The Cozmos...

2008-07-09T10:55:00.002-04:00

An in Depth Interview with Holistic Nutritionist Mike Adams On
The Dangers of Soda Consumption among Powerlifters
Part 2

In Part 1 of this interview series, Mike touched in on some of the many dangers that
drinking soda offers your health. He also informed us on some very interesting points and the
relation between soda and some of the different injuries that we are seeing in the sport. In this
second instalment, Mike is going to shed some light on more of the different diseases that
drinking soda can contribute to. We will take a look at how it contributes to Type II Diabetes
and even how it affects brain function. Since Diabetes, especially Type II is so prevalent in many
lifters; I thought this would be a good eye opener for those who drink soda. Now since many of
you reading this article do have children, I decided to ask Mike some questions on how drinking
soda in their younger years affects growth development. This affects children on a skeletal and
neurological level as well. I am sure you are going to be intrigued by some of the information in
the second part of this interview. So enough with my banter let’s get to the juicy stuff!
Anthony: Can you explain how soda destroys your teeth? Is it a synergistic combination
between the sugar and Phosphoric Acid? What is your take on this Mike?
Mike: That is an excellent question. The blame lies here with the sugar and the Phosphoric Acid just
like you mentioned. Now here is how it works. The sugar damages your teeth right at the surface. This
allows bacteria to grow and also wears away at your enamel. That right there will cause cavities alone.
To make this even worse the phosphoric acid lowers bone density along your jaw line and throughout
the roots of your teeth. So the Phosphoric Acid is what’s going to cause your teeth to be weakened and
to actually fall out. So if you combine these two like you suggested then you get cavities and weak roots.
Now this is how a lot of people lose their teeth at a young age. So as you can see soda pop consumption
can destroy your dental health from numerous angles.
A: Wow that is so interesting Mike. I know our readers will find this very informative especially those
that drink diet soda thinking that they are doing their teeth a service all the while they are not.
M: Yea that’s true
A: In the sport of Powerlifting Diabetes especially Type II is a major problem among many
athletes especially those in heavier weight classes. Many of the Powerlifters that I have done
nutritional analysis with are actually Diabetic, while many more are very Insulin resistant. They
are basically on their way to welcoming Diabetes into their life if they don’t clean up their eating
and lifestyle. Now I would like you to elaborate for the readers on high fructose corn syrup and
how it contributes to Type II Diabetes?
M: There is no doubt in my mind that high fructose corn syrup directly contributes to Type II
Diabetes. Now how this works is in two ways. The first is the fact that it raises and spikes your blood
sugar. Like you mentioned this leads to Insulin resistance. So the hormone that is supposed to clear
the sugar from your blood stream and carry it into the cells is no longer being listened to by your
cells. Basically when you have Insulin resistance you have pre Diabetes. Now, athletes can get away
with this for a little while when they are compared to sedentary individuals. But once they stop
exercising it can blow up into full scale Type II Diabetes very quickly. So along with this you also get
included with the package is an increased rate of heart disease, obesity and moodiness. Now this is
one thing you will notice with a lot of people. Moodiness is something that you find often and is no
doubt caused by the blood sugar swings that soda contributes to. Now with Powerlifters for
example many people think that this moodiness is contributed with illegal steroid use. In reality it is
often not and it’s actually the soda pop they are drinking that is causing these mood swings. So it’s
not the “Juicing”, it’s the soda. So in reality you have to get off the sodas to stabilize your moods as
well as your mental function. Let’s not forget to also stabilize your blood sugar levels.
A: Actually Mike you hit this one on the head for sure. It is true a lot of lifters do get mood swings.
I have seen this first hand. Of course the public or anyone around these individuals will go and use
the blame game of steroid abuse but the reality is that this is not what’s doing it. Good old soda is
more of a culprit than the anabolic steroids!
M: Yes that is what I am trying to point out here. I know that Diabetes is more prevalent in
Powerlifting circles as well when compared to other sports.
A: I have told readers that soda contributes to obesity and weight gain. Can you explain to the
readers in detail how this works?
M: Ok this is how soda contributes to weight gain. You see your body is made to process complex
carbohydrates that are slow burners.
A: Exactly Mike this is why I am such a big proponent of consuming Low Glycemic Index
carbohydrates when trying to optimize my lifters performance and allow them to burn fat as well.
M: Yes they are burned slowly and absorbed slowly. From this it basically provides stable blood
