I Quit Drinking Soda

I gave up drinking soda 8 years ago.
A family member had serious health problems from an over-consumption of diet soda.

At the time, the news was reporting that soda drinking caused weight gain, osteoporosis, and tooth decay. But here is another reason to avoid soda (Since then, I know someone who has problems with potassium levels.)

I don't miss soda at all. I feel a lot better, and I like being able to spend my grocery money on other things, like organic fruits and veggies.

"Too Much Cola Zaps Muscle Power

Sugars and caffeine in cola are probably to blame.

Excessive cola consumption can lead to anything from mild weakness to profound muscle paralysis, doctors are warning.

This is because the drink can cause blood potassium to drop dangerously low, they report in the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

They tell of the curious case of an Australian ostrich farmer who needed emergency care for lung paralysis after drinking 4-10 litres of cola a day.

He made a full recovery and was advised to curtail his cola drinking.

"We have every reason to think that it is not rare."

~ Dr Clifford Packer from the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Centre in Ohio

Another example included a pregnant woman who regularly consumed up to three litres a day for the last six years and complained of tiredness, appetite loss and persistent vomiting.

A heart trace revealed she had an irregular heartbeat, probably caused by her low blood potassium levels.

Once she stopped drinking so much cola, she made a full and uneventful recovery.

The investigators believe these cases are not atypical and that many people risk problems due to their intake.

The author of the research paper, Dr Moses Elisaf from the University of Ioannina in Greece, said it appeared that hypokalaemia can be caused by excessive consumption of three of the most common ingredients in cola drinks - glucose, fructose and caffeine.

Excessive consumption has already been linked with obesity, diabetes and tooth and bone problems. "

~ BBC News, 19 May 2009
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8056028.stm

====================================

"Avoid This if You Want to Keep Your Thyroid Healthy

Bromides are a common endocrine disruptor. Because bromide is also a halide, it competes for the same receptors that are used in the thyroid gland (among other places) to capture iodine. This will inhibit thyroid hormone production resulting in a low thyroid state.

Iodine is essential for your body, and is detected in every organ and tissue. There is increasing evidence that low iodine is related to numerous diseases, including cancer. Various clinicians and researchers have found iodine effective with everything from goiter to constipation.

Bromide can be found in several forms. Methyl Bromide is a pesticide used mainly on strawberries, found predominantly in the California areas. Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVO) is added to citrus drinks to help suspend the flavoring in the liquid.

Potassium Bromate is a dough conditioner found in commercial bakery products and some flours.

Mountain Dew, one of the worst beverages you can drink, uses brominated vegetable oil as an emulsifier. Not only that, it contains high fructose corn syrup, sodium benzoate, more than 55 mg of caffeine per 12 ounce can, and Yellow Dye #5 (tartrazine, which has been banned in Norway, Austria and Germany.)

A weapon of mass destruction -- in a can."

~ Dr. Mercola
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/08/22/Another-Poison-Hiding-in-Your-Environment.aspx