More on Soft Drinks

Now there may be even more reasons to quit the soft drink habit. (See "Is Drinking Soda Bad for Your Bones?")

Pancreatic cancer and liver disease.

A recently published study found a significant increase in risk for pancreatic cancer among people who drank two or more servings of sugar-sweetened soft drinks per week. Fruit juice did not have the same effect. The study included 60,524 residents of Singapore who were followed for 14 years.

A much smaller Israeli study indicates a connection between drinking sweetened soft drinks (as well as fruit juice) and fatty-liver disease. 80% of the study participants diagnosed with liver damage had been drinking more than two cups of sweetened beverages a day.

Switching to artificially sweetened soda is not necessarily the solution. That according to the lead author of the Israeli study, Dr. Nimer Assy. He thinks that aspartame and caramel coloring (often added to cola) can increase insulin resistance, which may induce fatty-liver disease.

Is there a way to get people to drink fewer soft drinks?

A new US study sheds light on the connection between cost and consumption of soft drinks. With every 10% increase in cost of a two liter (four pint) bottle of soda, people consumed 7% fewer calories from soda and had a lower risk for pre-diabetes.

That's a pretty clear message – increase the price of soda and consumption drops. I'm in favor!

Is drinking soda bad for your bones?

If you drink a lot of soda at the expense of calcium-rich beverages, you certainly could be at risk for bone loss or weakness. The soda itself is not to blame. It's not the carbonation or the caffeine – it's filling up on one thing and not getting enough of another.

But there's something else in soda that may be harming your bones. It's a chemical in cola called phosphoric acid.

In a large study, women who drank three or more cola-based sodas a day had significantly lower bone mineral density than women who drank the same amount of non-cola soft drinks.

Phosphoric acid causes the blood to be more acidic. Calcium and magnesium in the blood help neutralize the acid. If there are not enough of these minerals in your blood, your body takes them from your bones.

There are plenty of other reasons to stop drinking soda. Their empty calories fill you up so you're not hungry for real food. And they have way more sugar than any of us need. Eliminate a daily can of soda from your diet for a whole year and you could lose up to 15 pounds!

What about artificially sweetened sodas? Phosphorus in cola is still an issue. And even though most sweeteners have undergone testing, I still advise against ingesting large quantities of them.

What's your best bet when you feel thirsty? Plain, unadulterated water.

Sound Healthy? Think Again

Just because a food sounds healthy, doesn't mean it really is. Here are some products that can be misleading:

Multi-grain Bread

If it's really high in whole-grains, the first ingredient listed on the label will be whole-wheat flour. Many healthy sounding breads and crackers are made primarily of refined white flour, with some whole grains thrown in for flavor, color and crunch.

Energy Bars

Check the label of your favorite snack bar for calories, sugar and fat. Some energy bars have over 300 calories each. That's high energy, all right, but closer to a whole meal than a snack.

Fat-Free or Low-Fat Foods

Fat's not the whole story. Total calories, sugar, sodium and other ingredients count too. Read the ingredient label, not just the bold print, before deciding to buy a reduced-fat product.

Muffins

Bran, oatmeal and blueberry muffins sound pretty healthy. But there's more to a muffin than might meet the eye. Like sugar, fat and total size. Today's store-bought muffins are often huge, with enough calories to qualify for a whole meal. Check the ingredients before you bite in. And consider cutting your muffin in half – half for now and the other half for tomorrow.

Sports Drinks

If you're running a marathon, you may want a sports drink to replenish calories and electrolytes (like sodium and potassium) that are lost during strenuous exercise. But if your exercise is more casual or you're looking for a beverage to quench your thirst, tap water is the healthiest and least expensive choice.

Don't be fooled by healthy sounding names and seductive labels. Read the ingredient list and ask questions. Then decide for yourself if it's really good for you.

Food Labels: Hype or Help?

My son just brought home a bottle of apple juice.

"100% Apple Juice From Concentrate" it said on the label. That sounds good to me. We're not big juice drinkers, but he's young and eats a well-balanced diet. Some fruit juice once in awhile won't hurt him.

Label reader that I am, I examined the attractive logo on the bottle. (You can't read the print, but you can see the design in this photograph.) It's green, yellow and orange – like a flower or the shining sun. Maybe the juice is natural, organic or enriched with vitamins?

The not-so-fine print on the logo says:

Source of Energy - מקור לאנרגיה

What's that supposed to mean?