glucose over a long sustained period of time. Now soda on the other hand is like rocket fuel. They
burn hot and fast. Actually they burn much too hot and fast. Soda jacks up your blood sugar very
rapidly and your body was not designed to handle this very efficiently as a result of this extra blood
sugar. Now if your pancreas is working properly it will produce Insulin that will cause all the extra
blood sugar to be stored as fat. Now through a liver process all the extra sugar is converted to body
fat and stored on your body. Now getting rid of that body fat is a very difficult thing to do. Now no
one likes to cut weight because dropping body fat is a process that sucks.
A: Oh yea I hear you on that one. Trying to get some lifters to eat clean so that they can get into a
lower weight class is like pulling teeth, believe me!
M: Now if we look at high fructose corn syrup, it is basically a high Glycemic index sugar. Actually it is
hard to find a sugar anywhere that has a higher Glycemic Index than high fructose corn syrup. Now
let me compare this to a metaphor. If you take your car and it’s a diesel pickup and you fill it with
diesel fuel, then it runs correctly. Now if you took your pickup over to your local airport and filled it
up with jet fuel what do you think would happen to the engine of that truck?
A: I would guess that it would destroy the engine.
M: Exactly it would burn out the engine! Now that is the same thing that is happening to the human
body because it is not made to handle that form of carbohydrates and sugars. This is what happens
when you drink soda that contains high fructose corn syrup.
A: Mike that is an excellent example that you put forth and hopefully this will open the eyes of
our readers that do drink soda especially those that consume way too much.
M: Well that is the purpose, to help open up the eyes of people that are unaware of this
information.
A: I have pushed my readers to understand that a calorie is not equal to a calorie. How a calorie
from soda is not going to benefit your performance like a calorie from a yam. Can you explain how
soda’s empty calories will actually decrease their performance?
M: That is a very good question. Let me explain this. Now the processed food industry basically
wants the general public to think that a calorie is a calorie. Now where you get calories from directly
affects your body. The calories from a yam are probably one of the best sources of caloric energy
and complex carbohydrates that a powerlifter could consume.
A: I fully agree with this Mike as I include plenty of yams and sweet potatoes in the plans of my
athletes because of all the numerous benefits they offer their performance and health.
M: Now there is a product out there by Jay Robb called Yam It. This will provide a slow released
sustained energy for any athlete. This is an excellent product for this purpose. What your readers
need to know is that calories from yams are loaded with trace minerals which you are not getting
from sodas or processed foods. This is one of the best sources of natural calories. What you need to
understand is the difference from consuming calories from processed foods and sodas and
consuming calories from nutrient dense healthy whole foods. One good comparison for this would
be drinking coca leaf tea versus smoking crack cocaine. Now coca leaf tea in its natural form is
completely safe. I personally drank coca leaf tea while I was hiking in the Andes Mountains in Peru.
Now even though I drank this tea I certainly would not smoke crack cocaine even though it’s from
the same plant. You see crack cocaine is dangerous while drinking the coca leaf tea is safe!
A: Mike that is a very funny comparison but in reality you couldn’t have better described the
difference between processed low quality garbage foods and natural healthy clean foods.
M: Yes and believe this or not this is the same story with sugars. If you take it in its natural form,
that is fine. For example corn is healthy for you. But on the other side of the coin if you take corn
and extract the high fructose syrup, this then is like crack and you don’t want to be consuming that.
The source of a calorie matters as well as the processing too. Natural whole foods are the only way
to go, so stay away from processed foods and junk.
A: I would like to touch on the topic of children and soda. It seems that kids are one of the largest
consumers of soda and drink quite a bit of it daily. Can you elaborate on how damaging this is for
a child in their growing years?
M: Now because of the harm that Phosphoric Acid causes the skeletal system this shows that drinking
soda is very harmful to the growth of children. I think a study done on this would show that soft drink
consumption stunts growth in children. Now this is in terms of their skeletal system but also their
neurological system as well. The fact that soda consumption in children causes chronic dehydration and
nutrient depletion contributes to these factors. Now I am of the belief that in this country we should
ban the marketing of junk foods and soda to children. Now with the soft drink companies this is their
primary market because they are easy to manipulate through influential advertising. Plus typically
