The Health Dangers of Soda | Is soda really bad for you and your grandkids?

The Health Dangers of Soda

Is soda really bad for you and your grandkids? Take our quiz to find out.

By Beth Levine

Q: Soda contributes to obesity?

TRUE. More and more evidence shows that drinking sugary drinks increases the risk of obesity or weight gain in children and adults, because of the sugar and high-fructose corn syrup in soda, says Julie Salz Greenstein, Deputy Director, Health Promotion Policy, Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). 

In fact, an extra soft drink a day increases a child's risk of obesity by 60%, she says. Why? When people eat solid food, they feel more full and are less likely to eat extra calories. However, when you drink you do not get that full feeling, so you eat in addition to drinking your soda, and end up consuming far more calories.

Q: You'd have to drink more soda than the average American to gain weight?

FALSE. First off, the average American drinks a lot of soda: According to studies, sugary drinks are the single largest source of calories in the American diet with the average American drinking about 40 gallons a year (which is about the weight of a preschooler!) 

The average American consumes 77 grams (6.1 tablespoons or 308 calories) of added sugar per day, and kids as young as three years old are consuming more than 12 grams (1 tablespoon or 46 calories). 

(Almost half of all added sugars comes from sugary drinks (soda, energy drinks, sport drinks, fruit drinks).) To put the numbers into perspective, the American Heart Association recommends that adults have no more than six to nine teaspoons of sugar per day, and kids have between three and eight teaspoons a day.

Q: There is no link between soda and cancer?

FALSE. The caramel coloring used in most colas is has been linked to two cancer-causing chemicals. In February 2011, CSPI petitioned the FDA to ban its use. The artificial brown coloring in sodas is made by reacting sugars with high pressure and temperatures. Chemical reactions result in the formation of 2-methylimidazole and 4-methylimidazole which in government-conducted studies caused lung, liver, or thyroid cancer or leukemia in laboratory mice or rats. In addition, several studies have found correlations between soda consumption and lymphoma, leukemia and prostate cancers.

Q: Drinking soda can lead to diabetes and stroke?

TRUE. Drinking just one to two sugary drinks per day increases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes by about 25%, according to a Harvard University study, and a study in the American Journal of Nutrition that found an increased risk of stroke in people who consumed more than one soda per day. If that’s not enough of a deterrent, diabetes also can lead to erectile dysfunction.

Q: Soda rots your teeth?

TRUE. Soda consumption nearly doubles the risk of cavities in children and increases the likelihood in adults. “The acid in soda and other sugary drinks causes erosion of tooth enamel, while the sugar in the beverages provide fuel for bacteria that cause tooth decay,” says Greenstein.

Q: Soda causes osteoporosis?

TRUE AND FALSE. A Tufts University study found that daily consumption of colas is associated with low bone-mineral density in older women. The link was not found in other carbonated drinks.

Q: Drinking soda can cause high blood pressure?

TRUE. A study by the Louisiana State University Health Science Center School of Public Health in New Orleans found that drinking too many sugary drinks can increase blood pressure levels, while the International Study of Macro/Micronutrients and Blood Pressure (INTERMAP) notes that for every extra daily sugary drink, subjects on average had a significant increase in blood pressure.

Q: You can avoid all these risks by switching to diet soda?

FALSE. While diet sodas contain few or no calories, they do have tooth-eroding acids, caffeine, and/or artificial sweeteners. In addition, a University of Miami study found that subjects who drank diet soda every day had a 61% higher risk of vascular events than those who reported no soda drinking.

Q: Switching to diet soda helps keep the weight down?

FALSE. INTERMAP reported that people who drank diet soda had higher body mass index than those who did not and had lower levels of physical activity.

How to Kick the Habit

If you or your grandkids can’t go cold turkey and give up your soda-fix, here's what you can do:

• Try drinking smaller serving sizes.  Order small serving sizes at restaurants, or split a can of soda with someone. Keep in mind that one twelve-ounce can has about 10 teaspoons (more than 3 tablespoons) of sugar. New York City’s Mayor Bloomberg has actually banned sales of 16-ounce sodas!

• Cut the soda with seltzer, gradually increasing the amount of seltzer.

• Switch to water, unsweetened tea, or seltzer. Flavor with lemon, lime, or fresh mint.

• Drink 100% fruit juice. While it does have sugar, it also has healthful nutrients, as opposed to soda’s empty calories. If you miss the carbonation, add seltzer.

SOURCE

http://www.grandparents.com/health-and-wellbeing/diet-and-nutrition/soda-bad-for-you

Cancer | Cancer Causing Foods

Cancer Causing Foods

When a person is diagnosed with diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, or kidney failure, dietitians and physicians will advise the patient on foods they should and should not be consuming.

For instance, a patient with heart disease would be told to follow a low fat diet.

With cancer patients, it seems they are given information on how to avoid weight-loss and nausea, but  they are not always informed about foods that COULD be feeding their cancer cells.

I fully believe there are certain foods out there that have carcinogenic effects and should be avoided by those who have cancer, are in remission, or have a strong family history of the disease.

The following is a small list of ingredients to avoid:

Foods to Avoid:

Sugar

Simple sugars provide the energy tumor and cancer cells need to grow and metastasize. Basically,  in both normal and cancerous cell growth, glucose (sugar) is utilized. By restricting glucose, you are slowing cancerous cell growth.

Cutting back on sugary snacks may not only be good for your waistline, but your longer term health.

