Coke, pop, soda, whatever you call it, it is HORRIBLE for your body. I must admit, I was a full-bodied Coke drinker for many years. I drank one a day to get me through that post-lunch slump for many years. Thanks to the Paleo diet, I no longer get that slump, and do not desire Coke at all.
Here are some FANTASTIC reasons to avoid all pop like the plague:
- Pop is the most acidic beverage you can drink. If you recall from high school chemistry, neutral is 7, and pop comes in at 2.5 on the acid/base scale. That is the same as vinegar. Americans already eat too many acidic foods (dairy, meat, nuts, beans, coffee, bread, high sugar fruits), which can lead to heart and kidney problems, muscle loss, osteoporosis, and accelerated aging.
- Pop containing caramel coloring contain the chemicals 2-methylimidazole and 4-methylimidazole, which have been shown to cause cancer in animals. 16 mcg of 4-methylimidazole is enough to pose a cancer threat, and a 20 oz pop contains 200 mcg.
- Pop contains high level of phosphorus, which leaches calcium from the bones. Phosphorus can cause gingivitis, tooth loss, and osteoporosis.
- Diet pop is WORSE than regular. You may be saving calories, but you are trading them for cancer causing poisons. Aspartame converts to methanol, and if you drink several diet pops in a short frame of time, the level of methanol in your body can be as high as 32 times the EPA limit. (From the book The Crazy Makers: How the Food Industry Is Destroying Our Brains and Harming Our Children.)
- Pop makes you fat, even the diet variety. The body responds to sweet flavors by storing fat and carbohydrates, leaving you feeling hungry. Sweet tastes also cause a release of insulin, which blocks your body’s ability to burn fat. There have been many studies showing that diet pop causes weight gain. This doesn’t mean to go to full-sugar pop, which also, of course, leads to weight gain!
Sources:
http://www.balance-ph-diet.com/acidic_food.html
http://waterforlifeusa.com/blog/uncategorized/8-ways-soda-fizzles-your-health/
http://www.rd.com/health/healthy-eating/4-reasons-to-avoid-all-soda-even-diet/
Shared with:
Healthy Living, The Better Mom.
Thanks so much for linking up!! So true about Soda..love that we’re a water family cause I know it’s so much better for us!! xoxo
Katie, I’ve known Coke is bad for me, but for years, like you, I thought I needed one to get through the afternoon. Your post has convinced me that I need to make a real effort to stop drinking it regularly. I’ve been “Coke-free” for four days! Thanks so much for the information!
Way to go, Julia! I know it is hard at first, because your body craves the sugar. But once you are a month out, you won’t miss it. I’ve stopped looking at pop as a drink, and more like drinking poison, because essentially that is what it is. That helps make it unpleasant to stomach!