children really don’t think much about their health and only chose what tastes good right now. This
makes them prime targets for soda companies due to these facts. This happens even though the health
of these children will be harmed by the soda consumption. This will no doubt affect their health in their
growing years and in their entire life time. I think we should ban advertising to children because of the
detrimental effects it has on their health.
A: Is there any link between the increased rate of ADHD and the increased soda consumption
among children?
M: There is no doubt in my mind that there is a link. This is because ADHD is a disease that we know can
be reversed in about two weeks with simply changing the child’s diet. If you remove the soft drinks
from the diet as well as the refined sugars and artificial food coloring, then children become symptom
free of ADHD. There is a huge change in these symptoms in just a matter of a few weeks. You see ADHD
is diagnosed as a disease based on certain behaviours that are caused by poor nutrition and this can be
reversed. In reality you don’t need to give your kids drugs to enhance their health. What you need to do
is feed them real foods and stop feeding them poison.
A: How about the big business of soda in America? Can you explain a little more about what is
going on behind the scenes that most Americans are unaware of?
M: People need to understand the reason for their marketing. The soft drink industry is a multibillion
dollar business. When you pay a dollar for a soda there is only about three cents worth of ingredients in
there. In fact the can is more expensive than the ingredients in it. It is a hugely profitable business and
as a result these companies spend literally hundreds of millions of dollars on their advertising. Now this
creates a very strong influence between the soda companies and the main stream media. The media in
turns begins to depend on the big dollars from these soda companies spent on their advertising. This
then causes the media to stay away from the truth on the dangers of soda because they don’t want to
annoy their advertisers of course. Now this is why we don’t get the whole story in the mainstream
media about soda and their dangers. Now the real story in my opinion is the fact that these soda
companies are one of the primary contributors to an epidemic of disease in the western world. They sell
products that harm people. Now just like these big tobacco companies, soda manufacturers refuse to
admit that their products harm anyone.
A: Yea Mike you really do have to love big business. I guess as long as you make money who cares
about people! I guess the bottom line with so many companies and businesses is the bottom line and
that is the almighty dollar.
M: In fact I remember reading a quote from who I think was the Vice president of Coca Cola which
stated that their drink was a wholesome beverage and provided an excellent source of hydration. They
actually think that their products are wholesome beverages. That makes about as much sense as
tobacco companies saying smoke cigarettes they help you lose weight.
A: That is really absurd, in regards to the amount of deception that goes on in soft drink advertising.
How can you promote something that is obviously very unhealthy due to the several different harmful
ingredients, and then push it as “Healthy” to uneducated and uninformed consumers.
M: Yea you got to love this
A: Do these big corporate companies fully understand how harmful their products are especially
considering their advertising markets to children especially with the presence of soda machines in
schools?
M: I don’t think that the people that work in those companies understand the dark reality. They are
not evil people working at Coke and Pepsi but they have blinders on. They hate to look at the
evidence that relates their products and their relation to Diabetes, obesity, and Osteoporosis. They
don’t want to admit or hear about the evidence that their products should be categorized as
harmful. I think they are in a state of denial much like the tobacco industry has been for decades.
The people that work there don’t want to believe that they are doing harm. But remember everyone
wants to make money right? So as they are making money they selectively ignore the fact that their
products are harmful.
A: Can you explain the link between soda and mental illness?
M: In my opinion there is a direct relation between soda consumption and mental illness. You see the
brain is a physical organ that requires nutrients from the blood in order to function correctly. Now just
like any other physical organ it needs healthy nutrients, not unhealthy ones. Now many of the
ingredients in soda are converted in your blood and assimilated and then brought to the brain. So
everything that you drink in soda is impacting your brain health. When you have too much sugar in your
blood it impairs brain function. Now when your blood sugar drops and leaves you in a state of
Hypoglycaemia then your brain function really drops and suffers. Now believe this I am not joking here
but this is where we get a lot of criminal and aggressive behaviour in young males. It also leads to poor
cognitive function and poor memory. If we look at one study it showed that 25% of prisoners in U.S. jails
