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I think by now most of us have heard at least one reason why soda is just not that good for any of us to drink, but especially our kids. The other day I was flipping through the November Issue of Family Circle in my doctor's office (where else do you get a chance to read it?) when I came across another disturbing reason why we should all stop buying soda.
According is this article, researchers at Tufts University found that "drinking just four cans of regular or diet cola a week my lead to lower bone density." You might be thinking four cans of soda a week is more than anyone in your family drinks, but according to this article and others I've read, the average teen gulps down three times that amount in a week. In fact, according to Kids Health, the average teen knocks back about two cans of soda a day.
Loss Of Bone Strengthening Calcium - How does soda contribute to loss of bone density? Well, apparently most sodas contain phosphoric acid, which the body neutralizes by leaching calcium out of the bones. Its tough enough getting the right amount of calcium into our kids (especially our older kids) each day, to think soda is robbing it from their bodies is quite disconcerting - and not just for my kids, I'm a over 40 year old woman who is growing increasingly concerned about osteoporosis.
Like I said, this is just another reason; here is a quick reminder of a few more...
Weight Gain - As you can imagine, the over-consumption of calorie-dense carbonated beverages has a direct correlation with weight gain among children. Not to mention, the majority of soda contains high fructose corn syrup, which has also been linked to obesity. It is believed that kids who are swigging down soda, which is packed with empty calories, are also more likely to be snacking on high-calorie, high-fat foods -- further contributing to weight gain.
Interesting Fact: Just the other day my husband was reading an article that stated Dr. Pepper is one of the only soft drink manufacturers that does not use high fructose corn syrup in their recipe. Please don't take this as license to drinks tons of it, but it is good to know. Correction Made On October 19th: Oops, my husband read my blog while he was out-of-town on business and sent me an e-mail correcting my claim about Dr. Pepper. He said that the article stated that one Dr. Peppar manufacturer in Texas did not use high fructose corn syrup in their production of the cola. Sorry -- and anyway, you shouldn't be drinking soda!
Tooth Decay - Clearly sugar-laden soda is an enemy to our children's teeth, but in addition to sugar it is the acid found in soda that is literally sanding blasting our kids' tooth enamel as little as 20-minutes after kicking back that soda. I don't know what your dental coverage is like, but I'm already rolling around in bed at night worrying about future orthodontia bills let alone eroding teeth!
Hooking The Young On Caffeine - For me this is particularly disturbing because it establishes a life-long dependency on caffeined beverages. Speaking as an "addict" who is writing to you right now with an extra-large coffee by her side, I would like a better life for my young. With the growing interest in hyper-caffeined beverages like Red Bull, increasing dependency on caffeine among the young is of huge concern. Two interesting facts to note, in many cases there is more caffeine in diet soda than there is in regular and caffeine is another contributor to loss in bone density.
Now the toughest part, how do we get our kids to stop drinking soda?
Wean, wean, wean. Come on, we managed to (evidently) get our children off the bottle or breast and who remembers the pacifier? - How tough can this be, right?
I think the best approach, if it is not already too late, is to never get them started. As I mentioned in my recent blog on fruit juice, kids that are introduced to water and watered-down fruit juice when still quite young are less likely to drink soda in the future. So if your kids are still small, simply keeping the soda out of the house will go a long way.
For those of us with older kids, if they are really giving you a hard time, the Family Circle article recommends limiting your kids to "two cans a week" -- for me personally, I
