I mean the "cola", not the "aine". I was just reading another thread and everyone was cracking on it. Aside from rotting your teeth what's so bad about it? I'm just curious cuz I drink at least a 6 pack a day of the shit and my guts aren't rotting out...at least, I hope not. It's just so friggin' good!

It's pretty bad for you, basically liquid candy.

I drink a ton of cola's (diet Dr. Pepper and Diet A&W root beer) so I'm not against it but have you ever seen what cola can do to the paint on a vehicle?  Now imagine that in your stomach...

That much sugar in your diet is not good, for one thing.

I dont drink any more pop.  Water Strickly.  I can then take that extra 100 or so calories i would have spent and put it into more unhealthy foods to eat

Ask your doctor when you become diebetic.

Refined sugar is poison to the human body. Each Coke has about 2/3 cup of refined sugar in it. (corrected)

super high amounts of sugar.


thats the main thing...and its no joke...you might be a diabetic soon


beyond that



various chemicals

coloring

acid

carbonation

Quoted: Ask your doctor when you become diebetic.

That's just cooooold blooded, Man!

Quoted: I drink a ton of cola's (diet Dr. Pepper and Diet A&W root beer) so I'm not against it but have you ever seen what cola can do to the paint on a vehicle?  Now imagine that in your stomach...

You ever seen what blood will do to paint on a vehicle?

Now imagine that in your body.

As said above, the sugar.  If you could see it in a clear cup next to the soda, you'd see you're drinking a huge mound of sugar,  way more than the couple spoons you may put into a coffee.


Also, there's the whole business of a dislodged tooth disolving completely in a cup of coke, if left sitting in it for a couple days.  That's certainly odd.

My dentist says the worst thing you can do to your teeth and gums is to surround them with sugar in a carbonated carrier.

Also, there's the whole business of a dislodged tooth disolving completely in a cup of coke, if left sitting in it for a couple days.  That's certainly odd.

The Mythbuster guys disproved that one. They had teeth sitting in cups of Coke, Pepsi and all kinds of colas for a week and it didn't do shit.

But as far as that nasty little Diabetes thing, I guess I'll switch to Coke Zero.

I knew a computer programmer back in the 80's who drank something like 6-8 Pepsi's a day. Her teeth were black and rotted and she was 75 pounds overweight. She was in her mid 40's then and just starting the diabetic trip. I doubt she is alive today.

I drink a 2-liter bottle of diet Dr. Pepper a week and probably 2 quarts of Crystal Light a day (love the peach tea after working out and walking ). I am considering giving it up because I have heard Nutrichem is not healthy. But at least there's no sugar in it.

Quoted: I drink a ton of cola's (diet Dr. Pepper and Diet A&W root beer) so I'm not against it but have you ever seen what cola can do to the paint on a vehicle?  Now imagine that in your stomach...

Imagine what your stomach acid could do to the paint of a vehicle...yet it's in your stomach from birth.

THe sugar in soft drinks is high fructose corn syrup.  The body does not metabolize it the same way it metabolizes regular sugar.  The body tends to turn it into fat.  Not good.  Take a look at most obese folks you know; I'll bet you they suck down colas all day long.

Quoted: Refined sugar is poison to the human body. Each Coke has about 1/3 cup of refined sugar in it.

As previously mentioned, they switched from suger to high fructose corn syrup long ago.  (cheaper)

But neither one is "poisonous".

Your body metabolizes it.  What isn't used as energy is stored for later use.

As previously mentioned, it is stored in many ways.  One of which is fat.

I don't know how many women I hear say "Pepsi isn't fattening.  Look, zero grams of fat".  
(these are the ones who flunked high school biology)

HOWEVER, there are other aspects to Coke/Pepsi being bad.

Caffeine, for one.

I used to get mild headaches very often.  I always attributed it to allergies,
since I have that problem too.

As an experiment, I switched to Caffeine Free beverages for a couple of weeks.

Heaches got a little more intense for a few days, then disappeared.

