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Soda May Age You as Much as Smoking

time.com

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Re: Soda May Age You as Much as Smoking

#51

Post by aaron-lebo »

josephpmay wrote: post #37
geoka9 wrote: post #9

It's hard for me to understand the whole soda phenomenon in Canada and the US. Is it as addictive as cigarettes? Does it make you crave for more? Or it simply tastes so good that you can't get enough of it? Why not eat a bunch of apples instead (if you don't care about the amount of sugar you consume)? Wouldn't they taste better?

A couple of factors that I can think of: 1) Sugar is addicting, and there is significantly more sugar in soda than other drinks [Google it] 2) Soda is very refreshing. This is important in warmer climates. If it is 98 degrees outside (37C), an orange Fanta does a much better job of making me feel better than just water 3) Soda is available everywhere and is the de-facto drink with most meals. Just like Italians drink…

> 2) Soda is very refreshing. This is important in warmer climates. If it is 98 degrees outside (37C), an orange Fanta does a much better job of making me feel better than just water

This is entirely psychological, right? What about soda would make it more refreshing physically than water?

Re: Soda May Age You as Much as Smoking

#52

Post by mikeash »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #27
mikeyouse wrote: post #3

The key results from the paper: After adjustment for sociodemographic and health-related characteristics, sugar-sweetened soda consumption was associated with shorter telomeres (b = –0.010; 95% confidence interval [CI] = −0.020, −0.001; P = .04). Consumption of 100% fruit juice was marginally associated with longer telomeres (b = 0.016; 95% CI = −0.000, 0.033; P = .05). No significant associations were observed betwe…

> So they saw 'aging' with sugar-sweetened soda, the opposite with fruit juice, and no significant difference with diet sodas or non-carbonated sugary sodas. What compounds in soda are most likely causing this? If they're not seeing the results in fruit juice, its not sugar causing the damage.

Could it be that sugar is responsible, but other stuff in fruit juice somehow inhibits it or compensates for it?

Re: Soda May Age You as Much as Smoking

#53

Post by aragot »

DanBC wrote: post #41
mikeyouse wrote: post #3

The key results from the paper: After adjustment for sociodemographic and health-related characteristics, sugar-sweetened soda consumption was associated with shorter telomeres (b = –0.010; 95% confidence interval [CI] = −0.020, −0.001; P = .04). Consumption of 100% fruit juice was marginally associated with longer telomeres (b = 0.016; 95% CI = −0.000, 0.033; P = .05). No significant associations were observed betwe…

> It's nice to have another datapoint against some of the bro-sciencey "Fruit juice has as much sugar as soda" arguments. Go careful, that's not all broscience. Children especially should not have undiluted fruit juices.

> not have undiluted fruit juices

Why? (with links if you can - thanks)

Re: Soda May Age You as Much as Smoking

#54

Post by therobot24 »

mikeyouse wrote: post #3

The key results from the paper: After adjustment for sociodemographic and health-related characteristics, sugar-sweetened soda consumption was associated with shorter telomeres (b = –0.010; 95% confidence interval [CI] = −0.020, −0.001; P = .04). Consumption of 100% fruit juice was marginally associated with longer telomeres (b = 0.016; 95% CI = −0.000, 0.033; P = .05). No significant associations were observed betwe…

> It's nice to have another datapoint against some of the bro-sciencey "Fruit juice has as much sugar as soda" arguments.

I was under the impression that this expression was used more with regard to dental health

Re: Soda May Age You as Much as Smoking

#55

Post by DanBC »

a8da6b0c91d wrote: post #48
DanBC wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's nice to have another datapoint against some of the bro-sciencey "Fruit juice has as much sugar as soda" arguments. Go careful, that's not all broscience. Children especially should not have undiluted fruit juices.

Children have massive metabolic demands for sugars to support growth. Children should have as much undiluted fruit juice as they want.

You are wrong and you should declare your weird shilling for the sugar industry.

http://www.child-smile.org.uk/parents-and-carers/birth-to-3-...

> Small amounts of pure, unsweetened fruit juice should be diluted half and half (50% juice to 50% water), or with a greater proportion of water to juice if your child is thirsty.

> Juice should be restricted to mealtimes only in a free-flow cup, not a feeding bottle.

