Soft drink damage

by MegaDude 29 Replies latest jw friends

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  MegaDude

  I was in a deposition today and one of the parties told us about her friend who was a heavy user of soft drinks. For years she drank around five to seven a day. She had been having bone pain and went to the doctor and was told "Your bones have the consistency of lace. They are the bones of an 80 year old. This has been caused by your soft drink habit. Stop it immediately." This woman's health is in serious jeopardy and she is barely 40 years old. She is on medication but has massive damage she will not recover completely from. All from heavy use of soft drinks.

  I share this with you because in the past I had a Diet Coke addiction which I never assumed was healthy, but never as damaging as the story related to me above.

  The reason soft drinks can cause bone damage is as one website describes:

  One of these chemical additives, phosphoric acid, is added to many kinds of soda pop to help keep the carbonated bubbles from going flat. Because good health depends upon our bodies being able to maintain a one-to-one balance between calcium and phosphorus in our systems, calcium is released from our teeth and bones into our bloodstreams to help balance the phosphoric acid in the pop we drink. Eventually the phosphoric acid is secreted, taking with it the released calcium. Thus, a habit of soft drink consumption actually robs our bodies of calcium, leading to a condition known as osteoporosis--soft teeth and weak bones.
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  Makena1

  Wow - scary stuff! Reminds me of experiments in Jr. High school putting a piece of steak in a beaker of Coca Cola - and watching the meat dissolve!

  OK - no more tonic with my vodka - Martini straight up with a twist from now on!
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  Joyzabel

  Martini straight up
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  SheilaM

  Mega: I agree, most people have no idea how damaging tonic can be. I do like Dr. Pepper and drink maybe one a month if that. We are trying to keep tonic away from our grandbaby. The only one that drinks much in our family is our son the Marine but he is even cutting down.
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  SixofNine

  :For years she drank around five to seven a day.

  whew! Your post scared me until I did the math. I added it up, and I figure I drink on average just under 2 per day, no where close to the 5 to 7 gallons per day that this lady drank! :-D
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  Seeking Knowledge

  The dentist my daughter goes to is a big "NO SODA" freak. He is always lecturing on not drinking the stuff due to the damage done to teeth. When I was preggo with my daughter I had a Dr Pepper every day. Once she was born I hardly touched it. When I had my son the craving came back. We are all weaning ourselves off of it and have it only on "special" occassions.

  SK
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  IronGland

  I agree, most people have no idea how damaging tonic can be

  Sheila, when you say 'tonic' is that a midwestern catch-all for soft drinks, or does that include tonic-water that some drink with gin /vodka?
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  stillajwexelder

  AND diet drinks are loaded with aspartame which in theory is harmless - but at least regular drinks just use high fructose corn syrup which is more natural
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  MegaDude

  I just wished they warned people just how hazardous it could be to your health to swill soda like that. Perhaps the woman in the story had unusual circumstances but you think there would be some studies about this. Drinking four or five or even more sodas isn't uncommon. In fact, one of the attorneys at my deposition said he'd be lucky to cut down to five a day.

  I drank at least five Diet Cokes every day for a long time years ago. It's such an excellent caffeine delivery system and I liked it better than coffee. It got to the point that I felt lethargic and unfocused without the Diet Coke, kind of like feeling washed out with no energy. Once I quit the sodas, the rollercoaster up and down energy problem went away but I'll always miss the caffeine. I really liked the boost I got from it.

  Joy,

  Had me a big fat Bombay Saphire martini last Friday. It sure is good for taking the edge off the week and the paint off the walls. Very smooth.
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  Satanus

  I'll always miss the caffeine. I really liked the boost I got from it.

  Well, there's always this thing called coffee that i hear everyone and his cat are doing. Then, down the list from that is tea. The thing about tea is, that the caffien is released steadily, instaed of one big blast, like coffee. Sorry, but i imagine that you already knew this.

  S