What's In It?
It’s good to know what you’re putting in your body. So just what are sodas made of? By law companies have to list what’s in a food or drink in decreasing order. The ingredient there is the most of is listed first. The ingredient there is the least of is listed last. Start looking at the labels of the stuff you drink. You’ll probably find a lot of hard-to-pronounce chemicals. Here’s the ingredient list from the label of a grape soda.
Grape Soda
- Carbonated water—Bubbly water
- High fructose corn syrup—A syrup made from corn starch, it can make teeth rot and lead to obesity and diabetes
- Sugar—Made from sugar cane and beets, same downsides as High Fructose Corn Syrup
- Citric acid—Used as a flavoring and preservative, also used in detergents and cosmetics
- Sodium benzonate—Prevents mold from forming in soda, also used in fireworks, it may damages cells
- Phosphoric acid—Adds a tangy flavor, also used in fertilizers, detergents and to remove rust from airplanes, causes tooth decay
- Tartaric acid—Adds a tangy flavor, also used for making silver mirrors and tanning leather
- Modified food starch—Used as a thickener, also used to make paper and plastic
- Artificial color red #40—Made from petroleum, may cause hyperactivity in children, many European countries have banned its use
- Artificial color blue #1—Made from coal tar, also used in soap and shampoo, it can cause allergic reactions, many European countries have banned its use
- Artificial flavor—No real grapes in this drink, instead an artificial flavor that has over 30 chemicals in it
As you can see this isn’t the healthiest stuff. How much of these ingredients do you want to pour into your body?