suffer from Hypoglycaemia which is a blood sugar disorder. It is in my opinion that soda consumption
helps create Hypoglycaemia and other blood sugar problems that directly lead to criminal behaviour in
young males. Now here is something that you may find interesting. What if it’s actually our diets that are
creating criminals? If so we could actually prevent crime by choosing what foods that we promote to our
population. I think we could dramatically curb criminal behaviour by looking at nutrition. You see what
you have to realize is that the brain and anger are directly impacted by food.
A: I have had one of my athletes who is a student actually tell me that since he stopped drinking
soda which was about 4‐5 cans per day, he actually noticed a big improvement in his
concentration skills. Can you explain this link?
M: It’s not surprising to hear this result so quickly when the soft drinks were discontinued from his
diet. Now soda can affect your concentration and ability to focus. The blood sugar swings that are
caused by drinking soda dramatically affect not only your concentration, but also your mood. Now
this one is very important for Powerlifters. Soda can affect your moods and this is not the best thing
for you especially in many situations like when you are in a relationship for example. You can
dramatically improve your relationship with your girlfriend or wife because you are now not
suffering from these mood swings that are causing problems in your relationship. You have to
realize that blood sugar drops will make you annoyed and irritable and then you just pass this on to
those around you. If you are aggressive and irritable all the time this will harm your relationships
with family and friends. Improving your moods and relationship with your loved ones is just another
of the many benefits that stopping soda consumption and poisoning your body with these chemicals
can offer you.
A: You know Mike it sounds funny when you say that but it is very true. There are a lot of guys
that do get mood swings quite often. One minute they are happy the next they are fighting for
something that is really petty and stupid. Now many people may think that this guy may be just
be a real jerk but in reality the reaction to these blood sugar drops can affect some people more
than others. This in turn can really change the personality of a person if they are doing this several
times per day. When you are spiking your blood sugar and Insulin through the roof 5‐8 times per
day which I know to a nutritionist sounds crazy, this can dramatically affect the mood of that
particular person. But causing these spikes and then the blood sugar lows that follows is exactly
what is happening to many people. Once they change their diet, they find themselves a different
person altogether.
Part II Overview
In this part Mike covered a lot of controversial topics that are not readily discussed in
mainstream media. Of course you know that I am going to bring you the truth no matter how
dark it may seem. The reality of “Big Business” behind soda as well as their marketing and
intended audiences is something that many will find disturbing. But this is the reality of not only
soda companies but many others. In the end they don’t care what happens to you or your long
term health down the road. So the reason why I chose many of the questions I did for this
interview especially in this second part, is to help educate you on the reality not only of the
dangers soda poses to your body, but also the dirty reality of what goes on behind the scenes.
Many are not familiar with this reality especially those who are younger. Mike’s comparisons on
the reality of processed foods and soda versus whole natural foods can be quite humorous. But
in all honesty he couldn’t be closer to the truth than his statements. These foods and drinks are
literal poisons that will destroy your health and performance if you consume them as a regular
part of your diet. I want you to understand that in the end big companies don’t care about you
the consumer and the bottom line is the net profit at the end of the day. It is a sad reality indeed
but this is how many businesses operate. So it’s is your responsibility as an adult to help make
the right choices not only for yourself but also your children. The health situation among those
in America is one of the worst in the world and this is directly related to your nutritional and
lifestyle choices. I am going to say this once so pay attention, you have to make a choice. You
can either clean up your diet or feed your body healthy foods that nourish it and keep you in a
healthy state. Or you can pollute your body with processed foods and harmful drinks only to live
a life full of disease. What you can look forward to is a quality of life that is very poor and
dependant on pharmaceuticals just to keep you alive. If that is what you truly want for yourself
and your family then ignore all the warnings that I put forth because when you do too little, too
late, you are the one that is going to have to live with your choices!
If you have any questions or comments you can contact me at:
Aricciuto@NutritionXP3.com
Or you can check out my website at:
www.NutritionXP3.com

