The Worst Food on the Planet

By Jade Teta

Many of my clients often ask me about alternatives to soda. Probably because in my opinion, soda is the single worst dietary habit someone can have. Diet soda may be better for some, but in my opinion it is trading one poison (excess sugar) for another poison (synthetic sweeteners). Now, I also want to say I am not a fan of alarmists and nutrition extremists. So I want to start by saying small amounts of either soda or diet soda is probably not going to kill anyone despite what some of the zealots say. But, I do want to highlight some of the potential issues with soda, both regular and diet and then give you some alternatives. Here are the top reasons why soda, even diet, MAY be one of the worst dietary choices you can make.

1) Phosporic Acid- This compound is in sodas to balance out the PH of the beverage, but when consumed it becomes a very large source of phosphorus. It is estimated there is about 500mg of phosphorus in a typical soda. Why is this bad? Phosphorus is a major determining factor, along with calcium, of bone health. The body prefers to have a 1:1 ratio of calcium and phosphorus. The problem is, the more phosphorus you consume, the more calcium is needed. Many of the foods currently consumed in the American diet are already skewed toward a high phosphorus and lower calcium concentration. Meats and grains, the largest part of most Americans diets, are loaded with phosphorus and contain very little calcium. Dairy is neutral in its phosphorus calcium ratio and fruits and vegetables are a little better on the calcium side of things. When a very large source of phosphorus, like soda, is added to the diet calcium is displaced. This causes many metabolic problems most notably a weakening of bones. .

2) Caramel Color- the caramel color in soda is probably something you have never thought about. It is made by what chemists call the maillard reaction. If you like to bake cake, you know what this is. It is the brown coloring that forms on top of the cake from the interaction of the protein and sugar in a food and is induced by heat. This "brown" protein/sugar molecule is what is called advanced glycosylated end products or AGEs. Pay attention to the acronym AGEs, because that is exactly what research shows this stuff does. When you eat AGEs you set into motion the same inflammatory cascade your doctors worry about for your heart health and other parameters of aging.

3) Synthetic Sweeteners- Acesulfame, sucralose (Splenda), aspartame (Equal, and Nutrasweet), and saccharin (Sweet-N-Low) are all synthetic sweeteners. A few of these (saccharine and aspartame) have been linked to cancer in lab animals. Besides that, recent research has shown these chemicals are so sweet that they actually increase hunger, which is not what you want when you are trying to lose fat and pretty much defeats the whole purpose. Sucralose (AKA Splenda), also is a chlorinated sugar molecule. This is a similar chemical structure too many pesticides. While there is little objective evidence for the negative impact of sucralose, I think it is wise to steer clear of the stuff. To me there are many questions about the safety of alternative sweeteners especially when there are several natural no calorie sweeteners available (xyltiol, erythritol, stevia). But, let's not forget sugar is also a big issue and is known to be disease causing (insulin resistance, diabetes, inflammation) in high amounts.

4) Formaldehyde- Soda does not have formaldehyde in it, but it does have aspartame. When digested aspartame will break down into two amino acids and methanol. Methanol is where the problem may lie since it can be broken down into formic acid and formaldehyde. Formaldyhyde is a carcinogen and not something you want floating around in the body. The possibility this may be occurring in human metabolism is not completely far fetched.

5) Benzene- The potassium benzoate added to soda as a preservative can be broken down to benzene in the heat. Benzene again is a carcinogen and not a pleasant molecule for your body. Best keep your soda out of the sun.

6) High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)- HFCS is a concentrated form of the sugar fructose and is derived from corn. In small amounts and in fruits fructose is fine, but in concentrated amounts it can detrimental to your fat loss goals. By the way, agave nectar is almost pure fructose and probably should be called "super concentrated HFCS" (for comparison sucrose or table sugar is 50% glucose and 50% fructose. HFCS is 45% glucose and 55% fructose. agave is 10% glucose and 90% fructose). Again, in small quantities this is probably not an issue, but heavy use as a sweetener is not wise. Fructose is converted into fat more quickly than glucose is (for you biochemists, this is because it bypasses two key regulating steps in glycolysis, glucokinase and phosphofructokinase), and this means it is more readily stored as fat. High fructose consumption has been shown to increase cholesterol, triglycerides, and fatty liver in rats and MAY, when eaten in high amounts, be one of the key elements in the current epidemic of obesity. It also make you hungrier :-( However, let's put things in perspective. HFCS and table sugar have almost the exact same fructose concentration gram for gram, so if you are going to scream about HFCS, you should really consider table sugar the same thing.

7) Food dye especially yellow- Food coloring is not a natural substance. Of course, this does not mean it has to be bad. But there are, at least in the case of yellow dyes like tartrazine, some information in animals this compound may have an impact on brain function as well as anecdotal reports and clinical experience that removing it from the diet of those suffering ADD and ADHD can improve function.

So, if you just love soda and have to have it then do so only very rarely. If you love soda, and need to have it daily, then here are a few alternatives I think you would be wiser to switch to:

• Sparkling mineral water is our favorite. Add a lemon or lime wedge, Pure Carnitine and/or Lean Sweet and you have sparkling lemonade that may also help you burn fat.
• Club Soda. It has the bubbles and a wedge of fruit can add flavor. You can also add a natural health sugar alternative like Lean Sweet which is 100% xylitol a compound derived from corn and birch and that we make in our body every day.
• Recovery C. This effervescent vitamin C powder added to water is one of our favorites and the bioflavanoids will also help with allergies.
• Emergen C. This is an electrolyte and vitamin C powder that gives water the "fizz" of a soda
• And if you really want the real thing, then you may want to try Zevia. It is a natural soda alternative and the company who makes it seems like it has taken great care to do it right (we have no affiliation with Zevia, just just enjoy their product). They use stevia and erythritol as their sweeteners, two natural agents that have excellent safety records and have been consumed by humans for thousands of years.They also avoid the standard issues with synthetic dies and unstable preservatives by using annatto and other natural colors. One of their varieties keeps the caramel color in it although it is called "natural" caramel color. So, you may want to avoid the varieties with caramel color. They also use far better and more stable organic acids that our body actually makes and can use in metabolism like tartaric acid and citric acid. I have never been a big soda lover and I hate the taste of synthetic sweeteners but many of my clients like the taste of this product. If you must have soda, this is likely the best option. See www.zevia.com
• And for those who love Crystal Light, again not bad in small amounts, but let's be honest about what it is= powdered diet soda.