Say No To Soda

While America sits at the #9 spot for fattest country in the world, everyone in the diet industry is benefiting. It has boomed to a multibillion dollar industry. (Talk about fat pockets!) No wonder why they have so many fad diets. Anyone can come up with a magic pill these days and make some really good money! While business are competing for money there’s a similar race from their consumers except they’re racing for an easy way to get back into their sexy pants. Don’t fall into the trap of catchy slogans and infomercials. Ask yourself and important question, why am I literally dieing to lose weight? Well let me make it easy for you to understand. Movies, magazine ads, commercials, billboards, celebrities, teachers, parents, doctors are all telling you to do so. Losing weight is not what you should be aiming for; it’s only a bonus that comes along with living a healthy lifestyle. Healthy is the word of the day but what does being healthy actually mean? Let’s start with what is NOT healthy. Things like soda and sugar writes your name on a tag for your toe.

Put down that glass of sugar, fructose corn syrup, phosphoric acid and CO2. Yes that’s right, SODA! The ingredients alone just sound scary! They say it has a major factor in osteoporosis. The caffeine in soda strips your bones of the calcium necessary to keep them strong. Caffeine also stunts growth and if used in large amounts it can cause more serious complications such as a caffeine dependency and side effects including nervousness, irritability, anxiety, tremulousness, insomnia, headaches, heart palpitations, and respiratory issues. Who could resist caffeine? It puts pep in our step and it also increases the production of stomach acid. A regular daily dose over time can lead to erosive asophagitis, peptic ulcers and gas- reflux disease. (OUCH!) It has empty calories, no nutritional value what so ever. Soda also increases your phosphate and sugar levels making you more prone of developing diabetes. Oh, but that’s not all! The caffeine removes enamel from your teeth which will then give you cavities and can take you down the yellow brick road straight to heart disease. So, for all you soda lovers I found an alternative for you! Natural fruit juice and water, water, water. Before you know it your withdrawals will be over and we are closer to seeing that cute waist of yours! If the inside looks good then the outside will look phenomenal! If stopping cold turkey sounds impossible for all of you addicts then start making little changes week by week by just cutting down to only one dose of caffeine daily. If you dare to be brave then substitute it with a cup of black or green tea which is natural and are high in antioxidants. Natural caffeine can be found in some fruits and vegetables which is better because it comes in smaller dosages. It’s enough to get you going naturally without all of those freaky side effects in the long run.

High fructose corn syrup is also dangerous and can cause most of the diseases that were listed above. Don’t listen to the commercial! They say it’s natural but they don’t say that your body converts it to fat and that it causes mineral loss. Your Iron, Magnesium, Calcium and Zinc levels will get unbalanced and out of whack. Remember, we need magnesium for Calcium absorption. High Fructose Corn syrup is a big no-no! It will taste sweet going down and stays sweet right around our waistlines creating a wonderful Goodyear tire! As for all those other sugars, you can either use honey or agave nectar sparingly until you can wean yourself off of the sugar completely. You can also buy Stevia or Stevia plus. It has a bit of an after taste when it’s in high concentration but it’s a great alternative. It’s not made from sugar and is a natural sweetener found in the Stevia leaves. You can buy it at Vitamin Shoppe. It can be one of the best changes you can make in your diet. One colossal step closer to a healthier, happier, you!