The majority of our patients come in to the office with the
desire to lose some weight in addition to improving their health on various
levels. While hormone balances, stress and lifestyle factors all play a part in
whether we gain or lose weight on a week by week basis, one major determining
factor will simply be how much food we are putting into our bodies. If we are
taking in more calories than our body requires to maintain a healthy body
weight and composition, it simply has no choice other than to store the excess
as body fat.
As patients go through our program, most are surprised to
realize how much they have been overeating on a day to day basis. One area that
routinely will undermine the ability to maintain a healthy weight is not
realizing just how many calories we take in from certain foods. And while the
word “food” really shouldn’t be used for sodas, since they do contribute
calories to daily intake, they have to be put into this classification. It can
be easy to forget how many calories liquids contain since they go down easy and
don’t have the bulk that solid foods do. But take a look at an average soda. There are approximately 10 teaspoons of
added sugar in a single can of cola. That’s an easy 160 calories, and most
people can drink more than one can in a day so they can add up quickly.
Beyond the excessive calorie
load though, we also need to understand what effects that type of “food” has on
our body, because not all calories are created equal. Most sodas use high
fructose corn syrup as their main ingredient, which not only causes blood sugar
to spike, but also promotes inflammation in the body. According to one
researcher, the intense sweetness of Coca-Cola as a result of its high sugar
content should make us vomit as soon as it enters the body. However, the
phosphoric acid in the beverage dulls the sweetness, enabling us to keep the
drink down.
Due to the high sugar content
we get an insulin spike, which causes the body to store all the excess sugar as
fat. Shortly thereafter, once the caffeine has been absorbed, you get a rise in
your blood pressure which causes the liver to dump more sugar into the
bloodstream and you continue to run off the “sugar high”. While this is going
on, your body is using it’s own stores of calcium (and magnesium and zinc) to
buffer against the acidity from the carbonation (acid) in the soda. The
negative here is that as you urinate later (a diuretic effect from the
caffeine), you’ll be excreting all those minerals, plus some electrolytes as
well, that are supposed to be helping build strong bones and keeping your body
fluids in balance. Then of course you’ll get the sugar crash after about an
hour, leaving you hungry and/or irritable and more prone to overeating or going
through the above nasty cycle again if you reach for another soda.
After learning all that, is
it really worth it when there are so many other healthier beverage options
available? Coconut waters have gained in popularity recently, and there are
many options when it comes to natural juices and smoothies that can deliver plenty
of nutrients and also include some fat and protein to help slow down the sugar
absorption. Bottom line: be smart when it comes to your beverage selections.
They can easily be a source of harmful calories for your body that have
multiple negative effects on our health, but they can also offer multiple
benefits if you choose your drinks wisely.
In Health,
Dr. Brad Niewierowski
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