppose the good folks at Coke figured, why not try something cheaper, and perhaps switch to a substance that was obviously not illegal. And so voila, after near 100 years of consumption, we have an alarming rate of childhood and adolescent onset diabetes, hypoglycemia, obesity, digestive disorders, skin conditions, osteoporosis, candida, cancer.  These conditions are all linked to access sugar consumption. If you are an avid soda drinker, your life depends on this.  Please read on.

Every day, millions of Americans reach for a coke, some in hopes of curing that three o’clock lull one may experience after lunch when their energy levels feel zapped, while others have reported routinely drinking up to three liters per day!  More alarmingly, children drink these beverages in school and at home.  A child’s body is no match for the sugar rush that soda produces.  This seemingly innocent little routine has taken most of the public by storm, sending people down the Diabetes-Hypoglycemia Highway at full speed.  The end result riding down the sugar highway is devastation in one’s health, yet the beverage companies continue to receive advertising grants in the form of government funding toppling in the billions.  Meanwhile, health promoting advertisements, such as the FDA’s Healthy Food Pyramids slogan for “5 A Day” (signifying that one should consume a combination of five fresh fruits and vegetables a day.) received little or no media attention.  No wonder the public is in the dark.  Everyone has been brainwashed by advertisements to eat a food we know is not healthy.

What Happens To Your Body When You Drink A Soda?

• In The First 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake by the FDA) You don’t immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down.  Clever trick by the scientists that make soda!  Insert twilight zone music here:  “do-do do-do do-do do-do”…I believe my food should made by a chef or purchased from an organic farmer-not scientists.  Chemicals are not food.  This is common sense that is often overlooked.

• 20 minutes: Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst. Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat. (There’s plenty of that at this particular moment)

• 40 minutes: Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, as a response your livers dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. The adenosine receptors in your brain are now blocked preventing drowsiness.  Here comes your sugar high!

• 45 minutes: Your body ups your dopamine production stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain. This is physically the same way heroin works, by the way.

• 60 Minutes: The phosphoric acid binds calcium, magnesium and zinc in your lower intestine, providing a further boost in metabolism. This is compounded by high doses of sugar and artificial sweeteners also increasing the urinary excretion of calcium.

• 60 Minutes: The caffeine’s diuretic properties come into play.  It is now assured that you’ll evacuate the bonded calcium, magnesium and zinc that were headed to your bones as well as sodium, electrolytes and water.  Not only is the soda an “empty” simple carbohydrate, it robs your body of many other essential vitamins and minerals, as well.

• 60 Minutes: Pay attention to your bladder, by now it is almost certain you have had to urinate as a result of your kidneys trying to excrete this mystery substance as soon as possible.  When your body does not recognize a substance, it is very quick to send the appropriate signals to your body to digest rapidly.  This is viewed as a state of emergency.  It is as if the body is saying to your brain, “Help-Get this out of here fast-it’s doing us not good at all and it’s invading our nutrition supply!”  Hence the need to use the bathroom an hour after soda consumption.  While you were in the bathroom, you have now lost all of the water that was in the Soda. Sadly, not before infusing it with valuable nutrients your body could have used for vital functions.  Such as maintaining the ability to hydrate ones system or build strong bones and teeth.  This is how soda drinking can lead to osteoporosis.  The phosphates in the soda leech the calcium out of your blood and bones.

• After the fiasco in the bathroom, you will surely be overjoyed to learn that this will all be followed by a caffeine crash in the next few hours. (An added bonus: Count on the caffeine crash to occur in as little as two hours or less if you’re a smoker.) But, hey, have another Soda; it’ll make you feel better.  And so another ride sugar on the sugar highway begins. 

• Need help getting off of sugar?  If so, you are not alone.  Most Americans are accustomed to some sweet treat, some of us eating it more often than others.  If you are eating 10 candy bars a day and want to slow down, or are already pretty cautious of your sugar consumption and just need some fine tuning, Happy & Healthy can help you!  Happy & Healthy has a gentle gradual way of introducing all natural safe sugar free options, as well as a hands-on education experience about nutrition and cooking that is catered specifically to your needs.  You will learn to eat all kinds of fun new foods, mixed with your old healthy favorites, without making you feel deprived or like you are on a diet.  It’s not about willpower, it’s about finding a diet that nourishes your body and makes you feel extraordinary!  What are you waiting for?  Give a call today for a free consultation. (631) 659-3223.

Article Written By:Christie Korth; CHC; BSHN; AADP                               Certified Health Counselor Happy & Healthy Wellness Counseling                   400 West Jericho Turnpike Huntington, NY 11743

Copyright April 2, 2007.  This article is not to be republished without permission of the author.  All rights reserved by Happy & Healthy Wellness of Huntington, NY 11743.