Things in your drinks.

With many of us switching from carbonated soda pop to fruit, flavored water and tea drinks , we still have to be aware of ingredients. Some of those drinks are not organic, some may still use dyes or preservatives or sweeteners that are not good for your body even though the manufactures say they are safe in small amounts.

Coal tar derivatives used for coloring such as Red #40 and Yellow #6 can cause sensitivity to viruses and have been linked to cancer. Cochineal extract is used as a cola coloring and is basically ground up female cochineal bugs from South America. While this may not be appealing, we still don’t know if they are laden with critters or pesticides that could affect our health. Artificial sweeteners that go by several names now but started out as aspartame, when heated (like if left in your hot car in the summer) breaks down to toxic methyl alcohol. It has  been implicated in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s and can cause headaches and seizures in some people. AceK sounds safe enough but it has shown to cause cancer in animals. Sucralose is chlorinated sugar and has shown in studies to have a negative effect on the thymus gland, decreased red blood cell count, diarrhea among other potential conditions.

Agave is a sweetener in many natural foods drinks. The fructose content of agave syrup is much higher than that of high fructose corn syrup, which is of concern since some research has linked high fructose intake to weight gain (especially around the abdominal area), high triglycerides, heart disease and insulin resistance. And I’m sure by now you’ve read by blog posts on why to stay away from high fructose corn syrup (not the least is that it is GMO).

Chemicals such a Propylene glycol and ployethylene glycol (PEG) are sometimes added to drinks.  The former has shown to be toxic and induce seizures in epileptics as well as affect the heart. It also inhibits the growth of the friendly bacteria in your intestines leading to constipation. PEG is used as a drug to induce diarrhea before surgery. Now why would you want to have that in your drink? It also has shown to interfere with blood thinners, birth control pills, and antiinflammatories.

So, the next time you pick up that sports drink, protein shake, or health drink – read the label!

-excerpted from the book I wrote:  Analyzing Sports Drinks

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