Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Soft Drinks

I apologize for not posting in a short while. I have been trying very hard to get a business off the ground. I was laid off last November and finding work in my position is next to impossible. Enough of that. Anyway I used to consume a lot of soda. Thanks to my wife, that ended a long long time ago. The article below should help to open your eyes more. Good Luck

> (07-23) 13:23 PDT SAN FRANCISCO --
Adults who consume at least one soft drink a day are more likely to develop risk factors for heart disease than
> those who don't, even if the beverage is diet, according to a study
> published today in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
> Researchers studying about 3,500 middle-aged men and women as part of a
> larger, long-term heart study found an association between daily soft
> drink consumption and an increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome.
> People with metabolic syndrome -- a combination of factors like high blood
> pressure and elevated triglycerides -- are more likely to suffer diabetes
> and heart disease.
> "In this group of middle-aged adults, consumption of just one or more soft
> drinks per day seemed to increase the risk of developing metabolic
> syndrome by about 50 percent" whether the drink was artificially sweetened
> or not, said Dr. Ramachandran Vasan, senior author of the Framingham Heart
> Study and an associate professor at Boston University School of Medicine.
> The study adds to an array of scientific evidence showing that consumption
> of sugar-sweetened drinks increase the risk of heart disease. Past studies
> have linked the consumption of both diet and regular sodas with childhood
> and adolescent obesity and increased risk of high blood pressure in
> adults.
> Compared to those who drank fewer than one soft drink daily, participants
> who drank one or more a day had about a 30 percent greater risk of
> developing new-onset diabetes, adding inches to their waistlines or having
> low levels of good cholesterol.
> Although the researchers' analysis adjusted the data for lifestyle-related
> factors like high calorie intake and less physical activity -- factors
> that could help to explain the link between soda consumption and metabolic
> risks -- the report falls short of proving exactly who or what should take
> the blame, Vasan said.
> "One of the important questions is, 'Is it the soda drinker or the soda?"
> he said.
> Researchers theorize that consumption of sweet drinks might condition a
> desire for sweeter foods, or that drinking more during one meal can lead
> to more solid food consumption during the next meal.
> Another theory posits that fructose corn syrup in regular soft drinks can
> contribute to weight gain, insulin resistance and diabetes. But the
> study's finding that diet and regular soda drinkers face similar risks
> presents a curveball for the corn syrup argument because diet drinks are
> flavored with artificial sweeteners, Vasan said, adding that the burden
> will fall to nutritional scientists to research the topic more.
>
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