A Taste that is Deceiving

Photo by  livelol.com

                My neighbor for 12 years, Rosemary, was missing two teeth. I noticed this often because she would always laugh at my jokes which weren't funny, considering I thought I was a comedian at the age of seven. As the years went on, and my jokes still weren't funny, I noticed she lost two more teeth. She also was going to the doctor's frequently because her weight spiked and she was fairly obese, which led to problems with circulation and blood flow. It worried me, she was a family friend and lived by herself. I decided to drop my career as a comedian and become a doctor in attempt to figure out what was causing all of these health problems. It couldn't be old age: she was only 45. It couldn't be cigarettes: she didn't smoke. I was confused and my worry only continued to grow.

                Seven years later, I realized what the root of the problem was. I never once saw Rosemary without a can of Pepsi in her hand. Her two refrigerators were stocked with dozens of packs of Pepsi. Her garage also had bags and sacks filled with empty cans for her to recycle. I assumed she thought it was the most cost-efficient beverage to buy, seeing as California has a five cent refund for every can/bottle recycled. Soda wasn't a common beverage in my household, but whenever my family and I went to Rosemary's for dinner, it was all she would serve. It spiked my interest as to why her apparent addiction to Pepsi caused her health to toil.

Photo by http://westonmedicalhealth.com/

                Rosemary's addiction was primarily caused by the large amounts of excessive artificial sweeteners found in soft drinks. These sweeteners make people crave more of the beverage because of it's refreshing and appealing taste. A single serving of soda can contain up to 10 teaspoons of sugar, which is as much as what is recommended for daily sugar intake. The addiction is able to occur because phosphoric acid prevents consumers from vomiting from the huge amounts of sugar intake. This is done entirely because the acid prevents the growth of molds and bacteria which increases the likelihood of vomiting. Rosemary was also dealing with weakening bones and lack of bone mass due to this deterioration of bacteria.

People assume they can solve the problem of excess sugar by switching from regular soda, to diet soda. The real difference between the two is how they are sweetened. Diet soda uses increased amounts of artificial sweeteners that have lower amounts of calories such as aspartame. Regular soda relies solely on high fructose corn syrup to create a sweet flavor. 

Photo by grist.org

               

Effects of Phosphoric Acid on the Human Body
Teeth	-Erodes tooth enamel
Stomach	-Destroys stomach lining and tissue
Bones	-Decreases bone mass -Weakens bones -Causes bones to be easier to break

                Obesity was also a side effect that Rosemary faced from only drinking soft drinks. A key ingredient of soda is high fructose corn syrup, a concentrated form of sugar that is originally derived from corn. This form of sugar increases body fat and causes cholesterol levels to spike which could cause heart problems in the future. The corn syrup also releases triglycerides and leads to an increased appetite, which causes people to consume more foods to increase their overall fat intake as a whole.

                It probably wasn't the smartest idea for Rosemary to only drink Pepsi, but the way these products are marketed cause people to believe that soft drinks can make people happier, healthier and more care free. Coca Cola's slogan is "Open Happiness". All of their commercials revolve around people being joyous by the simplicity of a bottle of their product. This message is made famous by various "Happy Machine" commercials that have been used in various forms of Coca-Cola advertising. Pepsi portrays young consumers taking part in fun activities such as rollerblading at the beach, entirely care free while sipping on diet Pepsi. These messages which are easy to understand from both the internet and television commercials cause people to become oblivious to what they are consuming, which is 12 ounces of liquid who's taste is deceiving to its contents. This is an issue that is causing millions of Americans to get trapped not only into obesity, but into other dangerous side effects of being obese.

"Coca Cola Happy Machine" youtube.com

             

  Rosemary opened my eyes to something that appeared harmless, when in turn caused her so many health issues that plagued her life with stress and discomfort. A simple can of soda caused her to gain large amounts of weight, caused her heart problems, circulation problems and tooth decay. Rosemary taught me the lesson of moderation, and today I do not drink soft drinks in attempt such health problems from arising in my life, especially as I grow older every single day. My beverage of choice is water. Water is beneficial because it helps maintain the balance of body fluids and can help control calories because it does not have any calories in contrast to soda.