Speech- Morgan Lakofka

Liquid Candy      

          Some people say the best way to lose weight is to cut out sugary drinks. The average soda has around 240 calories, which doesn’t seem too bad. But the average person is supposed to consume around 2000 calories a day. If you think about it, calories from a single soda can take up a large part of that percentage, 12% to be exact. Now think about the people who have more than one soda a day, they are consuming most of their daily calorie intake just from a drink. The amount of calories in soda is caused by a mixture of sugar and harmful chemicals, which is why so many people are keen on cutting it out; it has no real benefits to your body. Sure it can give you energy, but it’s more of a sugar high, you’d be just as well to eat a few lollipops. The consumption of soda can lead to many health problems. With the concern of rising obesity rates, soda is often looked to as a contributor because of the high amounts of sugar it contains. Soda consummation should be limited due to the health risks, financial reasons, and environmental problems. 

          Drinking soda can lead to an endless list of health problems, for example some are, diabetes, weight gain, kidney failure and tooth decay. The consumption of sugary drinks has been on the rise in past decade along with rising obesity rates. According to UCSF Benoiff Children’s Hospital, these drinks have no nutritional benefits and drinking one soda every day for a year is equivalent to about 55,000 calories and 55,000 calories means you would gain around 15 pounds a year. Another problem mentioned by the hospital is that the body doesn't register it's full after drinking its calories. Drinking soda does nothing for your hunger, resulting in wasted calories. Soda also contains high-fructose corn syrup which causes dehydration, the opposite effect you’d want from a drink, resulting in more wasted calories. Drinking the amount of sugar in soda can also lead to high blood pressure, elevated glucose levels, and raised cholesterol which puts people at high risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes (Scanlon 1). Other health problems associated with soda are kidney failure and tooth decay.  Certain chemicals in soda are very hard to process by your body. For example, many sodas contain aspartame, which is an artificial sweetener that could possibly connect to kidney failure, cancer, nerve disorders, and birth defects. The heavy amount of sugar in soda can rot your teeth away. It does this by combining with bacteria in your mouth to form acid, which attacks the teeth and weakens tooth enamel (wda.org). A soda a day keeps the doctors busy, soda has too many health risks and not enough nutrients for the body in order to be consumed on a daily basis.

          The average U.S. family spends around $600 on soda annually. Soda companies spend millions creating ads directed at youth which ultimately contributes to youth obesity.  The nation then spends billions treating obesity-related health conditions. That’s a lot of money for a drink that has absolutely no health benefits. If you were to put the amount of money you spend a year on soda into a savings account, you could have up to $30,000 over a time period of around 35 years. Also, soda can contribute to long term health consequences that lead to high medical expenses. If the annual compounding cost of soda doesn’t make you nervous, then the future medical bills plus the amount you’ve already spent on soda should.  There are plenty of better ways to spend your money than on a sugary, caffeinated soda pop.

          Recycling your soda cans doesn’t make up for the fact that the production of soda can still harm the planet. It takes a good deal of water to produce a 2-liter of soda, and that water comes from surrounding lakes and oceans, lowering water levels throughout the world. Sewage treatments aren’t always 100% at fully removing artificial ingredients in soda, and it could later end up in our drinking systems.  Even though you recycle, whether its glass bottles, aluminum cans or plastic, they each have other costs. Aluminum takes a bunch of energy to mine, and plastic bottles require a lot of oil to produce. Also, transporting soda requires a lot fuel. From the journey from the factory, to the store, then to your home, it has to travel a long ways.  

          Instead of drinking soda, people should drink more water to avoid health risks. It will keep you hydrated, plus has no calories. Milk is also a good substitution, it will give you nutrients and calcium that can help strengthen your bones. Soda acts in the opposite; making your bones weaker and brittle, hence tooth decay.  A single soda is okay every once in a while, but limiting the amount you drink will keep you much healthier and have positive benefits in the long run.

          Soda has no real health benefits to your body; in fact, the consumption of soda can lead to many health issues. Soda has played a large role in rising childhood obesity rates, endorsements by soda factories target kids exposing them to sugary drinks at a young age which doesn’t give them the nutrients they need, like milk or water would. A lot of money is spent on ads that ultimately cause more problems treating the many obesity related health issues. Also the production of soda can cause many environmental issues, such as lowering water levels and using an excess of fossil fuels. Soda consummation should be limited due to health risks, financial reasons, and environmental problems.  

         

Sources

Wise Bread,. "22 Reasons To Stop Drinking Soda". N.p., 2011. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

Wda.org,. "Sip All Day, Get Decay - Oral Care Tips | WDA.Org". N.p., 2015. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital,. "Sweet Drinks And Obesity". N.p., 2015. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

Healthyandnaturallife.com,. "20 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Drink Coca-Cola". N.p., 2015. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

Dietary Dogma,. Dr. Aseem Malhorta Gives Scientific Ammunition. 2013. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

Scanlon, Claire. "Why You Shouldn't Be Drinking Soda... That Includes Diet Soda". Lifehack.org. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World. USA: Sound and Fury Productions, Inc., 2004. video.