Unhealthy food

Soft drinks are the most common drinks consume by adults, and children in United States. It is important to hydrate during the day, what we don’t realize is that the choices that we are making could be harmful to our body. Take for example, the first thing that comes to mind for most people during a hot summer day, is a cold soft drink. We even share it with our own children.  Sport drinks, juice boxes are the solution at hand, but what about water, what if we take a closer look to the ingredients, and preservatives that we are taking in. People are always looking for a different option than just drinking water, and assumed that fruit juice, diet sodas or sports drinks are a better option [1].  However, a typical 20-once soda contains 15 to 18 teaspoons of sugar that equals to 240 calories. A 64-ounce fountain cola drink could have up to 700 calories with no nutritional value. Other people suggested replacing regular sugary drinks with low calorie or diet sodas would make the difference. However, recent studies showed that alternative sugars could potentially contribute to weight gain, and one major concern was the effect of the body’s ability to gauge how many calories are being consumed [2].   

              In conclusion, diet soda may not be a healthy substitute for sugary drinks. If we look at different clinical studies the use of soft drinks is refer as to any beverage with added sugar or other alterative sweetener. In this category we have sodas, fruit punch, lemonade, ice tea, sweetened powered drinks, and sport energy drinks. Studies also suggested that people who drink sweetened beverages whether is a low calorie or not, there dietary quality is lower than those drinking water [3].

Take for example, an orange fruit juice it does contain vitamins, minerals and antioxidants but lacks on fiber content, and is loaded with sugar. Therefore, calorie for calorie it lacks of nutrients compared to a whole orange. In other words the main problem is that drinking orange juice from a box is the same or even worse than drinking a soda. Another example is Coca Cola non-diet soda, it has a 140 calories with 40 grams of sugars, which equals to 10 teaspoons of sugar compare to an orange juice box that has 165 calories, and 39 grams of sugar, which equals to 9.8 teaspoons of sugar [3], not much difference of the sugar content when we compare apples to apples.

One of the most common drinks in the market is the sports drink. Unfortunately, here is another misconception about the health benefits that many people have about sport drinks. Let’s take a look at the ingredients of Gatorade. Gatorade has dedicated a huge amount of money in advertisement, and marketing as an ultimate sports drink that not only is optimal for proper hydration among athletes but it is also very tasty, and delicious. It advertised as a sweet tasty vitamin enriched sport drink made for rehydrating sports men. It replaces electrolytes used during exercise and workouts, appropriate for athletic and non-athletic people [4]. 

Unfortunately, if we take a closer look to the ingredients of Gatorade, it is less than optimal is if not taken within limitations. The drink has about12 ingredients, 8 more ingredients that a sport drink should have. Let’s take a closer look to the real ingredients of Gatorade.

Sucrose Syrup- is made from table sugar or sweeteners. This is high in empty calories, low in nutritional value and cause tooth decay.  The Mayo clinic reported that is taken frequently it is likely to cause obesity [5].

Sodium- Potassium Chloride or salt is an ingredient in Gatorade. It is used for better taste by regulating the body’s fluid balance [5].

Sucralose- it is an alternative to sugar and is know as Splenda. The sucralose consumed in the body does not stay in the body; this is because most of it is excreted through urine [5].

Citric Acid- This is a natural preservative. It is a natural acid found in citrus fruits such as limes and lemons [5].

Sodium Citrate- This is a safe and widely used substance in processed foods. It helps to control the acidity of foods and keeps it in the proper pH range over time. It also contributes citrus flavor and electrolytes [5].

Natural Flavors- This is an artificial taste that is added to improve the taste of the drink.

Sucrose Syrup- This is a high empty calories sweeter made from liquefied table sugar. The Mayo clinic suggested that if taken regularly it is likely to cause obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and coronary artery diseases [5].

Brominated Vegetable oil- Is a type of oil obtained from soybean- this ingredient hinders the rise of the oils to the surface and stabilizes the flavor mixture [5].

Artificial Colors or Red 40- Red 40 is not as dangerous as other food colorings. Those to avoid include: Blue 2, Green 3, Orange B, Red 3, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6. Artificial colors come in different shades tagged with numbers [5].

High Fructose Corn Syrup- It is use as preservative for some foods, and it is made up of two or three carbohydrates. It is a source of glucose, sucrose and fructose found in sports drinks [5].

Monopotassium phosphate- this is simply a compound made of potassium and phosphorus, two minerals important for critical physiological processes, like muscle contractions, fluid electrolyte balance, and cell metabolism. It is the source of potassium in Gatorade [5].

Glycerol Ester of Wood Rosin- It is consider safe for human consumption by the National Institute of Public Health and it is used as an emulsifier to keep oils suspended in water.

Despite a wide variety of available nutritious foods, people fail to eat the recommended amounts of nutrients in their food. Typically this misconception of what to eat, and what not to eat is cause by the misrepresentation of food marketing and lack of understanding on how to read food labels, ingredients, preservatives, sugars, filers and additives of the food that people consume. As a practitioner this information would help me to guide my clients to be more aware of the foods, and drinks that are available to them. It is crucial to understand food labels, and the ingredients in the food that we consume every day. I would use clinical research data to guide, and inform my clients with the correct information that food marketing fail to inform them on the foods, and drinks that they consume on a daily basis.

1. Marketing unhealthy food. Bulletin Of The World Health Organization [serial online]. December 2016;94(12):865. Available from: OmniFile Full Text Select (H.W. Wilson), Ipswich, MA. Accessed August 3, 2017.

2. Jonas S. On the Regulation of Nutritional Supplements. AMAA Journal [serial online]. Fall2010 2010;23(3):4. Available from: OmniFile Full Text Select (H.W. Wilson), Ipswich, MA. Accessed August 3, 2017.

3. Farley T, Halper H, Carlin A, Emmerson K, Foster K, Fertig A. Mass Media Campaign to Reduce Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages in a Rural Area of the United States. American Journal Of Public Health [serial online]. June 2017;107(6):989-995. Available from: OmniFile Full Text Select (H.W. Wilson), Ipswich, MA. Accessed July 31, 2017.

4. Robertson B. Q: What Do Energy Drinks Do To Your Body?. Science & Children [serial online]. December 2013;51(4):72-73. Available from: OmniFile Full Text Select (H.W. Wilson), Ipswich, MA. Accessed August 3, 2017

5. Med-Health.net, Health News Written by Medical Doctors.  Gatorade Side Effects. Web site. http://www.med-health.net/Gatorade-Side-Effects.html  Last Update August 02, 2017. Accessed August 3, 2017.