Bulk Supplement Retailer, CustomNutritionWarehouse.com Changes their Name

2008-06-25T12:49:00.007-04:00

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http://www.cozmarnutrition.com/ will continue the legacy http://www.customnutritionwarehouse.com/ has set with its bulk supplements. "Its been a difficult journey to have to legally change our name and create an updated website, but I have to thank our customers for their loyalty and understanding in our situation. With this continued loyalty, we can continue to bring new cutting edge supplements to market. With our industry partners, only great things can come out of this", commented the new CozmarNutrition.com's owner.

For additional information please visit http://www.cozmarnutrition.com/.
About CozmarNutrition.com:CozmarNutrition.com, formerly known as CustomNutritionWarehouse.com has been doing business since 2004. CozmarNutrition.com sells online bodybuilding supplements and provides their own line of supplements in the form of bulk powders and capsules.
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2008-06-25T10:21:00.004-04:00

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The Dangers of Soda Consumption among Powerlifters Part 1

2008-06-25T09:48:00.000-04:00

An in Depth Interview with Holistic Nutritionist Mike Adams
On
The Dangers of Soda Consumption among Powerlifters
Part 1

Hey readers I have something very interesting for you this month that is a real eye
opener. I have been getting a lot of mail from our PL USA readers about me doing more
interviews with experts in specific fields of nutrition. Now of course I like to make all my readers
happy. For those of you who liked the interviews that I have done in the past, all I can say is
that you are in for a big treat. This month I decided to help educate you on a topic that is one all
of you can relate to. The interview that I conducted is with renowned author and Holistic
Nutritionist Mike Adams, who is also known as the Health Ranger. During this interview our
main topic of discussion is the dangers associated with consuming soft drinks. Now the reason
why I decided on this topic is the very fact that Powerlifters drink way too much soda. Now this
isn’t just your every day Joe Schmo lifter. This starts from the top with some of the best world
champions our sport has ever seen and goes all the way down to the beginner lifter. Now if you
are a regular reader of my column then you are fully aware that for years I have preached
against drinking soda numerous times. Yet up until now I didn’t do a full article on all the
reasons why you should not consume them. Well I thought this would be the perfect time to
give you an in depth interview with one of the World’s top experts in Holistic Nutrition. I am
sure you are never going to look at soda the same way again. Hopefully by reading this
interview it will help you change your lifestyle choices and once and for all ditch this legal
poison for good. So let’s see what I have in store for you with information the soda companies
don’t want you to know!

Anthony: Hi Mike, It is an honour to have you here. I was wondering if
you could tell our readers a little bit about yourself.

Mike: I am 38 years old and 8 years ago, I found myself in a terrible state of disease. I was depressed and nearly diabetic. I was obese and suffering from back pain all the time. I had bad cholesterol numbers that basically if continued on that path would have led to heart disease. Now I got to this pathetic state by eating the Typical American diet. I was taking pharmaceuticals, drinking lots of soda and eating plenty of junk food. Today I am very athletic and have been declared in a perfect state of health by my Naturopathic Physician. I participate in weight training, and martial arts. I study the art of Capoera, which is a Brazilian martial art. I also partake in intense cardiovascular exercise regularly. I eat an extremely healthy and clean diet. My website which is www.naturalnews.com is reaching about 1 billion readers per month. Here I write about the healing power of phytonutrients and super foods. I am a spokesperson for advocating the high performance benefits which super foods and high density nutrition offer. I also write about eliminating toxic chemicals from your body to optimize your health using nutritious foods and natural supplements.

A: Could you expand about your educational background and areas of expertise?

M: Yes my formal education is in technical writing. My education in nutrition began when I was 30 years old when I found myself in a very unhealthy state. In 4 years I read over 600 books on health and nutrition. I am a prolific writer. I have written over 2000 articles and over 12 books. As I mentioned before my website is one of the most viewed sites on the internet about natural health, nutrition and disease prevention. I am very outspoken and extremely controversial in regards to conventional doctors. I tell it like it is because I have no conflicts of interest. I do not take money from any nutritional supplement company. I am completely independent and objective so that I tell you the truth on what works and what is just bunk.

A: The topic that I wanted to discuss with you is that of soda. I have pushed many times over to my readers that it is very harmful to your health. Powerlifters have a bad reputation when it comes to consuming too much soda. Can you explain to readers why you have labelled soda as
“Liquid Candy?”

M: The first thing you should know is that soda contains a very large amount of sugar. That sugar is in the form of high fructose corn syrup which is used in just about all soft drinks. However I don’t believe that is the most dangerous ingredient in soft drinks when it comes to Powerlifters. The most dangerous ingredient in soda is Phosphoric Acid. This is a highly corrosive acid and it contributes to the taste of the soft drink. When you consume it, it acidifies your body. For your body to compensate for that acidity, it has to buffer the acidity with alkaline minerals. Now guess where it finds these alkaline minerals? It finds the source for them in your own body’s skeletal system. We are talking about calcium, magnesium and other trace minerals that are all alkaline. Every time you consume a can of soda with Phosphoric Acid in it, which by the way is in both regular and diet soda, you are essential urinating away your bone mineral
density. This has huge implications to Powerlifters because low bone mineral density will make you more susceptible to breaking your bones. This is not a good thing for anyone but even more so for a Powerlifter. It will also reduce your strength output which I doubt many of you were aware of. Another thing that it will offer you is to reduce the ability for ligaments to strongly attack to your bones. One more bonus feature Phosphoric Acid has is that it will also change your appearance. Your jaw line will not be as thick and strong if you are drinking Phosphoric Acid. Soda is something that no one should consume and as a strength athlete even more importantly you should be drinking something healthier. This very harmful chemical will also affect your teeth. The roots of your teeth will be weaker and shorter. It will also affect every bone in your body and cause them to be impacted. Now as a powerlifter you may be able to compensate for the fact that you are stressing those bones and building your bone mineral density. But if one day you keep drinking soda and stop Powerlifting, like taking a break or change your sport, then you will see a very rapid and dangerous drop in your bone mineral density. One other nice thing you can look forward to is the fact that you also may be diagnosed with Osteoporosis.
Believe it or not it is actually being diagnosed in men. Men in their early twenties and thirties are
actually being diagnosed with this disease. In the past we used to think that this disease would affect only fragile old ladies and now this is happening with young men.

