(Part 5 of the 5 Part Series on The Dangers that the Soda Ecosystem poses)

Coca Cola continued.

THUMBS UP

An India brand bought by Coca Cola.  It’s does a lot of advertisement through cricket and Indian motorsports.  Are you affected by its advertisements?

THUMBS UP INGREDIENTS

• Carbonated water
• Sugar – Which ones and how much?
• Acidity regulator (E338 phosphoric acid)
• Caffeine – How much?
• Colour (150D class IV sulphite-ammonia caramel)
• Contains permitted natural color and added flavors (natural-nature identical artificial flavoring substances). Poor label; which ones are they?
• Contains no fruit

 LIMCA

• Carbonated Water
• Sugar – Which ones and how much?
• Acidity Regulators (330 citric Acid, 331 Sodium citrate)
• Stabilizers(414 Gum arabic , 471 Mono-and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids)
• Preservative (211 Sodium benzoate).
• Contains Permitted Class II Preservative & Added Flavours (Natural, Nature Identical Substances. This tells us nothing.
• Artificial Flavouring -lime flavor but which chemical.
• Contains no Fruit.

DIET COKE 

• Carbonated water,
• Acidity regulator (338 phosphoric acid),
• Sweeteners (951 aspartame)(950 acesulfame potassium),
• Preservative (211 Sodium benzoate),
• Caffeine – 47 mg per 350 ml?.
• Contains permitted natural colour (150D sulfite ammonia caramel coloring)
• And added flavours (natural flavouring substances). Don’t know which ones?
• Label states:”not for recommended for children”, no sugar added in the product” “not for phenylketonuric”.

Maaza

• Water
• Mango pulp (19.5%)
• Sugar – Which ones and how much?
• Acidity regulator (330 citric acid))
• Antioxidant (300 ascorbic acid vitamin c)
• Permitted class II preservative: 202 potassium sorbate.
• Colour (110 sunset yellow FCF, orange yellow s, FD&C yellow 6- synthetic food colour.
• Added mango flavoring
• Natural-Nature identical & artificial flavoring substances. Tells nothing. ,

Alternatives to soda

First why consider alternatives. Your body is a gift for a life time.  It is our responsibility to keep it healthy.  Only self-discipline can achieve this. For those who are spiritually inclined or religious you can see the disciplining of your body as a gift to some Higher Power. For others perhaps just wanting to take care of your body so as not to suffer illness later on in life is enough. For environmentalist, if I don’t buy these products I will be discouraging the production of these chemicals and it will encourage these companies to change their ingredients and to produce a better product.

Try sparkling water that is sold in glass bottles or a can and add some of your own real lemon, etc. There are also herbal teas that have no caffeine and are sweetened with fruit that your children and yourself may love.  There are also cold pressed fruit and vegetable juices sold with nothing added available in India. You will find these in the refrigerator. I have tried them and they are great. Another alternative is to make homemade fruit or vegetable juice or buy fresh juice, no water or sugar added please, made in front of you at a restaurant or snack bar. Think how good fresh carrot or apple juice would taste.  Juices that are freshly made have all the vitamins and minerals still in it.   There is Fresh Coconut water, just cut a hole in the coconut and put the juice in a flask.  How about water!  Water is the best alternative; you are supposed to drink eight glasses a day.  Water flushes out the toxins that gather in your body from the air, from the food, from industrial wastes that get into your lungs, etc. But what about water kept in plastic bottles?  Unfortunately if water is kept in plastic bottles in the sun the heat causes the leeching of molecules of plastic into your water called microplastics.  We see plastic water bottles being carried on trucks exposed to the sunlight here in India. Stores have water bottles exposed to the sun.  Do you keep them in your car (Not Good)?  I know none of these are safe.

For people consuming the recommended amount of water, The National Geographic reports that the U.S. Department of Agriculture states that people who get most of their water through tap water only ingest an additional 4,000 plastic particles annually, while people who consume only bottled water ingest an additional 90,000. Why is there plastic in tap water? Industry releases microplastic containing gases and chemicals into the environment.  These microplastics sink into our fresh water sources which eventually becomes your drinking water. What causes plastic in bottled water? Data suggests it comes from either the packaging and/or the bottling process itself. Some of the water bottles tested were: Aquafina, Bislery, Evian, and Nestle Pure Life. The following is a true story.  The grandmother of a student of mine told me her friend went to a doctor.  That friend was diagnosed with breast cancer.  The doctor asked her if she drank water that was left in a car in a plastic container.  She asked why? He told her he found plastic in her breast. Returnable plastic water bottles contained between 28 to 241 microplastics per litre.     Here is another problem with bottled water. In 2003 it was discovered and the CSE blasted the bottled water industry’s claims of being ‘pure’ when its laboratory had found pesticide residues in bottled water sold in Delhi and Mumbai.”

“So it is better to purify your water at home through stainless steel reverse osmosis or through stainless steel distillation with carbon added for purification purposes or use the Berkey filter with a post filter, and carry this purified water with you in stainless steel or glass bottles.  This way you stay away from plastic even at home. You can add your own flavoring to your own water bottle”

In some countries there are drinks made of stevia (an alternative to sugar that is plant based) and has no artificial flavoring, is non GMO and has no caramel coloring.  Their preservative is citric acid. The cans read natural flavors, the company says from citrus oil to ginger our flavors come from real ingredients.  This company is Zevia. They are a better choice than the traditional sodas.  Perhaps if enough people request it, India can start producing sodas like these.

Disclaimer: This is for educational purposes; please consult your health practitioner.