PhenForum Daily

gaines · 07-14-2009, 02:14 PM

I guess I've been receiving the PhenForum Daily newsletter for a while now, however I receive a lot of junk and today was the first time I took the time to read one. I was saddened to see what seemed to be propaganda from a site that I felt worked to cut through illogical fears with facts.

The article title is, "20 Reasons Never to Touch a Soda Ever Again". I don't have time to go through each item in the list to address how each one is misleading and may not reflect the FACTS of the topic, however I strongly suggest each reader do a bit of their own research from less biased sources. I think you'll see that, while something being linked to an illness in lab animals seems like a meaningful statement, it ignores the massive quantities involved, often hundreds of times more than the average person would consume. Also, just because a chemical CAN cause a problem doesn't mean there's any real danger of that happening. Elevated blood levels of potassium can be toxic. If my grandfather were to drink too much orange juice his heart COULD fail. Does that mean orange juice is something to be avoided?

Be wary any time somebody presents a list of "facts" without any reference to the sources or studies behind those seemingly significant statements.

**susanpesek** · 07-14-2009, 03:25 PM

AMEN, Gaines!
Though I have been here for years, I have never received a PhenForum newsletter.
What is it?
I learn new stuff every day that I didn't know about. Please tell me if this is an email to you or a PhenForum link where you can access the 'information.'

I applaud YOU for an excellently worded and informative post~

gaines · 07-14-2009, 03:31 PM

Thanks for the reply, Susan. I'm not sure how I got signed up for the newsletter, but it came in email from from daily@phenforum.com.

I guess I should post it here so anyone who didn't receive it will know what I'm talking about.

Code:

20 Reasons Never to Touch a Soda Ever Again

By Ian Robertson, Managing Editor PhenForum Daily and the
Weight Loss Club

Sodas may seem like nothing more than a guilty pleasure of glorified sugar water, but this is most certainly not the case.

Both regular and diet sodas are borderline dangerous. And while regular sodas have their own set of ills, diet drinks seem to pose a much greater risk to the body. Still thinking about reaching for a soda??? Here are only 20 reasons not to drink one ever again:

1. Saccharin(Sweet n’ Low) is a noncaloric petroleum derivative that has been linked to bladder cancer in laboratory animals.

2. In fact, Saccharin was discovered by Ira Remsen in 1879 at the dinner table after not having washed the coal tar derivatives off of his hands. Mmmmm coal tar derivatives.

3. Aspartame (NutraSweet) contains ethyl or wood alcohol, which has been known to hinder fetal brain development.

4. Diet drinks are loaded with sodium which causes calcium to be excreted. Thus, this excretion leads to osteoporosis.

5. Sodas tend to interact adversely with antacids, possibly causing headaches, constipation, hypertension, nausea, vomiting, and kidney damage.

6. Sodas contain a lot of phosphorus, which can also lead to excessive calcium loss and even they can even hinder the body’s ability to utilize calcium.

7. Heavy soft drink consumption can interfere with the body’s metabolization of iron, which could mean diminished nerve impulse transmission. More soda, less sensation.

8. Caffeine withdrawal can occur in those that drink soft drinks daily. It’s a dreadful experience that can include symptoms such as headache, fatigue, mild depression, muscle pain and stiffness, flu-like feelings, nausea, and vomiting.

9. Women that consume at least one caffeinated beverage a day are more prone to PMS. Also, the more caffeine consumed, the worse the PMS symptoms.

10. Listen up ladies. Just having one caffeinated drink a day reduces your monthly chances of conceiving a child up to 50%.

11. Soft drinks serve as the number one source of phosphorus in the American diet. It should also be noted that excess phosphorus is a major contributor to osteoarthritis. Hmmm, maybe Americans weren’t always so decrepit....

12. When stored improperly, the artificial sweetener aspartame can turn into methanol, a poisonous alcohol which General Motors is considering using as a fuel. Even when stored properly, 10% of the consumed aspartame will be absorbed into the bloodstream as methanol. So, damned if you do, damned if you don’t....

13. Phosphoric acid found in soft drinks can actually corrode your stomach lining and your liver.

14. A high phosphorus intake can lead to gingivitis, tooth loss, and periodontal disease.

15. PET bottling is used exclusively for soft drinks. This Polyethylene terephthalate can release small amounts of dimethyl terephthalate into the beverage. Unfortunately, this compound is potentially carcinogenic.

16. One extra soft drink a day gives a child a 60% greater chance of becoming obese. Each daily drink adds 0.18 points to the child’s BMI score, regardless of exercise and other foods consumed.

17. One liter of aspartame-sweetened soda can produce about 56 mg of methanol. When several diet sodas are consumed daily, as much as 250 mg of methanol are stuffed into the bloodstream. Oh, and by the way, this is 32 times the Environmental Protection Agency’s limit.

18. The acidity of soda is about the same as vinegar, but the sugar content disguises the acidity. Clever, huh??

19. The sugar from one soft drink has the ability to weaken the white blood cells up to 7 hours.

20. Children who drink soft drinks are 3-4 times more likely to suffer from bone fractures than those who don’t.

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