Oh, and for you dumbasses who say you can tell the difference in the taste...

Caffeine is ADDED to soda.  Caffeine by itself is a bitter chemical.
The cans say "caffeine free", not "decaffeinated".

You cannot tell the difference in taste.  Not enough is added for the bitter taste to be detected.

Artificial sweeteners have been linked to health problems in some people.
And not just cancer in lab rats.
Some people develop neurological problems.
But it is gradual, and they refuse to believe it is from their "healthier soda".
YES, I am saying some people, because it doesn't seem to be everyone.
It might have to do with how much people ingest.  Not many studies have been
released on it yet.

I still drink Mt. Dew.  Probably the worst of the worst.
While it won't be what kills me, it isn't making me healthier.

I know several people who claim they lost XXX pounds in a month when they
switched from regular to diet.  

If you want to look at things that people drink that is poison...
take a look at your beer.

If your drinking a 6 pack a day, go in your kitchen anget a measuring cup out. Now, pour out 2 cups of suger into it.

That's your daily intake of suger, just from Coke.

Phospheric acid is thought to contribute to lower bone density.


You are clearly a caffine addict, I don't know why so many people think that is funny, your completly depednant on a chemical to feel normal.

Quoted: Refined sugar is poison to the human body.

Says who?  

Quoted: Quoted: I drink a ton of cola's (diet Dr. Pepper and Diet A&W root beer) so I'm not against it but have you ever seen what cola can do to the paint on a vehicle?  Now imagine that in your stomach... Imagine what your stomach acid could do to the paint of a vehicle...yet it's in your stomach from birth.

Damn right.  I get sick and tired of hearing the old blather about how dangerous the phosphoric acid in Coke is.  If you didn't have far more powerful acids in your stomach, you'd DIE!

And a healthy human body happens to be capable of dealing with sugar too.  Wow!  Imagine that!

Anything, taken to an extreme, can be unhealthy, but jeez, a can of Coke here and there isn't going to hurt anyone, no matter what the purveyors of kindergarten logic tell you.

I've cut out about 95% of ceffeine from my diet and its noticeable. I don't have the shakes anymore, and the headaches from lack of caffeine have ceased. THankfully.

I just went to the local "mexican" store, and bought some Coke that was made in Mexico.

Sugar, instead of High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Yummy

Well look at it this way, A few LEO's carry it in the trunk to clean up blood after a traffic accident

Quoted: Refined sugar is poison to the human body. Each Coke has about 1/3 cup of refined sugar in it.

Each regular can of 12oz coke contains 150 calories, 1tsp of sugar contains 10 calories, therefore each 12oz can of soda pop contains the equivalent 15 tsp of sugar..  And make matter worst, it is high-frutose corn sweetener not even real sugar.

Quoted: You ever seen what blood will do to paint on a vehicle? Now imagine that in your body.

Good thing my body's not made of acrylic laquer.

Is drinking a Coke or two a day going to make a difference to an ordinary, healthy, adult human being? No.

Is drinking a case of Coke going to have a significant impact on the health of a malnourished, immobile diabetic who has a blatant disregard for his health and hygeine? Yep.

Moderation.

I am the same way with Dr. Pepper.

Quoted: I mean the "cola", not the "aine". I was just reading another thread and everyone was cracking on it. Aside from rotting your teeth what's so bad about it? I'm just curious cuz I drink at least a 6 pack a day of the shit and my guts aren't rotting out...at least, I hope not. It's just so friggin' good!

Well one is hard on the nose and another is hard on the lungs and another one is hard on the waist line.

I seriously think pop helped keep my teethies clean.

When I used to drink pop, I didnt have any cavities.


Since I stopped drinking pop, I've had like 3-4 cavities.  


No changes in the brushing of teeth nor the frequency either.  Just cut pop out of the diet.  

Sugar and Carbonation are BAD.
not to mention all the "Special" ingredients they add.

BUT i drink Sodas all the time and i don't care.

