Everyone pretty much agrees that soda isn’t good for you. Even those who drink it regularly know it isn’t wise, yet continue to consume it for some odd reason. (addiction?)

The Facts

The average cola contains carbonated water, caramel color, natural flavors, caffeine, phosphoric acid and high-fructose corn syrup. Carbonated water is plain water infused with carbon dioxide, which creates the bubbles. Caramel color is a natural additive that tints food products, providing the familiar color consumers expect to see. Natural flavors are often of the citrus variety and added for taste. All of these are simple, harmless ingredients. Next is caffeine, a diuretic and stimulant known to be addictive.

What’s left on the list of ingredients is what solidifies soda’s bad name: sugar. Phosphoric acid is a chemical that adds a tangy or sour flavor by breaking down starches into sugar. We should consume as little sugar as possible, especially refined sugar.

Many products on supermarket shelves contain the final ingredient on our soda list: high-fructose corn syrup.

High-Fructose Corn Syrup: ‘Most horrific ingredient’

High fructose corn syrup is in most foods because it is a way cheaper form of sweetener than anything else.  “It is also one of the single most horrific ingredients in the food supply.” says Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS. Adding high-fructose corn syrup to foods provides little or no nutrition and but lots of calories.

If this is the case, then what about diet soda: Does it help or hinder weight loss? “There’s no hard-core scientific evidence that it hinders,” says Bowden. “But there is a ton of anecdotal information and intelligent observation that leads one to think that might be so.

Diet Soda Is No Diet At All

New research shows that noncaloric food and beverages deregulate our innate ability to judge caloric intake. Secondly, there’s the psychological part: Many people subconsciously think they’re taking in less calories by drinking no-cal drinks and then subconsciously allow themselves more food.

Two years ago, a study at the University of Texas Health Science Center found that there was a 41% increase in the risk for being overweight for every single can of diet soda a person consumed daily.

Lastly, there is some buzz among nutritional scientists that sweet tastes (through a Pavlovian conditioning method) might signal insulin to release even though there are no actual calories or sugar. (another reason Splenda sucks)

EW!

A recent study in International Journal of Food Microbiology found that 48% of soda fountains at fast food restaurants in the U.S. contain a bacteria that grows in feces – coliform bacteria.

Do you REALLY need another reason not to drink it?

(I have more if you do…!)

The first step in taking on any new type of diet or nutritional plan, or attempting to lose weight, is absolutely to cleanse/detox.

My personal training and private yoga clients constantly talk to me about their physical goals, usually losing weight being at the top of their list.

Where to start

My advice is always the same. Start with a cleanse. You need to press the “restart button” before you begin something brand new. Your body, specifically your digestive system, is much like a computer and you’re trying to download a new program. If you haven’t restarted your computer in months, maybe even years, your computer will be running slow and sluggish.

When we regularly ingest processed foods, meat and dairy products, our digestive and lymphatic systems become overloaded, or congested, leaving excess toxins to remain rampant in the blood and in the digestive system where they cause chronic illnesses and diseased colons.

Great internal healing occurs when we cleanse through organic, primarily liquid based, raw foods. Uncooked foods maintain the enzymes within the food, as oppose to cooked foods which destroy the natural enzymes. After we eat cooked foods, it takes a lot of energy from the body to produce these enzymes in order to aid in the digestive process. In addition, because the raw food is also mostly liquid (smoothies, juices, teas, gazpacho’s) it doesn’t demand much from the body in order to break it down.

By allowing our systems to work less, we free up that energy to concentrate on healing. Raw vegetables, fruits and their juices, fresh air, and sunlight alkaline the body. They carry a negative charge, magnetically attaching the the acidic wastes and literally puling them into the eliminating channels for release. In addition, alkaline-forming foods are so beneficial because they help magnetize waste matter out of the bodies cells.

Are there any difficulties?

Raw foods help our digestive systems to heal, which allows our lymphatic systems to discharge these congestive toxins. This process can be uncomfortable.

Some possible side effects of detoxification include a temporary loss of energy, headaches, nausea or diarrhea. This is merely evidence that your body is throwing out those accumulated toxins.Some people will experience childhood illnesses or past experiences. If you experience low energy or bowel irregularities over a long period of time, you may have an overgrowth of yeast, or Candida, in your intestines.

How should I cleanse?

There are many different ways to detox. There’s the lemonade diet. There’s potions and colon cleansers. Fasting. Laxatives.

I personally believe the most gentle and nutritious way to detox is through raw food and juice cleanses. I either provide these cleanses (actually creating and making the cleanse for you) or, if you don’t live in Los Angeles and/or it’s too expensive for you at the moment, I can consult and guide you through your process via email/phone. See the testimonials page if you want to see what other clients have said – They all agree that with a healthy body come endless benefits.

If eating raw foods isn’t right for your body, I can guide and support you through other nutritious cleanse methods, such as body ecology diet, gluten-free, dairy-free, macrobiotic or vegan.