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Colas and Calcium
In the 1970s, colas (or soft drinks as we call them in the South) were not as widespread as today. Soft drinks were not available in public schools, there were not as many drive-through restaurants in which to purchase a soft drink with every meal, nor was the ‘big gulp’ available for all to buy at the quick mart.
Beverages should ideally be thirst quenching, refreshing, and nourishing. Instead of colas, especially diet sodas, drink 100% fruit juices NOT from concentrate. Pour the juices into a frosty mug or add natural ice cream (ice milk or frozen yogurt) for a sweet treat. Create your own sodas by adding sparkling water or spring water to fruit juices or to milk with ice cream. Puree fruits and add sparkling water with a squeeze of lime.
Limit the number of soft drinks you consume daily. And, if you must drink a carbonated soda, drink a regular soft drink opposed to a diet cola. Natural health food markets offer herbal colas and natural beverages that taste like the old-fashioned colas from the past.
YOUR BODY IS A CAVE
Soft drink machines have no place in public schools, in my opinion as a mother and a nutritionist. Carbonated beverages offer school-aged children nothing nutritionally. As a geologist, I construe carbonated soft drinks reacting in the human body like water dripping in a cave. Think about this:
Caves form where thick layers of limestone rock containing carbon are found. Water trickles through the soil, turning slightly acid from the carbon dioxide in the air and from decaying plants in the soil. This acidic water dissolves the carbonates (carbon) in the limestone. Over a period of time, the water fills with carbonates and other dissolved minerals it collects along the way. The primary mineral dissolved in cave water is calcite, or calcium. But iron, manganese, and other metals can be found in the water as well. These minerals are responsible for staining caves with their beautiful colors. Water dripping from cave rooves form beautiful formations called stalactites and stalagmites. This mineral combination is known as calcium carbonate.
When you open a cola, it fizzes. The ‘fizz’ comes from the tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide trapped inside the sealed container. Carbon dioxide is a by-product of carbon. Every time you breathe out, you put carbon dioxide into the air. It is one of your body’s waste products.
When you drink a carbonated soft drink, you are drinking dissolved carbon, like cave water. Burp the dioxide and the remaining carbon flows through your body like calcium-rich water trickling through a cave. The acidic water from the soft drink dissolves the other minerals in your body it collected along the way, specifically the calcium it assembled from your bones and teeth. Your body disposes of the dissolved minerals by crystallizing the calcium in ‘your cave’ (your body) in the form of bone spurs and arthritis. Stalactites and stalagmites of the soul!
In a nutshell, sodas combine with the calcium in your body to form calcium carbonate, just as in a cave. This is not wise, especially for the diet of young children. Many people currently blame the problem with soft drinks on the caffeine or the sugar content. It is important to recognize the primary chain of events created by the soft drink itself as the fundamental concern.
Posted September 2004 | Permanent Link
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