Tea Time: Soda and Sugar-Sweetened Beverages

• Diet vs regular vs other SSB (tea, juice drinks, coffee drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks, etc)
• Addictive/appealing components
  • Caffeine
  • Sugar
    • brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, glucose, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, lactose, malt syrup, maltose, molasses, raw sugar, and sucrose
  • Fake sugar
    • Ace K
    • Aspartame
      
    • Splenda
    • Stevia
  • Proprietary blend of flavors
  • Carbonation
• Potential dangers
  • Don't fill you up like food ("bonus calories")
  • Damaging to teeth (especially between meals)
    • Among young children, aged 1 through 5 years, consumption of sweetened, carbonated soft drinks was associated with an 80-100% increased risk of dental caries
  • Association with higher rates of asthma among non-obese
  • Each 12-ounce soft drink per day consumed by children increases their odds of becoming obese by 60%
  • Increased risk of Heart Disease, Type 2 Diabetes, Gout, Pancreatic Cancer, Pancreatitis
• Bottom line
  • It's not health food!
  • It's not meant to be consumed daily
  • moderation is important with these drinks