Quoted: Quoted: Refined sugar is poison to the human body. Each Coke has about 1/3 cup of refined sugar in it. Each regular can of 12oz coke contains 150 calories, 1tsp of sugar contains 10 calories, therefore each 12oz can of soda pop contains the equivalent 15 tsp of sugar..  And make matter worst, it is high-frutose corn sweetener not even real sugar.

Thats assuming ALL of the calories in a coke come from the sugar.

Coke is bad only if you drink more coke than water in a day.

Beer on the other hand is liquid bread. It's good for you in moderation AND it's food.
I said BEER. Not watery horsepiss! (Bud, Miller, Coors, etc..)

Beer on the other hand is liquid bread. It's good for you in moderation AND it's food.

Well said! (see sig line)

Quoted: I mean the "cola", not the "aine". I was just reading another thread and everyone was cracking on it. Aside from rotting your teeth what's so bad about it? I'm just curious cuz I drink at least a 6 pack a day of the shit and my guts aren't rotting out...at least, I hope not. It's just so friggin' good!

Thats a lot of calories! FIgure what 150-200 in a soda? 1000 or so calories?

Quoted: Well look at it this way, A few LEO's carry it in the trunk to clean up blood after a traffic accident

Where do people get this stuff?

Originally Posted By LE6920Thats a lot of calories! FIgure what 150-200 in a soda? 1000 or so calories?

Technically, I guess I should be a real fat-ass, but I'm all of 150 lbs soaking wet. If it's any consolation, after reading all the bad shit in this thread, I haven't had a Coke yet today and don't plan to.

Quoted: Also, there's the whole business of a dislodged tooth disolving completely in a cup of coke, if left sitting in it for a couple days.  That's certainly odd. The Mythbuster guys disproved that one. They had teeth sitting in cups of Coke, Pepsi and all kinds of colas for a week and it didn't do shit. But as far as that nasty little Diabetes thing, I guess I'll switch to Coke Zero.

Consuming sugar does not cause diabetes.
Too much sugar is not good for you.
Sugar does not rot your teeth any worse than steak, potatoes, brocolli or anything else.
You can eat candy every day and if you brush your teeth properly afterward you will be fine.
It is the carbonic acid (carbonation) in soda that does the most damage to your teeth it does eat away at the enamel coating that protects your teeth.

Quoted: Anything, taken to an extreme, can be unhealthy, but jeez, a can of Coke here and there isn't going to hurt anyone, no matter what the purveyors of kindergarten logic tell you.

DING DING DING DING!!!

say goodbye to the enamle on your teeth, and say hello to kidney stones

i'm doing my best to give up soda all together.  i did great for about a month...  

I always drink unsweeten tea. Just squeeze a little lemon or lime and I am good to go. No sweetners of any kind. I drank my coffee with no sweetners too. I should drink more water and at home I do indulge in a diet drink every night. I need to cut out the diet drinks. If I do drink a none diet soft drink, I always look for a cane syrup drink(from mexico).

Quoted: Quoted: Well look at it this way, A few LEO's carry it in the trunk to clean up blood after a traffic accident Where do people get this stuff?

From teh intarweb!  It must be true.

I almost completely stopped drinking soda after my first endocrine lecture. The professor displayed a graph of the increase in type II diabetes in our society superimposed on a graph of the increase in soda consumption during the same time frame. They matched almost perfectly.

The high frutose corn syrup in soda just whipsaws your endocrine system, causing a huge increase in available glucose, resulting in an equally huge spike in insulin levels, but then the glucose just drops. This is a great recipe for type II DM.

That doesn't begin to address the problems with phosphate leaching calcium from your bones, the creeping obesity that results from a couple of cans of soda adding 600 calories to your diet day after day, etc.

Anacdotally;
I had been putting on a couple of pounds a year for several years, and had got that middle aged pot belly that we all have. I cut soda almost completely out of my diet and cut way back on high glycemic index foods, and the belly just disappeared. My energy level went through the roof, my sex life improved, i slept better... I was amazed in the changes i felt when i stopped fucking up my endocrine system with this junk.