A: It’s actually funny Mike that you mentioned the fact about bone density in males and how soda affects this. Actually in the sport of Powerlifting over the last ten years there have been several cases of lifters breaking certain bones when they are lifting a max effort attempt usually in a contest setting. For example in the bench press there have been several lifters that have broken the bones of their forearms which include the radius and ulna bones. I have also seen this with Powerlifters squatting who break their tibia and or fibula bones in their lower leg. Now this is something that wasn’t seen that much in the past but is occurring more often than before. Now my belief has been that the increased amount of soda consumption among lifters is one of the underlying causes of this. I know that there is a correlation between the two and Powerlifters need to understand this.

M: You are right, the two do have correlation. There is no doubt in my mind that those individuals that suffered from those broken bones must have had severe nutritional deficiencies. This is due to their poor dietary practises or their lack of exposure to nutrients such as Vitamin D. This powerful vitamin is crucial for the assimilation of Calcium in the body. Now if you are deficient in Vitamin D and you are drinking soda then you are practically begging to have your bones broken. Now you see this with fighters especially in the UFC with guys like Tim Sylvia who broke his forearm trying to escape an arm bar. Now how did that happen? Well that happened because he is Vitamin D deficient in my opinion.

A: Mike I fully agree with you here on that premise because bones will break much easier when they are not getting the nutrients they need. To add even more gasoline to the fire these same individuals are consuming large amounts of harmful soda that is causing them to basically leach away the strength and density of their bones. This is a double whammy that is basically asking for a major injury that will no doubt at best shorten your Powerlifting career or end it permanently!

M: Absolutely, when you drink soda you accelerate that bone mineral loss. One of the reasons to avoid soft drinks is just to protect your bones. There are many others which include obesity, mood swings, and other nutritional deficiencies which we will discuss later.

A: Now another area of concern among lifters is muscle and tendon tears. This is a common occurrence with top lifters and is mainly seen with the pectorals, biceps and patella tendon ruptures. In your opinion do you feel that high doses of Phosphoric Acid consumption which occurs with those that drink plenty of soda may have an effect on these injuries as well?

M: I believe tendon injuries are more related to the consumption of bad fats and oils. This
would include hydrogenated oils and partially hydrogenated oils. You know that every cell in
the body has a membrane that is partial made from fat molecules. When you look at
hydrogenated oils they contain Trans Fats. When they are consumed they begin to replace the
healthy fats in your cell membrane. Trans fats are very fragile. They are not bondable or
permeable like healthy fats, such as the ones you would get in Omega 3 fatty acids. So I think
tendon tears and muscle strains are more related to the consumption of bad fats than that of
Phosphoric Acid. Soda does however have another direct effect with muscle tears and I will touch on this reason a little latter on.

A: Mike the topic of Trans Fats and bad fats in general would make an excellent future round table discussion or interview. The reason is Powerlifters are also known for their overindulgence in Trans Fats and consuming too much saturated fat as well. The elimination of Trans Fats and the reduction of their saturated fat intake is something that I have wrote about for years in my
column and finally many are starting to take note of this and apply it to their daily nutritional habits.

M: Now I know a lot of Powerlifters who work out hard in the gym. The danger in the
nutritional habits of those individuals is that their extremely aggressive exercise regiments
allow them to get away with things that others can’t. This hard training can partially
compensate them in regards to gaining body fat even though they have very poor dietary
practises. They can often stay fit looking in terms of body fat percentage even while they are
eating really terrible foods. This is because they are burning a lot of calories with their training
sessions as well as during their recovery phases. That is something that lifters need to be
careful of. This is because junk foods and soda as well as processed foods will dramatically
accelerate the aging process. They will also cause the deterioration of your tissues including
your muscles and bones. You will be better off to avoid those processed foods and beverages
and stick with healthy nutrient dense foods and super foods.

A: How much soda is consumed annually in the United States?

M: The stats say that in America we consume about 125 gallons of soda per person per year.

A: Wow Mike that is really crazy when you sit down and think about it. If you average it out that is really off the charts in terms of personal consumption among everyday people. There are approximately 4 litres in a gallon. So this would come out to about 500 litres of soda consumed by every person in the United States annually. Now the U.S. Population is around 304 million people. If we times that by 500 litres of soda consumed per person each year, that turns
out to be around 152,000,000,000 litres of soda consumed by the citizens of the United States annually. Can you imagine that? That is 152 billion litres of soda consumed each and every year and that is just in America. That is ridiculous Mike and we both know the major health ramifications that this large amount of soda consumption is causing to the health of all individuals not just athletes.

