Per capita soft drink consumption has increased nearly 500
percent over the past five decades, and children, unfortunately, are a major
reason for this staggering increase.
Kids are introduced to soda at very young ages and
consumption only increases, as they get older.
An estimated 56 percent of 8-year-olds drink soda daily, and
once the teenage years come, some kids drink at least three cans of soda each
day.
Regular soda is, of course, a significant source of sugar
(mostly in the form of fructose), with each can containing about 10 teaspoons
of sugar, but due to artificial sweeteners' health effects, diet sodas may have
far more serious health effects.
Consumption of sugar-sweetened soda and other beverages has
been linked to the rising obesity epidemic, along with other health issues,
among kids. [1]
Likely as a result, a campaign has begun to get kids to stop
drinking so many sugar-sweetened beverages… unfortunately, rather than
replacing them with water or other healthy beverages it appears many kids are
simply chugging down diet sodas instead – an absolutely terrible choice for
kids' health.
Researchers at Emory University in Atlanta have found that
more kids than ever in the United States are downing diet drinks –
approximately double the number that were drinking them a decade ago. The study
looked at data from a federal health survey, which ended with the year 2008 and
showed that 12.5 percent of children were drinking artificially sweetened
beverages. [2]
On the surface this may appear to be a positive switch if it
means kids are consuming less sugar as a result, but diet sodas are actually
worse for your health than regular soda, due to the artificial sweeteners they
contain. As senior research of the study, Dr. Miriam Vos, noted:
"We do want children to drink less sugar. But the
challenge is that there are no studies that have looked at the long-term health
effects of artificial sweeteners in growing children."
Though diet drinks may be lower in calories they may
actually contribute to weight gain, a study by researchers at the University of
Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. After following 474 diet soda
drinkers for nearly 10 years, they found that their waists grew 70 percent more
than the waists of non-diet soda drinkers. Further, those who drank two or more
diet sodas a day had a 500 percent greater increase in waist size!
Worse still, no one knows what impact these substance will
have on kids who start drinking them at young ages and continue on for decades
throughout their lives.
Consumption of artificially flavored drinks may prove to be
a hard habit to break. As stated in the journal Nursing:
"Artificial sweeteners are 200 to 13,000 times as sweet
as sugar, and this enhanced sweetness is mildly addictive. Sweet taste triggers
the dopamine signal, the same pathway triggered by drugs of abuse such as
cocaine. If artificially sweetened sodas increase cravings, a person may need
more sweets to feel satisfied, leading to excessive calorie consumption and
weight gain."
Also be very wary of vitamin waters, if you take a closer
look at the labels, you'll discover they're spiking these waters with a lot of
unsavory ingredients, many capable of wreaking havoc on your metabolism,
hormones, and other physiological processes. Many of these so-called
"functional waters" contain one, two or more artificial sweeteners,
even though the water may not be advertised as "diet" or
"low-calorie." Some even contain sugar, corn syrup and artificial
sweeteners like acesulfame potassium (ace-K) or sucralose (Splenda).
Parents also need to be aware of the use “energy drinks” by
their children. These products are
useless at best and can even be dangerous. In fact the New York attorney general has launched an
investigation into energy drink manufacturers’ marketing and advertising
practices. The probe is looking
into whether the companies are overstating benefits from certain
healthful-sounding ingredients while downplaying the role of caffeine; another
issue is whether manufacturers are adding multiple sources of caffeine, such as
guarana, but not disclosing the full amount on the label. [3]
In December 2011, a 14-year-old girl suffered a fatal
cardiac arrhythmia linked to caffeine toxicity after drinking two 24-ounce
energy drinks in a 24-hour period. The girl’s mother as well as Senator Dick
Durbin has since called on the FDA to regulate the caffeine content in the
drinks. In a letter to FDA commissioner Margaret Hamburg, Durbin stated:
“ … 30 to 50 percent of adolescents report consuming energy
drinks. However, a recent report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration (SAMHSA) shows that energy drinks pose potentially
serious health risks. The report found that between 2005 – 2009, the number of
emergency room (ER) visits due to energy drinks increased ten-fold from 1,128
to 13,114 visits.” [4]
A major factor contributing to these hospitalizations is the
exceptionally high levels of caffeine in energy drinks. According to the
American Academy of Pediatrics, adolescents should not consume more than 100mg
of caffeine daily. One 16oz can of Monster contains 160mg of caffeine, which is
equivalent to almost 5 cans of soda. However, this caffeine level does not
account for caffeine from additives, like guarana, or ingredients with
stimulating properties, like taurine and ginseng.
Consuming large quantities of caffeine can have serious
health consequences, including caffeine toxicity, stroke, anxiety, arrhythmia,
and in some cases death. Young people are especially susceptible to suffering
adverse effects because energy drinks market to youth; their bodies are not
accustomed to caffeine, and energy drinks contain high levels of caffeine and
stimulating additives that may interact when used in combination.
Originally, athletes were the target market for energy drink
makers, but that soon expanded to target teenagers and young adults. Now, the
majority is marketed at 18- to 34-year-olds (although younger teens often drink
them as well), and the marketing is working – despite reports of serious
adverse effects linked to their consumption (the risks are especially severe in
children, adolescents, and young adults with seizures, diabetes, cardiac
abnormalities, or mood and behavioral disorders or those who take certain
medications).
The U.S. energy drink market is expected to reach nearly $20
billion in 2013, which is close to a 160 percent increase from 2008. Among the
functional beverage category, the energy drink segment has experienced the
largest volume growth and increased annual sales, both in the United States and
abroad
A child or teenager who chronically lacks energy should be a
red flag and the source of the issue needs to be found rather than covered up
with supplements or energy drinks. Some of the natural options that will
provide an energy boost without the scary side effects include eating a
balanced diet with plenty of “good fats” like walnuts, pastured butter, whole
eggs, olive oil and avocados. Also
getting plenty of quality sleep and intense bursts of exercise will also help
provide the “jolt” you are looking for.
Extra Credit
A very interesting article that highlights recent research
out of UCLA on the potential negative effects that high dietary intake of
fructose can have on our health.
Why Half of America May Have Impaired Brain Function by 2030:
Reference:
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