Health Kick...

I have been silent for awhile. And to my fair loyalists who have been along for the ride, I am sorry. If you've missed me and ached for the next post... thank you. Sometimes it's nice to be missed for reasons other than a poopy diaper or a grumbling tummy.

So I am back, and I felt compeled to post tonight because of a 2 liter bottle in my home. It contains what some call soda. Others call it pop. Maybe you even take the time to say soda pop. Then there's cola and coke, specific flavors for soft drinks now used as a generic identifier for all things fizzy. If you're my grandma, you'd ask for soda water. And, no, she wasn't talking about Perrier.  With grandma, it was more likely Ginger Ale or some unique flavor of Faygo (back when it was in big clear bottles with minimalistic white labels, and they had names like "Frosh" or flavors like "Pineapple Orange").

The soda of my childhood; single bottles in a rainbow of colors.

Anyway, this particular soda is most lovely to look at. The clear bottle transforms the kitchen lights into crystaline ruby sparkles that catch the eye. It's red color reminds me of marachino cherries. The label touts the virtues of a fruit flavored beverage that has "100% Natural Flavors" and is "caffeine free".

Now before my health-nut friends go all crazy on me, I'll gently remind you that I am not in the habit of drinking soda.  It's the rare occasion that I'll partake of a diet soda, and I can't remember the last time I drank regular pop. And as I'm on a strict diet for a health issue, one that prohibits the intake of simple carbs, I assure you that it's not getting consumed in this household.

Having had a birthday party this past weekend, it was bound to happen that a family member would bring along a little something extra. And so here we are, a week after the celebrants are long gone, with 100 % Natural Flavors still hanging out in our fridge.

I wondered what set apart this particular carbonated beverage from others. I mean, really? Was it naturally brewed? Sweetened with apple juice instead of sugar? Had my family member made the virtuous choice and spared us all from one of those 'other' unsavory cola drinks that are so bad for us? Or was he snookered, like so many others, into believing that this purchase was somehow superior to those 'other' carbonated drinks that are so 'bad' for us?

Here's what the ingredient list says on the bottle in question: Carbonated Water, Sugar, Natural Flavor, Citric Acid, Tartaric Acid, Malic Acid, Poassium Benzoate (Preserves Freshness), Potassium Citrate, Red 40, Calcium Disodium EDTA (to protect flavor), Blue 1. I should note that at the top of the nutrition label it says clearly "CONTAINS NO JUICE". The front of the bottle proclaims in all caps "Naturally Sweetened with REAL SUGAR".

The items that concern me are the Tartaric Acid (a naturally occurring alpha hydroxy agent that is used in skin cream. Yes, those creams that make your skin burn. I'd imagine the amount used in pop is way lower. Still, not keen on the idea of consuming an ingredient that makes my pop sour while simultaneously exfoliating my digestive tract...); the Potassium Benzoate, which has too many potential links to too many issues for me to feel good about consuming it; the Red 40; and the sugar content.  One serving of this pop has by weight what ends up being equivalent to about 9 teaspoons of sugar. When I still used sugar, I never placed more than 1 t in my 12 ounce cup of coffee. I can't imagine intentionally dropping 9 teaspoons into my drink.

And yes, I remember as a kid gleefully enjoying a Big Gulp of soda from the local 7 Eleven. Today, the idea of drinking that much soda makes me cringe (and feel slightly sick). And in the grander scheme of things I suppose a person could consume something way more awful that this soda that's in my fridge? 

I just know it's still sitting there, about to be dumped into the great soda graveyard in my sink. Hopefully the soda is as non-toxic to the groundwater as it supposedly is to our bodies.