I rarely drink soda (also known as pop or soft drinks). The last time I craved some was over two decades ago when I was pregnant. Surprisingly, I craved some last night. So I included one in my food delivery.
After enjoying my dinner, I reached out for the bottle to open and gobble it down to ‘seal up’ the meal. I froze. The first thing I checked was the sugar content having recently been diagnosed borderline Type 2 diabetes.
I’ve made changes to my food intakes (I don’t diet! lol) and been watching my sugar as well. I love my hot tea and usually drink four to six cups a day, with cream and sugar! That’s however changed to two to three with sugar substitutes.
So, when I saw the sugars in the Sprite, the bottle fell outta my hand. Omg!
Well, some might say, you can have the no-sugar or Diet Sprite instead. True, but think of those who have no medical insurance and who drink the regular Sprite, think of those uninformed (or is’t ignorants, pardon me.) I used to be ignorant in that aspect as well when I used to enjoy endless bottles of Coke or Pepsi (Pepsi was my favorite; sorry Coca Cola). But not any more.
Drinking high-sugar content drinks is not healthy. According to the CDC, “Frequently drinking sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with
- weight gain/obesity,
- type 2 diabetes,
- heart disease,
- kidney diseases,
- non-alcoholic liver disease,
- tooth decay and cavities, and
- gout, a type of arthritis.”
You who are informed, should help those who are not.
Here’s an Harvard article on the nutritional source of sugary drinks.
Is the company, CocaCola, producing what the consumers want or just making products without cognizance to consumers’ long time health?
We can’t stop Coca Cola (or the other companies) from making its (or their) sugary products, but we can inform one another of the apparent or probable health risks.
As the Harvard article states, “concerted action on several levels—from creative food scientists and marketers in the beverage industry, as well as from individual consumers and families, schools and worksites, and state and federal government” is needed to “alleviating the cost and the burden of chronic diseases associated with the obesity and diabetes epidemics in the U.S. and around the world.”
Help do your part and spread the word; just as we need each one of us to spread the need to vaccinate against covid. Thank you.
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