AVOID: Doughnuts, crackers, chips, cookies, and ingredients: High Fructose Corn Syrup, sugar, sucrose, white pasta/rice/bread, and enriched bleached flour.

Acrylamides

These are chemicals used for industrial purposes and found in foods produced by high temperature cooking.

While it is uncertain if acrylamides pose a health risk, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), acknowledge that levels of acrylamides in food pose a reason for concern.

Asparagine is an amino acid (building block of protein) found in many vegetables, with higher concentrations in potatoes. When starchy foods like french fries are exposed to high heat (>120 degrees F), asparagine can transform into acrylamides and has been shown to cause cancer in rats.

While human studies are still incomplete, why take the risk? So, best to skip the fried foods.

AVOID: French fries and other fried food items.

Sodium nitrite (nitrates)

Nitrates and nitrites are chemicals used in pesticides, rodent repellents, and as food preservatives.

Food companies add these chemicals to processed meats; hot dogs, lunch meat, bacon, etc., to aid in preservation and provide that fresh, pink color. Exposure can also come from contaminated drinking water and has even been found in fruits and vegetables.

During digestion, these nitrites are transformed into nitrosamines, which act as carcinogens. Nitrosamines can be found in any pickled, fried, or smoked foods, BEER, cheese, fish byproducts, and tobacco smoke.

While studies are non-conclusive on whether exposure of these nitrates is cancerous to adults, increased incidence of brain tumors, leukemia, and nose/throat tumors has been found in some studies with children (www.epa.gov).

AVOID: Processed meats, hot dogs, and bacon as much as possible.

 

Trans Fats

Beware! These super-hydrogenated oils don't occur in nature and manufacturers typically use them to stabilize food products. Yet when your body absorbs this manufactured substance, trans fats replace regular fats but don't do the same job because trans fats are so rigid and twisted up. The fat has been linked to all sorts of cancers from breast to colon cancer. Your body needs fats to survive - trans fats, it can do without.

Red Meat

Not only processed meat such as sausage, but eating red meats is linked to cancer risk according to researchers. For example, scientists found eating an extra 100 grams of red meat per day increased the risk of bowel cancer by 17 percent. Another study found that meat consumption increased prostate cancer by 12 percent.

Alcohol

The more alcohol you drink, the more likely you will get cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. While not exactly a food, alcohol remains a significant risk factor for cancer, according to researchers.

While I acknowledge that this information may sound harsh and restrictive, I still feel it is necessary for people to be aware that FOODS can cause cancer, just as much as they can prevent cancer.

I honestly believe that you can live a lifestyle of “moderation” IF you are 100% healthy.

However, when fighting off disease, “moderation” takes on new meaning because your body needs to defend itself 24/7.

For more information visit:

WHO: http://www.who.int/foodsafety/chem/chemicals/acrylamide/en

National Cancer Institute: www.cancer.gov

Source:

http://thehealthyapron.com/2010/04/22/343/
http://www.ibtimes.com/sausage-and-cancer-5-other-cancer-causing-foods-395524 

Grapes | The Health Benefits of Grapes and Their Uses in Home Remedies

The Health Benefits of Grapes and Their Uses in Home Remedies




Chemical Composition
There are a few thousand kinds of grapes with very different chemical composition. 

Grapes are 65-85% water, 10-33% sugar (glucose and fructose), phlobaphene, gallic acid, silicic acid, quercetine, anin, glucosides - mono delphinidin and delphinidin, fruit acids, like apple acid, salicilic acid, phosphoric acid, lemon acid, amber acid, formic acid and a little bit of oxalic acid, pectins, tannic substances, salts of potassium, magnesium, calcium, manganese, cobalt, iron and vitamins B1, B2,В6, В12, А, С, Р, РР, K, folic acid and enzimes.

Grape skin has tannic substances and essential oils.

Grape seeds have tannic substances, phlobaphene,
lecithin, vanilla and fatty oil.

Grape leaves have sugar, quercetine, carotene, inosite, tannic substances, betain, tartaric acid, apple acid, ascorbic acid, protocatechine acid, potassium, sodium, iron and silicon.

Health Claims
Grapes have been used for treating metabolism disorders, liver, kidney and lung disorders and cardiovascular problems. Grapes improve metabolism and have diuretic, anti inflammation, light laxative and inducing perspiration effect.

Grapes help with nervous exhaustion, hypertension, high blood pressure, bronchitis and gout. Eating grapes strengthens your body when you need to recover from anemia, gastritis with high acidity, metabolism disorder, chronic insomnia and constipation.

It is recommended to include grapes in your diet in the first stage of tuberculosis.

Drinking grape juice daily for a long time helps to lower high blood pressure.

There many grape home remedies in folk medicine.

Extract of grape leaves (boil 1 part of grape leaves with 10 parts of water for 15 min, let it cool and filter it ) is used for gargling your throat if you have angina and for washing your body if you have skin disorders.

You should eat raisins, if you cough, have an angina, ulcers in your mouth, bladder disorders and hemorrhoids.

Warnings:
-Grapes and grape juice are not recommended for obesity, stomach ulcers, diabetes, colitis, diarrhea and dysentery.
-You will get an upset stomach if you eat grapes with milk, cucumbers, melon, fish, beer, mineral water and fatty meals.

-If you have a cavity in a tooth, eating grapes or drinking grape juice will intensify your tooth destruction. Rinse your mouth every time you eat grapes.


With Dua
Aliwale Hussainwale
Motive is to get connected with Shia World
healthremedies.awhw@gmail.com