Soda: Haute or Not?

Coca-Cola is an American fountain favorite. Created in a drug store by John Pemberton in 1885, the original recipe was called Pemberton’s French Wine Coca. When legislation passed prohibition laws in Atlanta, Georgia, Pemberton quickly responded by creating a non-alcoholic beverage. It was believed that carbonated beverages were good for your health. Pemberton claimed that for the steep price of five cents this liquid remedy, served from a fountain in a glass container, could cure multiple diseases as well as morphine addiction and headaches. Today, Coca-Cola can now be found in more than 200 countries and is often duplicated, but never imitated. The formula has since changed, along with its ingredients, and other flavors of soda have spawned.

Ready for the truth? A topic of debate has been whether soda is the leading cause of obesity in our country. New York City has joined in the fight against obesity by going as far as to create a Public Service Announcement on the effects of drinking one soda a day. Believe it or not, one can of soda per day can add 10 pounds of weight to your body per year. High fructose corn syrup is the main ingredient found in most sodas and is high in calories and low in nutritional value. Soda contains 16 teaspoons of sugar in one 20-ounce bottle. That’s a whole lot of sugar being consumed, and we all know the saying that “sugar turns to fat.”

Rumor has it, not only can you drink this delicious beverage, but it can also remove rust from metal, grease from clothes, and blood from the highway after an accident. The active ingredient in cola is phosphoric acid, which will dissolve a nail in about four days. It can also be blamed as a major contributor of the increase in osteoporosis and robbing bones in the human body of calcium.

We all have a guilty little pleasure, but like everything it needs to be tended to in moderation. The health benefits to this sweet treat are greatly outweighed by its disadvantages. The next time you reach for a soda make sure you take into consideration the effect it can have on your body. The decision is yours. Until next time my friends, visit me at  www.raylenebartolacci.com. To health and wellness, Salute.