Swapping out SODA for WATER can help you lose 14 pounds a year

Cutting back on soda intake and replacing them with water may lead to significant weight loss within a year, a recent Consumer Reports study revealed.

According to the report, drinking 20 ounces of water in place of the same amount of soda may help a person ward off as much as 119 cups of refined sugar within a year. This, in turn, prevents the body from absorbing 52 extra pounds of refined sugar over the same period. The report also showed that swapping out soda with water may lead to a total weight loss of 14 pounds within one year.

The report also revealed that consuming less-sugary beverages — such as milk, orange juice, and energy drinks — instead of soda may result in a significant weight loss between three to more than nine pounds. This also reduces refined sugar consumption between 47 to 97 cups per year.

Researchers said adopting these changes could make a difference in today’s worsening obesity epidemic. According to the experts, an average American consumes between 150 calories from soda each day, which was a big part of the 300 extra calories that the general population has apparently added to their daily diets over the years.

“Take away one can of soda, which would be about 150 calories, and you’re halfway there to offsetting that,” Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said in a Daily Mail article.

The experts also noted that young people are more likely to benefit from this method, as doing so would readily stem childhood obesity that usually persists in adulthood.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), frequent consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages may result in a plethora of adverse health conditions including diabetes, heart disease, kidney diseases, and tooth decay as well as gout, cavities, and non-alcoholic liver disease.

Replacing soda with water may facilitate weight loss, studies show

Previous studies have already established that replacing soda with water may significantly improve body weight.

Just last year, a study carried out by Virginia Tech and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill revealed that replacing one eight-ounce sugary drink with the same amount of water may help reduce calorie intake in adults aged 19 years and older. (Related: Water before meals helps with weight loss, say researchers.)

The experts also noted that adopting the one-for-one drink swap method helped improve the participants’ scores on the Healthy Beverage Index. “Regardless of how many servings of sugar-sweetened beverages you consume, replacing even just one serving can be of benefit …We found that among U.S. adults who consume one serving of sugar-sweetened beverages per day, replacing that drink with water lowered the percent of calories coming from drinks from 17 to 11 percent. Even those who consumed more sugary drinks per day could still benefit from water replacement,” researcher  Kiyah J. Duffey told Science Daily online.

In another study, researchers at The University of Nottingham and Tehran University of Medical Sciences found that replacing diet soda with water helped improve body weight and insulin sensitivity in obese women with type-2 diabetes.

“Our results are very interesting. They show that the women drinking water after their main meal at lunch time over 24 weeks lost on average 1.16kg more than the women who drank diet drinks after their meal. We think that by drinking water instead of sweet-tasting diet drinks, the women may be adhering better to the weight loss diet because artificial sweeteners may increase desire for sweetened and more energy dense foods,” researcher Dr. Hamid Farshchi said in a university release.

Sources include: 

DailyMail.co.uk

ScienceDaily.com

Nottingham.ac.uk

This court just ruled Coca-Cola products are POISON

Chances are you’ve seen some videos circulating the web showing Coke’s ability to take rust and paint off metal objects or clean toilet bowls. While deep down we all know that sodas aren’t healthy, many of us still drink liters of the sugary stuff on a daily basis.

No matter where you are, Coca-Cola is one of the most recognized drinks in the whole world. In some third world countries, Coca-Cola products such as Coke, Fanta, or Sprite, are even more accessible than clean water.

Regular consumers of these soft drinks, however, have more to worry about than just its high sugar content. A Nigerian High Court judge has ruled that some of the soft drinks sold under the Coca-Cola brand could be poisonous when consumed alongside vitamin C-rich foods, drinks, and supplements.

Bottles of Fanta and Sprite may soon come with written health warnings

After businessman Dr. Emmanuel Fijabi Adebo filed a lawsuit against the regulatory National Agency For Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC), Judge Adedayo Oyebanji ruled that high levels of benzoic acid, as well as additives in Fanta and Sprite, could pose a health risk to consumers when mixed with ascorbic acid, or vitamin C.

In 2007, Emmanuel Fijabi Adebo’s company, Fijabi Adebo Holdings Limited, purchased Nigerian Sprite and Fanta to export to the United Kingdom (U.K.) for retail. When the products arrived in the U.K., health authorities ran tests and concluded that they weren’t fit for human consumption, CNN reported. The shipment was seized and destroyed because the products contained excessive levels of benzoic acid and the food coloring sunset yellow, both of which pose a serious health risk. (RELATED: Find more information about toxic foods and drinks at NaturalNewsIngredients.com.)

In their defense, the Coca-Cola Company said the claims are inaccurate and unsupported by science. Lawyers for the Nigerian Bottling Company added that the products were not intended for export to other countries.

“All our products are safe and strictly adhere to regulations in the countries where they are sold, while complying with our company’s stringent global safety and quality standards,” a spokesperson for Coca-Cola told the Independent.

Judge Adedayo Oyebanji rejected their defense, stating that any manufactured soft drink “ought to be fit for human consumption irrespective of color or creed.” The Lagos High Court ordered the NBC to place labels on Fanta and Sprite bottles to inform consumers about the possible health risks. Furthermore, the NAFDAC received a fine of $6,350 for failing to ensure health standards.

NBC and NAFDAC are appealing against the court ruling

Both companies argue that Coke’s products don’t exceed benzoic acid limits in Nigeria. They cited limits set by the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FOA), which may vary by country, depending on several factors such as climate and country regulations. According to them, higher temperatures require higher levels of preservatives.

As stated by Sade Morgan, legal, public affairs, and communications director of the NBC, the standard limits of benzoic acid in soft drinks in the U.K. is set to a maximum of 150 mg/kg. Fanta and Sprite products coming from Nigeria, however, have recorded levels of 200 mg/kg, which is lower than the Nigerian regulatory limit of 250 mg/kg.

While authorities and the FAO claim that the products are safe, Health Minister Isaac Adewole insisted on opening an investigation into the safety of Coca-Cola products produced in Nigeria. The news has spread like wildfire through Nigeria, resulting in fear among the public. Many Nigerians aren’t too sure anymore whether they still want to drink soda that’s considered poisonous for humans in some parts of the world.

While Coca-Cola and the NBC hope for a successful appeal to rebuild their reputation and restore trust, consumer groups are calling for immediate boycotts.

Sources:

Edition.CNN.com

Independent.co.uk