Is Soda A Drug? A Nutritionist’s Perspective – Part 1

Share Button

By Christie Korth, CHC

sodabottleHello everyone! I’m Christie Korth your favorite, fun-loving holistic nutrition expert, author, and founder and director of Happy & Healthy Wellness Counseling. My mission today is to permanently change your relationship with soda. Why is your relationship with soda so important? We know Coca Cola took the cocaine out of Soda almost a hundred years ago, but surprisingly, as far as your body can tell….not too much has changed. Confused? Take a look to see how your body reacts to America’s most consumed beverage and how the reaction is similar in the way your body reacts to one of the most addictive, deadly drugs….

Have you ever wondered why Soda comes with a smile? It’s because it gets you high. Yes, in 2013, despite the absence of cocaine, soda junkies everywhere are unsuspectingly subjecting themselves to a “high”. By simply drinking what is known as a staple beverage in the Standard American Diet (or SAD, as I prefer to call it) we are playing a deadly game of Russian Rulet with our health and exposing ourselves to diseases the more that we indulge in this commodity.

By now, I am sure you are wondering what I am talking about. What is the good old culprit responsible for these highs? It’s none other than….Sugar! But- this is not just any old sugar that we are talking about here. It is the mother of all sugars…high fructose corn syrup! I suppose the good folks at Coke figured, why not try something cheaper, and perhaps switch to a substance that was obviously not illegal. And so voila, after near 100 years of consumption, we have an alarming rate of childhood and adolescent onset diabetes, hypoglycemia, obesity, digestive disorders, skin conditions, osteoporosis, candida, cancer. These conditions are all linked to access sugar consumption. If you are an avid soda drinker, your life depends on this. Please read on.

Every day, millions of Americans reach for a coke, some in hopes of curing that three o’clock lull one may experience after lunch when their energy levels feel zapped, while others have reported routinely drinking up to three liters per day! More alarmingly, children drink these beverages in school and at home.

A child’s body is no match for the sugar rush that soda produces. This seemingly innocent little routine has taken most of the public by storm, sending people down the Diabetes-Hypoglycemia Highway at full speed. The end result riding down the sugar highway is devastation in one’s health, yet the beverage companies continue to receive advertising grants in the form of government funding toppling in the billions. Meanwhile, health promoting advertisements, such as the FDA’s Healthy Food Pyramids slogan for “5 A Day” (signifying that one should consume a combination of five fresh fruits and vegetables a day.) received little or no media attention. No wonder the public is in the dark. Everyone has been brainwashed by advertisements to eat a food we know is not healthy.

What Happens To Your Body When You Drink A Soda?

* In The First 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake by the FDA) You don’t immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down. Clever trick by the scientists that make soda! Insert twilight zone music here: “do-do do-do do-do do-do”…I believe my food should made by a chef or purchased from an organic farmer-not scientists. Chemicals are not food. This is common sense that is often overlooked.

* 20 minutes: Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst. Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat. (There’s plenty of that at this particular moment)

* 40 minutes: Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, as a response your livers dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. The adenosine receptors in your brain are now blocked preventing drowsiness. Here comes your sugar high!

Stay tuned for part 2 of this article…..

Christie Korth is a Crohn’s disease survivor, author, certified health coach and holistic nutritionist who found her way to health and wellness after nearly succumbing to a severe case of Crohn’s disease. After harnessing the power of nutrition and gaining her health back, she then went on to be the founder and director of Happy & Healthy Wellness Counseling based just outside of NYC. She studied at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Columbia University and the Clayton College of Natural Health and is a certified holistic health practitioner with the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. Christie is the Corporate Nutritionist for Brain Balance Achievement Centers, where she designs the nutrition protocol for franchises across the country. Christie is a nutrition expert for Dr. Oz’s Sharecare.com and frequently contributes nutrition articles to Long Island Parent Magazine. Christie is he author of The IBD Healing Plan and Recipe Book: A Guide to Releive Crohn’s and Colitis with Whole Foods. Christie lives in New York with her son, her husband, and her cat.