Originally published October 3 2005
Soft drink companies suffer with the development of nutrition-conscious consumers
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Soft drinks are America's number one dietary source of added sugars, which would explain why such a vast array of anti-soda measure are under consideration in many of the nation's public schools.
Some people deride them as "sugar water," others as "liquid candy."
Never favorites with dietitians or parents, sodas are receiving more and more nutritional heat these days - and the drumbeat to run them out of schools is growing louder.
In the Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools, students are not allowed to buy sodas from vending machines during the school day, though they can buy them after school, according to Doug Punger, the system's attorney.
The American Beverage Association, which represents most U.S. soft-drink suppliers, is offering some concessions about school concessions.
At an August meeting and in full-page ads in many major newspapers, it resolved to remove sodas entirely from elementary schools, allow middle-school kids access to full-calorie sodas and fruit drinks only after school hours, and make sure that no more than 50 percent of the vending machine beverage offerings in high schools are soft drinks.
Juice drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, calorie-laden coffee and even juice itself will help pack on pounds if imbibed to excess - and more than artificially sweetened sodas will.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that school-age children limit their fruit juice to 8 to 12 ounces daily.
"There's sort of a misperception about the role that sports drinks play in a nutritious diet," says Rachel Johnson, a professor of nutrition at the University of Vermont.
On the basis of these nutrient deficiencies, the panel recommended that people limit their added sugar intake to no more than 25 percent of their daily calories.
Members of the committee acknowledged that good studies linking soft drinks and excess heft are few, and the relationships when found are sometimes weak, says committee member Joanne Lupton, a professor of nutrition at Texas A&M University.
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