Quoted: Imagine what your stomach acid could do to the paint of a vehicle...yet it's in your stomach from birth.

Beat me to it.

The acid in your stomach is FAR worse than carbonic acid.

The bad thing about soda is the SUGAR.

Now, will someone please explain to me WTF the difference between Coke Zero and Diet Coke is?

Quoted: My dentist says the worst thing you can do to your teeth and gums is to surround them with sugar in a carbonated carrier.

I belive the worst thing is things with high acid content. Lemonade and such. Coke is bad for your teeth if left on it but who feels their mouth with coke and just holds it in their mouth for days? I brush my teeth twice a day.

Coke is the best rust penetrating fluid there is, it also neutralizes battery acid, and people wonder why I don't pour it down my piehole.

Quoted: Also, there's the whole business of a dislodged tooth disolving completely in a cup of coke, if left sitting in it for a couple days.  That's certainly odd. The Mythbuster guys disproved that one. They had teeth sitting in cups of Coke, Pepsi and all kinds of colas for a week and it didn't do shit.

No, but there is enough sulphuric acid in one to eventually eat through the can.

Quoted: Quoted: Also, there's the whole business of a dislodged tooth disolving completely in a cup of coke, if left sitting in it for a couple days.  That's certainly odd. The Mythbuster guys disproved that one. They had teeth sitting in cups of Coke, Pepsi and all kinds of colas for a week and it didn't do shit. No, but there is enough sulphuric acid in one to eventually eat through the can.

my gandfather had some pretty old coke cans that had coke still in them (he was a coca cola fan )

ETA: Proves my point. ebay
That can looks pretty clean to me.

Quoted: Quoted: Also, there's the whole business of a dislodged tooth disolving completely in a cup of coke, if left sitting in it for a couple days.  That's certainly odd. The Mythbuster guys disproved that one. They had teeth sitting in cups of Coke, Pepsi and all kinds of colas for a week and it didn't do shit. No, but there is enough sulphuric carbonic acid in one to eventually eat through the can.

Umm... as I posted above, I think soda is evil. However... your body produces and breaks down carbonic acid on a constant basis. The carbonic acid in soda (which is where it gets it's carbonation from) doesn't mean jack to your body. It's simply H2CO3, which breaks down to H2O (water) and CO2 (carbon dioxide, just like the stuff you exhale with each breath) in the same way that your body does so to deal with acid / base balance.

I've also never seen a coke can eaten through by the coke inside, and I've seen some pretty old cans of coke. I once helped tear down an old walk in freezer and we found two cans of coke within the walls. Had to be at least 20 - 25 years old. Still sealed, still fizzed when we opened them.

Talked to my dentist about this some time back.  He contends that the sugar in soft drinks is the perfect environment for bacteria, which metabolize the sugar and produce an acidic byproduct.   Or so I recall.

Quoted: Quoted: Refined sugar is poison to the human body. Each Coke has about 1/3 cup of refined sugar in it. Each regular can of 12oz coke contains 150 calories, 1tsp of sugar contains 10 calories, therefore each 12oz can of soda pop contains the equivalent 15 tsp of sugar..  And make matter worst, it is high-frutose corn sweetener not even real sugar.

I did a Google and found this. WOW!!!! A 12 ounce Coke contain 2/3 cup of sugar. There are 16 tsp in a cup.

Read the below to learn why sugar is VERY BAD for you.


Sugar: aka Sucrose, Glucose, Fructose, Kiddie Crack

Link

You wouldn't give heroin to a four-year-old. (At least, we assume so) But you don't hesitate to jack that kid up with heroic doses of the most successful recreational drug in the history of mankind, sugar -- a highly addictive, mood-altering, health-threatening substance that encourages antisocial behavior. (And after you get that kid hopped up on sugar, you have to give him Ritalin to get him to sit still.)
Known on the streets as glucose, sucrose or fructose, sugar comes in crystal, powder, and liquid forms. It's usually taken orally, and often (but not always) cut with some other food substance.

