Oh, relax! I’m not going to tell you that you have to give up your pop!

Only YOU can decide what you will and will not allow to enter your face!!! I’m just here to provide information!

I agree with Dr. Mercola’s comment on this one: pop is one of the 5 worst ‘foods’ on the planet! When I’m ‘coaching’ someone in their nutritional lifestyle, this is the FIRST thing I suggest they reconsider, if they’re major pop drinkers.

The studies are saying that it doesn’t matter whether pop is “full sugar”, diet, natural, organic or whatever. It all causes a problem. Let me re-state that in a way that is consistent with my prevailing message on this site… it does not create health in any way… therefore, it moves us AWAY from health.

Before you jump down MY throat about this (!), you should know that I was a HUGE pop drinker when I was a kid. I ‘grew up’ in an ice skating arena… there every single day for years. My dad was the Director of Parks & Recreation and my mom was the executive assistant to the director! Funny, isn’t it??!! Anyway, their offices were both in the arena. Dad was also the Manager of the arena.

One of their ‘jobs’ was to run the snack bar. Pop was a free flowing beverage for my entire childhood and well into my teens and early twenties! I gave it up on the spot when I was in physiology class and learned what it was doing to my body. Didn’t need to tell me twice!

Totally freaks me out to this day!!!

It’s one of the reasons I do regular cleansing and detoxification programs! That, and the fact that our family doc was antibiotic-happy!

Anyhow, the sad truth is that, as bad as pop was ‘back in the day’, it’s MUCH worse now! Hard to believe it could get any worse! It has. Artificial sweeteners, colors, excitotoxins and so on. It’s a chemistry experiment in a bottle… a scary plastic bottle, no less!

This is why my kids aren’t allowed to drink pop… nope, not even a sip. THIS time, I truly do not care if you think I’m a “mean mom” or that I’m “depriving them” of some sacred childhood ritual. Nope. The ‘doctor’ in me is winning this battle by a landslide!!! I’m not depriving them – I’m protecting them.

Occasional birthday cake, cookies… even a Snickers bar (!!!) are far more ‘palatable’ to this nutrition savvy mama bear than soda pop.

Again… I’m only sharing… we all make the best choices for our own families!

Here’s the link to the article on Dr. Mercola’s site. Read the little snippet of an artice, but more important, read Dr. Mercola’s comments. As always, the follow-up readers’ comments add even more variety and spice!

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/02/10/10-Diseases-Linked-To-Soda.aspx