Are soft drinks healthy?

There are many soft drinks in our world. There are many chemicals present in these soft drinks. These chemicals may have adverse effects on our health. Of course the major part is water, but all the other things present are not healthy.

The soft drink contains many chemicals and they include:

• Sugar – soft drink manufactures are the largest single user of refined sugar in our world. Sugar increases insulin levels. The result can be diabetes, high blood pressure, high blood triglycerides. Weight gain and premature aging and many other health problems go to the account of sugar.

• Aspartame – many diet soft drinks contain this chemical, as a sugar substitute. Many side effects are associated with aspartame intake. Weight gain, diabetes, birth defects and many other health problems go to aspartame’s account. If stored in a warm place for a long time it is automatically converted in to methanol which is converted to formaldehyde and formic acid, which are carcinogens. Acesulfame-K and Saccharin are the other artificial sweeteners mostly used.

• Phosphoric acid – it may interfere with calcium metabolism. The result may be softening of bones, teeth and osteoporosis. Too much of this can affect the utilization of nutrients.

• Carbon dioxide – it is used to produce carbonated soft drinks. The adverse effects are acidosis and adverse effects in calcium metabolism. Brushing your teeth after drinking an acidic soft drink can increase the damage to your tooth enamel and dissolving down the gum line.

• Caffeine – excess caffeine is not good for our health. Two cups of coffee per day is good but too much from the soft drinks are not good.

Obesity is a big problem and one of the main reasons is soft drinks.

Moreover, the taste what we enjoy with soft drinks are also only chemicals. It is better to avoid all soft drinks. If it is not possible now and then a glass is good. Particularly we must inform the youth about the dangers of soft drinks. If explained properly surely they will understand the problems with the soft drinks.

Pure drinking water and fresh fruit juices are the best drinks.

I take regularly artificial sweetener added to my coffee or tea, is it good?

There are controversies about using artificial sweeteners, some have problems and many have no problems. Do not take too much and if you get any problems like headache, avoid it at once.

These are chemicals which should be used very carefully. Most of the cakes and snacks for the diabetic patients and beverages have got artificial sweetener. If you eat or drink this, insulin is released and there is no sugar for metabolism. The insulin cannot disappear just like that. The blood sugar value decreases. You are hungry and eat more. Your weight increases.

It is good to use in small amounts in coffee or in tea. Otherwise it is better to avoid artificial sweetener.

The French Paradox

Mostly when we talk about red wine we also talk about the French paradox. It was not well understood for a long time.

It is cleared exactly now. The French eat the fattiest foods in the world with lot of saturated fats and cholesterol, but have lesser heart attack than the others who consume much less cholesterol.

The French drink very rarely water alone but mix it always with red wine, half and half and drink. Here it is not the role played by alcohol but the chemical which gives the red colour to red wine, resveratrol, which reduces the amount of cholesterol in the blood. Moreover alcohol in small quantity helps to widen the arteries and thus heart does not need to work hard. Small quantity means, one glass wine added to one more glass of water. Be careful, only because of resveratrol and other polyphenols as antioxidants, red wine has this quality.

Case Study

More than 20 years ago I had the cholesterol value of 249 mg and my doctor told that I have to try to reduce this cholesterol. I had no interest to change my food habit as I was travelling lot from on congress to other. So I have decided to try with red wine.

My choice was a dry, red French wine. The alcohol content was 12.5 vol% and I drank everyday in the evening 180 ml of that. After 14 days my cholesterol value was 180 mg. This was a test by a clinical toxicologist who had all the facilities to test. I had no patience, that why 180 ml.

For an average person the amount should be 100 ml which he could take in the evening. It should be taken like a medicine.

Caution – Alcohol is habit forming and makes you an addict. Dry alcoholics must avoid alcohol completely

White Wine, Dry

White wines are as good as red wines, but the anti-oxidants and polyphenols and flavonoids concentrations are low in white wine. The health benefit and the disadvantage of the alcohol are the same.

The nutrients in 100 g white wine, dry include:

• Water – 88.4 g
• Alcohol - 8.6 g
• Protein – 0.2 g
• Fat – nil
• Carbohydrates – 2.6 g
• Organic acids – Malic acid 355 mg, lactic acid 170 mg, citric acid 14 mg tartaric acid 140 mg,, oxalic acid 1.7 mg, Salicylic acid 0.63 mg
• Fibre – nil
• Minerals - 0.2 g – sodium 2 mg, potassium 80 mg, magnesium 10 mg, calcium 9 mg, iron 600 micro g, copper 70 micro g, zinc 230 micro g
• Vitamins - vitamins B1, B2, B6, nicotine amide, pantothenic acid, biotin, and folic acid – all are only in traces.

One glass white wine is good to reduce the blood pressure, but if you drink more the blood pressure increases. That is why never try to use alcohol to reduce the blood pressure.

The dose makes the poison.

Red Wine, Dry

Red wine, dry is healthy if you drink a glass everyday. The amount must not be more than 100 ml. It reduces the cholesterol and blood pressure in this amount.

If you take more, the blood pressure increases with all the adverse effects of alcohol. If you can not stop or you are a dry alcoholic never drink any alcohol.

The nutrients in 100 g red wine, dry include:

• Water – 89.0 g
• Alcohol - 8.1 g
• Protein – 0.2 g
• Fat – nil
• Carbohydrates – 2.4 g
• Organic acids – Malic acid 510 mg, lactic acid 240 mg, tartaric acid 100 mg,, oxalic acid 1.4 mg, Salicylic acid 0.62 mg
• Fibre – nil
• Minerals - 0.3 g – sodium 5 mg, potassium 40 mg, magnesium 9 mg, calcium 4 mg, iron 40 micro g, copper 40 micro g, zinc 20 micro g, iodide 1 micro g.
• Vitamins - vitamins B1, B2, B6, nicotine amide, pantothenic acid, biotin, folic acid – all are only in traces. Vitamin C 2 mg


Resveratrol is the red coloured substance which reduces the cholesterol. There are many polyphenols and other phyto-chemicals are present in red wine.

Here dry means very little sugar glucose, fructose and sorbit. Half dry and sweet has more sugar. Never forget, it is an alcoholic beverage.

Beer

500 ml per day, three to four times a week is good for health for men and up to 300 ml now and then for women is good for health. This is amount of alcohol helps to reduce your blood pressure. If you take more the blood vessels become narrow, heart has to pump hard and the blood pressure increases.

The nutrients in 100 g beer include:

• Water – 90.6 g
• Alcohol - 3.5 g
• Protein – 0.5 g
• Fat – nil
• Carbohydrates – 2.9 g
• Organic acids – Malic acid 6 mg, lactic acid 3 mg, oxalic acid 2 mg
• Fibre – nil
• Minerals - 0.2 g – sodium 5 mg, potassium 40 mg, magnesium 9 mg, calcium 4 mg, iron 40 micro g, copper 40 micro g, zinc 20 micro g, iodide 1 micro g.
• Vitamins - vitamins B1, B2, B6, nicotine amide, pantothenic acid, biotin, folic acid – all are only in traces
• Purine – 14 mg

One gram alcohol has 9 calories. These are dead calories; not at all useful to our body.

Women you have less enzyme to metabolize alcohol. Moreover the alcohol is absorbed quickly and reaches the brain also quickly. Drink only socially, this means drink less.

The alcohol free beers could contain also up to 0.5% alcohol.