Sugar occurs naturally in many fruits and vegetables. It's mostly innocuous in its natural form. But refined sugars are an entirely different story. Sugar was available in relatively raw forms for centuries, but it wasn't until the industrial innovations of mass slavery and the breeding of the sugar beet that the sweet stuff became a dietary staple.  Since the 1800s, there have been steady technological improvements in the refining process. Refined sugar can be produced by several different processes, most of which include grinding the source plant into a pulp, running the pulp through a series of filters and then evaporating what's left to produce a crystallized residue, which can be powdered or dissolved in water.

Like any drug, the potency of sugar increases dramatically when it is refined. The vast majority of refined sugars used in the U.S. comes from corn, but sugar is also refined from beets, sugar cane plants, maple sap, honey and almost every kind of fruit.

Often a very small dose of sugar is enough to get high. The threshold is different for everyone, but the bigger the dose, the more noticeable the effects. The effects of sugar use can include euphoria, increased energy and irritability, increased heart rate, insomnia, tremors, weight gain, ulcers, tooth decay and a depressed immune system.

Some psychologists have argued that these are simply placebo effects, based on user and observer expectations. There aren't any reliable surveys on whether those psychologists are themselves habitual sugar users, but the odds dramatically favor that conclusion. The average American ingests around 160 pounds of added sugars per year ("added" meaning not naturally occurring in food, like in an apple), according to the World Health Organization.

If you are not convinced of that sugar is a drug, we suggest you eat several tablespoons of the substance on an empty stomach. At any rate, the question posed by the psychologists (and by the massive world sugar industry, which funds many studies on this topic) is not whether sugar produces the effects listed above. That's not in question, although the sugar industry would like you to think it is. The studies are only trying to measure the magnitude of the sugar effect.

Refined sugar is extremely addictive. Not "addictive" in the sense that you just really like it, but addictive in the sense that your body suffers withdrawal symptoms if sugar is removed from your diet. While sugar doesn't have the instantly addictive quality of, say, crack cocaine, recent studies suggest that refined sugar activates opioids, the same brain chemicals that fuel heroin and morphine addiction, with similar results at a lesser magnitude.

Drug addiction is defined by a three stage process which includes increased consumption, withdrawal symptoms when a dose isn't available and an urge to relapse even after the drug has been completely removed. Aside from common life experience of these traits by sugar users, clinical studies on rats have shown the addiction pattern at work. The more refined the sugar, the more intense the addiction.

Withdrawal symptoms can include lethargy, tremors, headaches and depression. Generally, these effects are slightly less intense than the similar withdrawal symptoms associated with caffeine.

No one is arguing against the responsible use of refined sugar by consenting adults. For that matter, very few people even argue against the moderate, responsible use of sugar by children. Sugar is a naturally occurring substance that is part of a balanced diet.

Sugar becomes a social problem because of three major factors. First, society is generally in denial about sugar's addictive qualities. Second, refined sugar is rampantly available in nearly unadulterated form in every single food store in the United States. And third, these refined sugar products are overwhelmingly marketed directly to children by adults who have no moral qualms about using sophisticated psychological techniques to manipulate six-year-olds.

Pure sugar products are epidemic in the United States and most developed countries. The vast majority of soft drinks are simply high-fructose corn syrup with only enough water added to make them potable. Usually these drinks include a dash of flavoring as the pretext for liking them. Often, the drinks are paired with high caffeine content, increasing both the stimulation and the addictive power.

Breakfast cereals are notoriously laden with sugar, often promoted by cartoon leprechauns and bunnies who urge children to go to any length necessary to obtain their precious, precious sugar. Some cereals -- such as Cheerios and Kelloggs Cornflakes -- include added sugar and naturally occurring sugar in the product itself, then are served with teaspoons full of refined sugar heaped on top. Other, more shameless products include marshmallow candy interspersed with "healthy" bits of wheat or corn, which are themselves sweetened.

