Importance and Effects of Health Drinks and Soft Drinks in 21st Century

Importance and Effects of Health drinks and Soft drinks in 21st century

Introduction:

Here we are going to discuss about the relevance and effects of health drinks and soft drinks like coke. We have explained in our study the advantages and disadvantages of these drinks. What are the ingredients of these drinks? How are they affecting every age group in the 21st century? Should they be used or not and if used in what amounts. The importance of these drinks help us to peep into their world and the drinking habits developed by people.

According to a study 33% of U.S. adults that are 20 years of age or older are estimated to be overweight. Furthermore, over 58 million Americans weigh at least 20% or more than their ideal body weight.

With exhaustion and high stress levels due to hectic lifestyles, many people are relying on energy drinks to give them that second wind.

Whether they help to stay awake through a test that day, or revive you for a party that night, energy drinks are much appreciated, and are becoming quite popular.

With energy drinks increase in popularity, and high demand, many companies have decided to come out with one. Companies such as SoBe, have SoBe Adrenaline Rush, Starbucks DoubleShot espresso and cream, and Mountain Dews AMP energy drink. Other popular energy drinks include, Red Bull and Rockstar.

SoBe Adrenaline Rush has the familiar tangy taste of a grapefruit with a light yellow color. It contains 1000 mg taurine, 500 mg d-Ribose, 250 mg L-Carnitine, 100 mg Inositol, 50 mg Guarana, and 25 mg Panex Ginseng.

This drink including many others is not recommended for children, pregnant women, or persons sensitive to Caffeine.

Starbucks DoubleShot espresso and cream in caramel in color, and tastes very similar to the coffee frappuccinos Starbucks has in the glass bottles. It is definitely a great drink to waken up with in the morning.

AMP energy drink (from Mountain Dew) contains matodextrin, Ginseng, Taurine, B vitamins and Guarana. It is sour and tangy and tastes like fruit snacks. Like mountain dew, AMP is a lime green color.

Red Bull is a yellow drink with a sour, tart taste. that includes, 1000 mg taurine, 600 mg glucuronolactone, and 80 g of caffeine. The benefits you get from drinking a Red Bull include, improving your performance, concentration, and reaction speed, vigilance, emotional status. It stimulates your metabolism as well.

Rockstar tastes and looks very similar to Red Bull. However, according to the can, not only is Rockstar bigger, stronger, and faster, but one is able to party like a rockstar too. It is the most healthy out of the five energy drinks, and contains the least amount of calories and sugars.

Now the problems with the consumption of regular soda beverages like coca-cola and Pepsi.

Americans drink more soda pop than ever before:

* These popular beverages account for more than a quarter of all drinks consumed in the United States.

* More than 15 billion gallons were sold in 2000.

* That works out to at least one 12-ounce can per day for every man, woman and child.

Kids are heavy consumers of soft drinks, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and they are guzzling soda pop at unprecedented rates.

Carbonated soda pop provides more added sugar in a typical 2-year-old toddler's diet than cookies, candies and ice cream combined.

Fifty-six percent of 8-year-olds down soft drinks daily, and a third of teenage boys drink at least three cans of soda pop per day.

Nearly everyone by now has heard the litany on the presumed health effects of soft drinks:

* Obesity

* Tooth decay

* Caffeine dependence

* Weakened bones

Obesity:

One very recent, independent, peer-reviewed study demonstrates a strong link between soda consumption and childhood obesity.

One previous industry-supported, unpublished study showed no link. Explanations of the mechanism by which soda may lead to obesity have not yet been proved, though the evidence for them is strong.

Many people have long assumed that soda -- high in calories and sugar, low in nutrients -- can make kids fat.

Researchers found that schoolchildren who drank soft drinks consumed almost 200 more calories per day than their counterparts who didn't down soft drinks. That finding helps support the notion that we don't compensate well for calories in liquid form.

Tooth Decay:

Here's one health effect that even the soft drink industry admits, grudgingly, has merit. In a carefully worded statement, the NSDA says that "there's no scientific evidence that consumption of sugars per se has any negative effect other than dental caries." But the association also correctly notes that soft drinks aren't the sole cause of tooth decay.

In fact, a lot of sugary foods, from fruit juices to candy and even raisins and other dried fruit, have what dentists refer to as "cariogenic properties," which is to say they can cause tooth decay.

But sugar isn't the only ingredient in soft drinks that causes tooth problems. The acids in soda pop are also notorious for etching tooth enamel in ways that can lead to cavities. "Acid begins to dissolve tooth enamel in only 20 minutes," notes the Ohio Dental Association in a release issued earlier this month.

Caffeine Dependence:

The stimulant properties and dependence potential of caffeine in soda are well documented, as are their effects on children.

The soft drink industry agrees that caffeine causes the same effects in children as adults, but officials also note that there is wide variation in how people respond to caffeine. The simple solution, the industry says, is to choose a soda pop that is caffeine-free. All big soda makers offer products with either low