Energy means calories when it comes to food. Unless it's water or a diet drink, it's going to have calories. And those calories are a source of energy. The nutrition label states clearly that one cup of this apple juice has 96 calories. Of course it has energy.

So the eye-catching logo is telling us the obvious – that apple juice is a source of energy. Big deal!

Much of food marketing is just like this – catchy (or not so catchy) phrases that don't mean much of anything. So it's up to you to bypass the hype and go straight to the helpful information – the nutrition label. From there, compare prices and choose the best deal.

What do you put in your coffee?

Here’s an ingredient list from a product that most of us are familiar with.

Can you guess what it is?

Hint: It’s found in kosher kitchens, restaurants, synagogues and on airlines.

Ingredients:

Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (coconut, canola, and/or palm kernel), corn syrup solids, sugar, sodium caseinate (a milk derivative), dipotassium phosphate, monoglycerides, natural flavor, salt, silicon dioxide, sodium tripolyphosphate, vitamin E acetate, DATEM, lutein, artificial color, soy lecithin. May Contain Soy Products.

Take a guess. Does it sound like something good for you? Does it even sound like food?

If there’s one product, besides margarine, that I’d like to banish from kosher kitchens, synagogues, restaurants and airline meals, it’s non-dairy creamer.

Whether it’s a powder or liquid, it’s likely to contain trans fat in the form of partially hydrogenated oil. Besides fat, you’ll find a long list of synthetic ingredients. I challenge you to pronounce them, let alone understand what they are!

Does it really taste good or is it just a matter of whitening and thickening your coffee? In my opinion, its only contribution is an off-tasting, oily mouth feel.

What are the alternatives to this main-stay of kosher coffee drinkers?

Keeping it parve gives you these options: Drink your coffee black or use an alternative vegetarian creamer such as a soy, rice or almond beverage.

Most soy beverages and creamers (such as Silk Soy products) have a kosher dairy label. A little investigation often reveals that they are actually dairy-free, but produced on dairy equipment. In this case, you may not use them with, but only after eating a meat meal. (Please consult your Rabbi for further details.) Soy drinks and creamers come in a variety of flavors and fat content.

If you enjoy real cream in your coffee with a dairy meal, consider the alternatives. Full-fat cream may be more natural than non-dairy creamer, but it’s high in calories and saturated fat. Try low-fat or non-fat milk instead. If you insist on a creamy taste, use a small amount of whole milk.
Another creamy option is evaporated milk. It comes in cans and is available in full-fat, low-fat and fat-free varieties. They are all lower in fat than cream.

With all of these options, you can rid your kitchen of non-dairy creamer, enjoy your coffee and take a positive step for better health.

I'll Take Water

I’ve always recommended water as the every-day beverage of choice. Jazz it up if you like, with slices of lemon or fresh herbs. Or choose unsweetened sparkling water.

But stay clear of drinks laden with sugar, fat, artificial sweeteners and colors.

Fruit-flavored beverages are mainly sugared water. Some contain a small amount of fruit juice. Bottled flavored waters (yes, even the clear ones that look like plain water) may contain sugar too. Check the ingredient list carefully.

Pure fruit juice is yummy, and it’s pure, right? But all of the fruit that goes into making a cup of juice adds up to a drink higher in calories than most of us need (and minus the fiber we’d get if we ate the whole fruit).

For instance:

1 medium orange = 69 calories
1 cup orange juice = 110 calories

1 medium apple = 72 calories
1 cup apple juice = 117 calories

Soft drinks are loaded with sugar – A 12 ounce can contains, on average, 8 teaspoons of sugar. Some of them (not just cola) contain caffeine as well.

Substitute a can of soda or juice with a bottle of water every day
and you may lose up to 15 pounds in a year!

Are diet sodas any better? Most contain about 10 calories per can, compared to 135 calories in regular soda. But artificial sweeteners, flavors and colors don’t exactly add up to a healthy beverage.

This summer is the perfect time to try this healthier alternative to soda:

Pour a quarter to a third of a cup of pure fruit juice into a tall glass. Fill it to the top with cold sparkling water and enjoy!

What about those icy cool summer coffee drinks? Stay away from large, super-sweet, whipped-cream topped concoctions that are high in fat and calories. Opt for a small-sized "simple" drink like iced coffee or latte made with skim or low-fat milk. And why not try iced tea during the hot summer months? Just go easy on the sugar or skip it altogether.

Getting back to water – with no calories or additives, it’s the healthiest drink around. And if it comes from your tap, it is the most inexpensive choice as well.