In addition to soda pop and candy, sugar is available in a convenient portable form, in jawbreakers and candy bars, where it is sometimes combined with chocolate, a caffeine-bearing substance thay is mildly addictive in its own right. For the hardcore user, sugar is obtainable through gumballs, which provide an intense initial surge of euphoria followed by a longer, mellower dose of sugar, or Pixie Stix. Particularly insidious, Pixie Stix are tubes full of powdered refined sugar with only a touch of food coloring added. The content of a Pixie stick is poured into the mouth, reminiscent of a line cocaine.

Sugar is also a gateway drug. It can successfully be combined with other drugs for an amplified effect. Sugar and chocolate can be combined with marijuana in brownie form. Cocaine and sugar were mixed in Coca-Cola when the product debuted in 1885. The amount of cocaine in the drink quickly diminished due to bad publicity, but the amount of sugar slowly grew. A 12-ounce can of Coke today contains no cocaine, but it does include about 10 teaspoons worth of sugar.

Clove cigarettes and some cigars are often sugar-tipped for a nicotine-sucrose cocktail. (Cloves are also mild anesthetics.) Heroin is often cut with sugar to reduce its potency. Liquid LSD can be added to a sugar cube, for a tasty and hallucinogenic treat.

As if all that wasn't bad enough, sugar is also a gateway to mind-altering prescription drugs. At the same time that sugar use by children and adults has skyrocketed in the United States, incidents of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have also soared.

The sugar industry insists there is absolutely no basis to link ADHD and sugar. But the rise in sugar consumption conveniently corresponds to the skyrocketing number of children being medicated for ADHD in the U.S. The rate of Ritalin prescriptions in the U.S. rose 400% from 1990 to 1996. From 1978 to 1999, sugar consumption by a typical teenage boy grew 200%.

In fact, according to the 2001 book Fast Food Nation, a fifth of children aged one and two years old drink soda. Soda makers like Dr. Pepper and Pepsi have included advertising with baby bottles, and amazingly, some parents are idiotic enough to take the bait.

Thanks to bad parenting like this, combined with two or three generations of children who were weaned on sugary cereals, Americans consume more than 8 million metric tons of added sugar and high fructose corn syrup per year. That's 17.6 billion pounds, or 1.7 trillion teaspoons of the stuff.

With that kind of demand, you'd think the sugar industry would be laughing all the way to the bank. Well, you might think that if you were painfully naive and unschooled in the ways of American government. The sugar industry sponsors an annual field trip to Congress, where its representatives whine and bitch about how it's impossible for them to make money, winning various tariffs and subsidies to support their poverty-stricken operations. And that's just cane and beet sugar. Corn subsidies account for billions of dollars of government spending. Directly or indirectly, some of that money goes to pay for marketing that promotes sugar consumption among one-year-olds.

While the profusion of new refined sugar types makes it difficult to be precise, the consumption of sugar is only expected to increase in coming years. Perhaps prenatal IVs will be used to deliver the sweet stuff to hip fetuses who want to be a Pepper too. O brave new world, that has such people in't!

Quoted: Talked to my dentist about this some time back.  He contends that the sugar in soft drinks is the perfect environment for bacteria, which metabolize the sugar and produce an acidic byproduct.   Or so I recall.

An apple can do hell as well if you let it sit, let it break down and you'll have some nasty decay in your mouth.

* One can of coke contains nearly 10 teaspoons of sugar or the
entire daily recommended amount of calories from sugar;
* One of five American children is now considered obese. Americans
consume nearly 53 teaspoons of sugar daily;
* Sugar in soda makes blood acidic robbing the body of calcium and
which can lead to osteoporosis;
* The "quick energy" from soda is followed by "lows", ask any
teacher who has to deal with students loaded with sugar;
* The sugar in soda helps to whither crucial bacteria in our
intestines, reducing vitamin B which inhibits thinking, making children
sleepy;
* Studies have shown that girls who play sports and consumed soda
daily experienced 3x the risk of bone fractures.




