Health & Fitness
Do you think soda should be fortified with antioxidants or any vitamins and minerals, for that matter?
Sugary soda provides you with absolutely no nutritive value at all, just 100+ EMPTY calories per 8-12 ounces.The obesity epidemic is on the rise. Do you think soda should be fortified with nutrients?
That was just one of the many back and forth posts that I had on twitter with The American Beverage Consortium regarding the topic of soda and fortifying them with antioxidants.
Why is it inappropriate to put "Antioxidants" in soda and on the label, is the question asked by the American Beverage Consortium. There are a number of things wrong with it!
1. People are likely to think that drinking a soda that has pictures of cherries on the label and contains a supplemental antioxidant (vitamin E acetate) is going to give them the same health benefits as eating a bowl of cherries. IT IS NOT!
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- A can of diet soda has not one single nutrient in it other than a supplemental form of vitamin E
- A can of regular soda has the supplemental form of vitamin E + SUGAR (think calories), nothing else.
- Eating a bowl of cherries or berries will provide numerous vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients (antioxidants) and fiber, with minimal calories (nutrient dense).
2. Perhaps the benefits from eating antioxidant rich whole foods (typically low in calories and nutrient dense)come from the fact that those healthy foods are replacing junk food that we would otherwise be eating.
- Instead eating a bag of high fat, calorie and sodium chips you are eating berries. You are getting health benefits just by NOT eating the chips!
3. What if the supplemental form of the antioxidant (Vitamin E Acetate) does not work the same in our body as the form that is found naturally in food?
Then there is the question about Mayor Bloomberg's limit on sugary drinks. In doing this he is not shifting New Yorkers to drinking diet soda. He is simply putting a limit on sugary drinks. So, there is no question, "why is fortifying diet #beverages inappropriate if NYC is shifting us to them?".
The debate over the ban of sugary drinks has opened up a great flow of information to the public, i.e http://www.therealbears.com/. Let the education process begin. Thanks Mayor Bloomberg.
@MAYOR BLOOMBERG, AMERICANS AND NEW YORKERS WILL NEED RESEARCH THAT LOOKS AT THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE SUGARY DRINKS LIMIT AND ITS EFFECT (IF ANY) ON OBESITY, DIABETES, MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY AS WELL AS HEALTHCARE COSTS. THEN WE CAN MOVE FORWARD ON THIS ISSUE.
Find out what's happening in Harrisonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Follow me on Twitter @Nutrition4Lifee
website: www.AllisonTannenbaum.com
