Pop – What Doctors Are Saying

Some call it soda, some call it pop, and some doctors are calling it a chemical death trap. Americans are guzzling a shocking 57 gallons of pop per person, per year, with 70% of kids drinking at least one pop a day. We all know that pop contains a lot of sugar, but do you really know how much sugar? Did you know that there is 39 grams of sugar in a can of coke? That is TWO TIMES MORE than a standard Kit Kat bar! You think that’s bad? Wait until you hear about the other dangerous effects of this seemingly harmless sugary goodness!

Let’s start from the moment you take a sip of pop. As soon as the pop hits your teeth, an “acid attack” begins in your mouth. The sugar and acidity of the pop produces a reaction in your mouth. As the acid attack continues, it will slowly start to melt away and weaken your enamel. Once it passes from the mouth, it goes down your throat and can wear away the inner lining of your esophagus. As the liquid is being swallowed, the pancreas is notified and rapidly begins to create insulin in response to the sugar. By the 20 minute mark, blood sugar levels spike and the liver responds to the insulin by turning sugar into fat storage. After 45 minutes, the entire amount of caffeine in a can of pop has been absorbed, which causes rapid heartrate, increased blood pressure and dilated pupils. The addictive properties of pop on the brain are comparable to the effect of cocaine.

“I lost 40 lbs just by cutting out pop,” says Cheryl, a 45-year- old stay-at- home-mom who tried every diet and exercise program available before deciding to cut pop out of her diet. By eliminating two Cokes a day, she cut out 546 grams of sugar per week, resulting in what she describes, as a life-changing weight loss.

In addition to weight loss benefits, there are many other health reasons that should make us want to cut pop completely out of our diets. If you are looking for alternatives to pop, try sparkling water, or even fresh, organic fruit juices. Fructose (naturally occurring sugar) has been scientifically proven to be more beneficial for your health than added sugars as it does not cause an insulin spike.

Unfortunately, you’re still not in the clear. Diet pop has been shown to have nearly the same effects as regular pop. Sugar stand-ins such as aspartame are known to confuse the brain and still produce the insulin-spiking effects of regular pop. Because of this, it has been linked to an increase of type II diabetes. Not to mention, diet pop has absolutely zero nutritional value, so when your body sends signals to your brain to notify you of hunger, it is likely a result of being nutrient-deficient. Slurping on a diet pop will only prolong your hunger and will end in weight gain instead of weight loss.