Sugar Wars: Coca-Cola & Junk Food Industry Under Attack

Published on Tuesday, July 20, 2004 by <www.CommonDreams.org>

Sugar Wars
Taking it to the Peddlers of Diabetes and Osteoporosis
by John F. Borowski

I look forward to September, a time when millions of students, head back to
school, to build the foundations of democracy, delve into the arts, sharpen
a sense of wonder and build equity in our society. But, I like many
teachers, am fighting a nemesis, one that inhibits thought, puts children on
a roller coaster of emotion and drains their vitality. And this nemesis is
often an invited and welcomed guest: soda pop. Nearly 19 out of 20 high
schools like mine, sell soda. Ironically, the past can foretell the future.
In 1931, a Coke bottler bragged, "the kids play basketball at recess on
Coca-Cola goals, use Coca-Cola blotters to blot our their troubles, consult
a Coca-Cola thermometer and write their notes on Coca-Cola tablets." And
seventy years later, Coca-Cola¹s senior vice president for public affairs
and its chief lobbyist isn't passing out Coke blotters: no, John Downs Jr.
now has a seat on the National Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) as a
board member! Under the Bush Administration the Secretary of Health, Tommy
Thompson has heralded the Grocery Manufacturing Association for its "fine
job in promoting healthy eating." With positioning on school related
organizations and aided and abetted by the Bush Administration (Leave No
"sugared" Child Behind?) pop pimps see schools as a "sugary nirvana."

Children are seduced daily by television (watching an average of 3-4 hours)
bombarded with 10,000- food advertisements yearly: many to consume pop. In
1998, the advertising budget for soft drinks was $115.5 million. School
often is the only "relatively commercial free" environment left for
children. The sugar peddlers know this; they know that school provides a
captive audience, with the reward of generating life long and dedicated
brand consumers. Their strategy is simple: entice school administrators with
dollars. It is immoral, unethical and unconscionable: apparently corporate
rules operate in the absence of these conditions.

Coca-Cola provides "Coke in Education Day" where Coke officials lecture in
economic classes and analysis of Coke products are done for chemistry. Do
you think that this "Coke Day" studied the yearly cost of obesity in the
United States, calculated between $75-100 billion? Did they encourage the
chemistry class to note that for every can of Coke you drink, it takes 32
glasses of water to neutralize the phosphoric acid in your body? Would they
do experiments that show when sugar is combined with carbon dioxide the
calcium/phosphorous ratio in the body is upset: making bones brittle? Coke
just doesn't target schools. In 1998, Coca-Cola paid the Boys and Girls
Clubs of America $60 million for exclusive marketing of their sugar water in
2,000 clubs!

How many Coke or PepsiCo officials have read "Liquid Candy" a report that
shows that soft drinks are the single greatest source of refined sugar in
children's diets? PepsiCo holds the "pouring contract" in my school
district. Two years ago, when a cheerleader from the newly built West Salem
High tried to sell bottled water, the monolithic pop company crushed her
attempts. Maybe, PepsiCo had fallen on hard times and could not stand the
competition? As of July this year, their profits are up by 12% from last
year, with a first quarter net profit of $1.06 Billion.

Don't be fooled by rhetoric and semantics, simply provide the staggering
data that damns any reason to peddle pop in our public schools:

* One can of coke contains nearly 10 teaspoons of sugar or the
entire daily recommended amount of calories from sugar;
* One of five American children is now considered obese. Americans
consume nearly 53 teaspoons of sugar daily;
* Sugar in soda makes blood acidic robbing the body of calcium and
which can lead to osteoporosis;
* The "quick energy" from soda is followed by "lows", ask any
teacher who has to deal with students loaded with sugar;
* The sugar in soda helps to whither crucial bacteria in our
intestines, reducing vitamin B which inhibits thinking, making children
sleepy;
* Studies have shown that girls who play sports and consumed soda
daily experienced 3x the risk of bone fractures.