M: I fully agree it’s absurd. There are many people that drink tons of soda and don’t even drink
water.

A: Mike I can truly relate to that fact. Since I have worked with thousands of Powerlifters on a one on one basis for program design, and after reviewing their nutritional journals I also can state that many lifters do consume tons of soda. On top of this they also consume very little if any clean water to help hydrate their bodies.

M: Now I was going to touch on the topic of the diet soda question. There are many people
thinking that I will avoid the high fructose corn syrup and drink diet soda because this is a
better choice. In diet soda there are chemicals one being known as aspartame that are causing
all types of neurological problems such as seizures, blindness, blurred vision, headaches and so
on. Within a few years I think it will be banned from the food supply. New Mexico tried to ban
this substance and the state of Hawaii is attempting to ban aspartame. I believe that drinking
aspartame is putting their entire neurological system at risk. It would be better off for them to
drink pure cane sugar juice than consume aspartame. It would also be better to drink cane
sugar than high fructose corn syrup as well. Sugar cane juice or crystals is a far healthier natural
sweetener to consume instead of either of the other two we just mentioned.

A: Who are the main consumers of soda and is there any breakdown as to what types of people consume more? For example do 6 figure executives take the cake or does the average Joe worker?

M: Yes clearly soft drink marketing is targeted towards those in their teens and people in their early twenties. Younger people consume a lot more soda than older individuals. As people get older they tend to put on bodyweight especially for those that are inactive. Many stop drinking soda in their thirties and forties because of this. At this point you see a great divide. Usually older adults, those in their thirties and forties either get informed and stop drinking sodas and stop consuming all the junk foods that they are used to or they spiral downward into a lifestyle of poor nutrition, fast food consumption and pharmaceutical dependency. Now it is these people that end up obese, depressed, get heart disease, and they still keep on drinking sodas. Now a lot of your readers may be in their early 20’s and they will think that they are young and fit and this couldn’t happen to them. They have the mindset that none of this has happened to me yet and I drink soda so what is the big deal? Now this may be the case when you are younger but what you have to realize is that everyone gets older. Now as you approach the age of thirty you have to make a choice. That choice is if you want to live a healthy lifestyle or you want to live a life that is full of disease. If you want to live a healthy life then there will come a day when you will have to make the decision to eliminate soft drinks from your diet for the rest of your life. Now this is exactly what I have done with myself and I have also taught thousands of other people how to do this. Believe me when I say this but once you stop drinking soda you won’t miss it at all. There are so many other things that you can consume that are nutrient rich that are extremely enjoyable and taste better than soda does anyways.

A: How much sugar does regular soda contain on average? Which brand contains the most?

M: Now most of the different brands on the market contain about the same amount of sugar. I believe they average out to contain around 9 teaspoons of sugar per can which is around 45 grams of sugar. Now this is an enormous amount of sugar and this is the main reason why I call it liquid candy. Now in terms of the different brands of soda out there they all contain around the same amount of sugar. Actually most sodas contain the same ingredients. These include Phosphoric Acid, high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavours and water. Believe me when I say this but it is extremely profitable for soft drink companies to produce this stuff. This is why these companies can afford to spend so much money on marketing their sodas.

A: Just recently one of the clients that I took on for nutritional work had in his daily food journal that he consumes an average of 2 litres of soda per day. This can go as high as 3 litres on the weekend. So since there are about 36 teaspoons of sugar per litre, this guy is bouncing around 72 teaspoons of sugar Monday to Friday. Hell on the weekend he is taking in around 108 teaspoons of sugar per day. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read this. The first thing I mentioned to
him was how he could pollute his body to such a crazy extent on a daily basis. Not only is that much high fructose corn syrup going to have Type II Diabetes knocking on his door very soon, but what about his bones? I would like to know what his bone mineral density is actually at right now. The sad thing about this is that he mentioned that he has done this for the last 7‐8 years.

M: That is really off the wall and it never ceases to amaze me that people don’t think about
what they are putting into their bodies.

A: Can you explain some of the other health ailments caused by consuming soft drinks? Are there any other chemicals that the readers should be aware of that and also cause health ailments down the road?

M: Now one of the other health concerns for drinking soda is chronic dehydration which I touched on earlier. Now when people drink soda they have the misconception that they are hydrating themselves because it is a liquid. In truth soda actually takes more water out of your body to process that soda than the water it actually puts into your body. So in reality every time you drink a can of soda you are in net loss in terms of hydration. Again this is crucial for powerlifters because hydration is very important for healthy muscles, and ligaments. You need to realize that dehydrated muscle tissues will tear and you will get injuries much easier. You need hydration to be injury free as well as to have a healthy cardiovascular
system.