Re: Soda May Age You as Much as Smoking

#56

Post by Gracana »

aaron-lebo wrote: post #51
josephpmay wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A couple of factors that I can think of: 1) Sugar is addicting, and there is significantly more sugar in soda than other drinks [Google it] 2) Soda is very refreshing. This is important in warmer climates. If it is 98 degrees outside (37C), an orange Fanta does a much better job of making me feel better than just water 3) Soda is available everywhere and is the de-facto drink with most meals. Just like Italians drink…

> 2) Soda is very refreshing. This is important in warmer climates. If it is 98 degrees outside (37C), an orange Fanta does a much better job of making me feel better than just water This is entirely psychological, right? What about soda would make it more refreshing physically than water?

I think it's the carbonation. When I realized that's the part I really enjoyed, I started drinking seltzer water (and a lot of it, because I didn't get the uncomfortable feeling that sugary soda gave me.)

Re: Soda May Age You as Much as Smoking

#57

Post by aaron-lebo »

mikeyouse wrote: post #23
danielki wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did they describe how they controlled for behavioral habits? It seems like, as a group, the type of people who would drink large amounts of sugary soda would be less likely to make healthy behavioral choices in other aspects of their life, compared to people who drink fruit juice or diet soda. This could also explain the disparity between soda and non-carbonated sugar-sweetened beverages This study doesn't seem to sh…

> This study doesn't seem to show that soda ages you (as the article states), but instead that sugary soda consumption indicates a tendency towards other activities/habits that may prematurely age you. No offense, but the authors are very accomplished public health researchers. If their study showed what you suggest, I think that would be their headline. What they showed with (relative) certainty is that those who dr…

I don't see any reason to discount the authors, but a couple of things to keep in mind:

1) This is Time's popularization of their study, so Time is naturally going to put forward the most interesting and least nuanced claims of theirs.

2) They may be accomplished researchers, but if you are well-versed in an academic discipline and read material in it, it quickly becomes clear that sometimes points which seem obvious have not actually been accounted for whether by mistake or because they don't allow for interesting publishable material.

Again, I'm not saying that is the case, and my points above are overly cynical, but the original poster's question is valid.

Re: Soda May Age You as Much as Smoking

#58

Post by septerr »

geoka9 wrote: post #9

It's hard for me to understand the whole soda phenomenon in Canada and the US. Is it as addictive as cigarettes? Does it make you crave for more? Or it simply tastes so good that you can't get enough of it? Why not eat a bunch of apples instead (if you don't care about the amount of sugar you consume)? Wouldn't they taste better?

I have the same thoughts. I know folks that are suffering from diabetes, and they drink soda every time I eat with them. And that boggles my mind. It's like they can't bear the taste (or lack thereof) of water. Or they are addicted to soda.

After moving to the U.S, I had more soda than ever before in my life, and that actually made me not like them anymore. Can't drink more than couple sips.

Re: Soda May Age You as Much as Smoking

#59

Post by DanBC »

aragot wrote: post #53
DanBC wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's nice to have another datapoint against some of the bro-sciencey "Fruit juice has as much sugar as soda" arguments. Go careful, that's not all broscience. Children especially should not have undiluted fruit juices.

> not have undiluted fruit juices Why? (with links if you can - thanks)

dental hygiene and creating good habits.

Tooth removal is an avoidable problem, but a significant cause of hospitalised children in England.

http://www.child-smile.org.uk/parents-and-carers/birth-to-3-...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10964323/Tooth-...

> Almost 26,000 primary school children were treated for tooth decay in the past year, making it the most common reason youngsters are admitted to hospital, research shows.

> Nearly 500 children aged five to nine were hospitalised due to rotten teeth each week in 2013-14.

Re: Soda May Age You as Much as Smoking

#60

Post by novalis78 »

lazythrowaway wrote: post #44
novalis78 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That question - in and by itself - gives you away as an American. As a central European who grew up on water, fruit juice (80-60% water thinned) and tea (green, herb and on and off black) it made me chuckle. I have never seen so much soda consumption anywhere on this planet before coming to the US.

America definitely drinks more soda than anyone else: http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/map_of_the_... . 3x as much as most central European countries.

Notwithstanding the golden "correlation != causation" adage, I found that only two things are truly consumed in much larger quantities in America than any other country I know: soda and high fructose corn syrup...at the same time being the only country with a 35% obesity rate...hmmmm
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