Before considering taking the battle to the sugar pushers, consider that
victories are being recorded nationwide and people are making the
difference. California has banned junk food/pop sales in elementary and
middle schools. Los Angeles has banned the sale of soda in all public
schools, with Philadelphia following with a similar plan. These are
tremendous victories; yet, with much work ahead we all can do the legwork to
free our children from osteoporosis, diabetes, obesity and predatory
advertisement.

The strategy is simple and clear, the time for compromise and apathy is
over: our children will not be tools for negotiating massive profits for
multinational corporations. First, call Health and Human Services Tommy
Thompson and chide him for being a lapdog to the sugar pushers. The toll
free number is 1-877-696-6775. He told the Grocery Manufacturers Association
(GMA) to "go on the offensive" against critics blaming the food industry for
obesity. This was proudly stated in a GMA news release. Tell him that the
federal government should take a position of no soda pop vending in schools.

Secondly, call the PTA and ask them to state an unambiguous statement
against the vending of pop in schools. The President of the PTA, Linda Hodge
can be reached toll free at 800-307-4782 (extension 312). Demand that John
Downs Jr. be removed from the PTA board due to conflict of interest. On the
PTA's homepage you can contact your own state¹s PTA representative. The PTA
provides rosy language about children's health in schools, yet avoids the
tough talk needed to protect children from soda pop.

Thirdly, contact the National Association Secondary School Principals.
Principals are crucial when it comes to decision making in their districts.
On the NASSP website under "Guidelines for School Beverage Partnerships"
they speak eloquently "The importance of providing healthy choices to
students, faculty, and school visitors should be paramount for school
officials in discussions with beverage companies."

If healthy choices are "paramount" then soda pop contracts should be
abolished. You can contact Jay Engeln at [email protected]. He is the
Resident Practitioner for the Business/School Partnerships at NASSP. He also
speaks on the "benefits" of pop contracts through the Council for Corporate
and School Partners: funded by, you got it, the Coca-Cola Corporation. Call
your local principal and demand that soda contracts with the school district
be voided.

Fourth, contact the National School Board Association (NSBA) at
[email protected]. In the last three weeks I have contacted all fifty state
contacts and have received two responses. On their home page, you can find
the email of your state representative. Ironically, in his book, "Food
Fight" Doctor Kelly Brownell, Director of the Yale Center for Eating
Disorders, states that the soft drink and sugar lobbyists fight off
legislation proposed by the Department of Agriculture "aided by the National
School Board Association and the National Association of Secondary School
Principals." I suggest that school librarians in high schools make this book
available and all parents should read it as well.

Lastly, contact your own child's school. Write editorials. Speak up at
soccer, music, basketball and other school fund-raisers. Contact your local
pediatricians and ask them to write letters demanding that pop be removed
from public schools. The American Academy of Pediatrics has come out with a
policy statement that suggests limits on soft drinks.

Defenders of pop contracts will wail, "We need the money." Let corporations
make altruistic donations without strings. We fund organizations like the
"School of the Americas" or provide vast tax subsidies for tobacco, timber
extraction and oil exploration. How about funneling those dollars in music,
science and sports? Some will decry that students need to make their own
choices. Nonsense, if their elders actively peddle pop in schools, it sends
the message that it is okay. When did adults give up on providing directions
through the minefield of adolescence? Let soda pop be an infrequent and rare
treat, not a substitute for water, fruit juices and milk.

Parents often brag about the wonderful car seat or athletic shoes they
provide for their children; second best is not an option for their child. So
let the school year 2004-2005 become a time where parents took schools back
from the purveyors of osteoporosis, diabetes and public apathy. Second best
is not best enough when it comes to this nation's children.

John F. Borowski is a marine and environmental science teacher in Salem,
Oregon. His pieces have appeared in the N.Y. Times, Utne Reader, numerous
newspapers and websites, he may be reached at [email protected]

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