A: Mike you really hit the nail on the head here. I have been preaching for years for powerlifters to dump the soda and start drinking plenty of clean water. I was well aware of the fact about the relation of muscle tears and the dehydration of the lifter. This is one of the main reasons why I have pushed it so hard with my readers to stay well hydrated. Powerlifters and dehydration goes together like peanut butter and jelly. The two go hand in hand more than you can understand and this is why I am such an advocate of getting in plenty of clean water to
prevent the body from entering a dehydrated state. There is such a direct correlation between the two that it is downright scary. Considering the fact that Powerlifters tear muscles quite often especially in competition and I know this has to do with this factor.

M: Now what your readers have to realize is the fact that every time you drink a can of soda
you are dehydrating yourself. This in turn causes you to become thirstier and in turn if you are
one of those individuals that are addicted to soda then what you are going to do is reach for
another soda. Now this is one of the properties of soda that soft drink companies like to see
because this makes their product in a way more addictive. This will cause people to keep
reaching for more because they always feel thirsty. Now here is something for you to think
about. If you are craving a cola in reality your body is telling you to drink water. Remember
thirst is an indication that your bodies needs water not cola. Now getting back to your question
about ingredients you have to realize that soda companies are in many ways a lot like tobacco
companies or your neighbourhood crack dealer. They all want their product to be addictive. Now if we look back at the history of Coca Cola their original product did contain Cocaine. Now this was back in the 1800’s. This is where they got the name from. Coca is from the coca leaf and cola was from the Kola nut. This product back then was a combination of Cocaine and caffeine and a lot of sweetener. Now if we look at it that type of drink would be extremely addictive. Now think about drinking the combination of Cocaine, caffeine and sugar and that right there was Coca Cola. Later on they were forced to take out the Cocaine but they left in the caffeine because on its own caffeine is also very addicting. Up until now they have tens of millions of consumers in the United States alone who are in fact addicted to the caffeine in their drinks. Now for those of you who don’t know this caffeine can be just as addictive as nicotine and for some people just as addictive as Heroin. It is very hard to break the caffeine habit. Now I would like to add a little more on this topic of caffeine addiction. There is a way to tell if you are addicted to caffeine. If you are drinking a soda like Coke or Pepsi, switch to drinking a caffeine free soda like 7 UP or Sprite. Now see how this affects you. Do you feel ok or do you notice that you are feeling symptoms of withdrawal. Now these symptoms can include such things as headaches, shakiness, nervousness and moodiness among others. If you are noticing any of these effects then you now know that you are chemically addicted to caffeine. That right there is actually the first step in the book that I wrote on how to quit the soft drink habit. Switching from a caffeinated soda to a decaffeinated soda is the first step for you to stop the chemical enslavement by the soda companies. Remember they want you to be addicted to the caffeine.

Part 1 Overview
So as you can see here Mike touched on a lot of different areas of concern not only for
any individual but also some very important topics for the Powerlifter. Now I know a lot of you
are hard headed and being a Powerlifter and being hard headed goes hand in hand. But the
reality is that you must take care of your health. Long term quality health is something that the
large majority of Powerlifters simply ignore until it is way too late. That means that unless a
major health calamity affects you, you simply ignore anything related to preventing it from
happening in the first place. It is very important that you take the info related above to heart. If
you don’t care about your health then I am sure all of you reading this do care about your
performance. Otherwise you would not be reading this publication and my column. If you want
your performance to increase take care of your health because without it you will not lift to
your full potential. I know that I seem to harp on many of the different flaws that Powerlifters
are known for from a nutrition and lifestyle perspective. All of this is not simply to annoy you or
to poke fun at the many wrong things that you do that destroy your health and performance. I
truly care about you living a healthier longer life and at the same time reaching your true
potential in this sport that we all love so much. So please take note of what info that I am
putting out there. In the end the purpose of it is simply not to entertain you, or just give you
another article to read when your issue of PL USA comes in the mail. I want to educate you so
you understand how to improve your health and take your performance to the next level. I also
want you to act upon the information that I give you so you can truly benefit from it. So next
month you can look forward to Part two of this series and I am sure you will learn even more
interesting information that you never even thought about. So until next month eat clean and
train hard and leave that soda on the shelf!

IF you have any questions or comments feel free to contact me at:
Aricciuto@NutritionXP3.com
Or Check out my website at:
www.NutritionXP3.com