DEWAP* DRINK WATER, O WORLD!
The SODA WARS used to be a row of raging battles between the two largest soda companies, Coke and Pepsi. We need to redefine the term and, as consumers, wage war against all sodas. Our children's health --and ours-- depends on it.
By Marie Dufour, RD - Some of the main contributors to the obesity boom in general, and to childhood overweight in particular, are the various sweetened drinks on the market today. Sadly, the taste for sodas and the marketing blitz from the big distributors are not limited to the USA. Wherever I travel, I see a drastic change in traditional and healthy drinking patterns.
In Paraguay, for example, the YERBA MATE is the traditional drink. Either in the hot morning MATE, the COCIDO QUEMADO, or the ice-cold TERERE, the YERBA is the basis for some of the healthiest and calorie-free drinks in the world. Sadly, I notice that the social habit of drinking TERERE is replaced by sharing a 32-oz bottle of soda, especially in the young. Overweight and obesity rates in Paraguay are reaching in excess of 50%.
In the most remote places of the world, I come across the biggest names in the soda business. On the UROS islands of Lake Titicaca (Peru), women in traditional garb present the guides with the red-label 2-liter bottle as a tip for bringing tourists. In the ancient villages of the Colca Canyon, a place we reached after a day of dirt roads and an hour on horseback, the toothless old women were proudly offering me a swig of their 2-liter soda bottle.
No doubt that being able to afford a soda is a social status. But this alters the nutrition equation in devastating ways as children expect to drink soda as soon as they leave the breast or the baby bottle. The situation, as I see it, is even worse in third-world countries, where the social conscience of big business is null and public education is unheard of.
True, soft drinks are not the only culprit in the global weight gain bubble, but they are the easiest to control, withdraw, ban, tax, or regulate. Also, reducing their consumption by just one drink a day can have drastically positive results on obesity and type 2 diabetes. The three major "Liquid Candy" products to take out of our diet are:
- Sodas: sodas and other sweetened drinks are full of sugar (9 to 12 teaspoons per can, depending on the brand). Some also contain caffeine, a diuretic that can cause dehydration. Even at 150 calories per glass, sodas leave us hungry because our hormonal response to "fullness" works only with food, not with drinks.
- Fruit juices: a 12-ounce glass of orange juice, which is the juice of two to three oranges, has about 180 calories (= 3 chocolate chip cookies.) Some "Juices" contain only 10% of real fruit juice or less, and are filled with sugar and chemicals.
- Sports drinks: also 100% sugar and salt. Some companies (i.e. Gatorade) have re-formulated their drinks, with 14g of sugar per 8oz can, 50 calories. But sports drinks don't hydrate better than water, and some have such a high electrolyte load that they actually dehydrate us.
Bottom line, the human digestive system is not designed for drinking calories.
Alternatives - What can you do?
- Drink water. Zero calories, total hydration and detox power. On occasion, a diet soda of low-cal beverage is a treat. ONLY as a treat. Drink tea, coffee, TERERE, or any other water-based infusion.
- Whole fruit: Limit fruit juice to one daily 4-oz cup of real juice with pulp (60 calories). Better, eat one whole orange (80 calories) whose fiber makes your feel fuller.
How much weight can be lost this way?
- Eliminate 1 soda per day: save 15 lbs a year.
- Reduce the 12 oz of orange juice to 4 oz or a small orange: save 13 lbs a year.
DO both? That's more than 25 pounds saved in one year.
Is it that simple? Yes, and no. There are other factors that make us want to cling to that extra weight once we have gained it, BUT eliminating calories from drinks should be the first offensive in our war against overweight.
Some responsive sugar drink companies are improving their politics and products by taking sodas out of schools, doing away with high fructose corn syrup, and coming out with attractive zero-calories products. Parents have a duty to take the soda bottle away from their children. They also must lead by example by drinking water themselves, campaigning to keep soda out of schools and sports clubs.
Together, we can bring about a change.