POWER NUTRITION

 

January/February 2012 - Vol. 35 No. 3

POWER NUTRITION Q & A

by Anthony Ricciuto | aricciuto[at]NutritionXP3.com
www.NutritionXP3.com

 

Diet Soda and Heart Health
Q: Hey, Anthony. How you doing? I really liked the Oil of Oregano series you did; it was so informative. I have a question about soda pop and heart health. I know you did a series a few years back about how bad it is for your health and I can fully agree with you on that even though I have a major weakness for it. A friend of mine recently told me about a new study they did and how diet soda was linked to heart disease among other problems. Is this true? Can you expand on this for me as I have been wondering what your thoughts are on this topic?

Sincerely, Joe Caltano

 

A: Hey, Joe. How you doing, buddy? I am happy to hear that you liked the soda series I did some time back. Your friend is correct; there have been some new studies in relation to drinking one can of diet soda per day. This amount of consumption is not out of this world and most likely millions of Americans do this day in and day out. There are probably millions of Americans that drink much more than that on a daily basis. The study showed some really interesting facts that most of you who drink diet sodas will not be happy to hear. The bad news that you all are going to want to plug your ears on is that it showed that those that drink one can of diet soda per day have a 61% increase over those that don't drink them to have a heart attack or stroke.

Wow, that is some bad news right there and all of you reading this please take note of it and really think out your next beverage choice much more thoroughly. The research from this study was presented at the American Heart and Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference in 2011. So, as you can see this is cutting edge info, as it was just presented this year. This amazing study included more than 2,500 people over the age of 40 years old. It included people of all races and was part of the Northern Manhattan Study. The people were put into seven different groups according to how much soda they drank or if they didn't consume any at all which, by the way, is the smart choice as you will see by the study's outcome. This study was taken for over a 10 year period here, so it was not just some 6 month trial that most of you soda drinkers may have been hoping for, wishing there was a major flaw in the study. Now among the group that drank soda there were almost 560 vascular events among them. That is not good at all when the numbers come back, especially considering that out of the 2,500 people in the study over 900 of them were in the "don't drink any soda" group. Some researchers are saying that those that drink diet soda drinks can promote a bad habit of causing those to have a sweet tooth and lead them to consume other sweet things throughout the day. Either way, as you can see, diet soda is not good for year health no matter how you slice it!

You can try to make different excuses so the big wigs at these multi-billion dollar companies won't get their panties in a knot, but the reality is they are not good for your health on so many different levels. Why is it that when someone says smoking is bad for you no one ever goes and says that it has numerous health benefits and tries to say otherwise, but with food products that you well know are causing all kinds of health ailments it seems there is always a scapegoat mentality trying to blame the study's outcome on some other thing that may have caused such a massive increase in cardiovascular events in such a short period of time. I have an idea for everyone: how about drinking clean water instead. Our ancestors drank water and it was good enough for them, so why do people now have to have something super sugary sweet every time they need to put any liquid in their bodies. Americans are becoming the most unhealthy people in the world and step by step they will be in the top spot in no time at all.

Eating all the sugar, grease, food preservatives, food coloring and dyes, hormone induced meat, nitrate loaded goodies and much more will only down the road cause numerous health conditions from all angles. Why are people so stubborn in their ignorant stupors that they can't see the truth due to their addiction to junk foods? Well, several years ago I broke the news to the powerlifting community on how horrible soda in all its forms was on destroying your health and now the mainstream media is also letting you in on it. I warned you over and over and some good lifters who actually care for their health as well as that of their families took note of my series and left that garbage on the grocery store shelves never to be brought in the home again. Others continue to drink away and when they suffer a major health problem that drinking all the soda will contribute to sooner or later then maybe they will think twice about their soda consumption—that is, if it's not too late!

 

More Product Reviews Please
Q: I just wanted to let you know how much I liked your "Will it Blend Series?" I have been using a junky 30-dollar blender for many years and because I work this thing like a mule I have killed my fair share of them over the last decade. I went out and got myself a Blendtec and I simply love this thing. It is so amazing and powerful—I have never seen anything like it. To say that it is just a blender would be an understatement because it is so much more and has replaced many different appliances on my kitchen counter. I was wondering if you have any more product reviews for either supplements that you like or anything else that could help us living the lifestyle that you teach us each and every month. I love my Blendtec and I am so happy you brought this into my daily schedule. I also purchased the smoothie book by Kevin Gianni that you mentioned sometime back and with my new powerhouse blender I have been making at least two smoothies every day. Thanks again for all your very informative interviews and articles as they really liven up the pages of PL USA; not only with your expertise knowledge, but also your off the wall humor. Please keep up the good work as I look forward to your column each month!

Sincerely, Tina Cammarata

 

A: I am happy to hear that you love your Blendtec as much as I love mine. You see, I always try to bring my loyal PL USA readers the best most down to earth usable information each month that you can actually put to real use. This way you can actually benefit from the work I present to you every month in many different facets of health and nutrition. I am also happy to hear that you liked your smoothie book that I recommended as well. The book contains so many good recipes and I am sure you will love each and every one in there. I have tried all of them at least twice, while there are a few that are my personal favorites. In terms of new things that I have been studying and reviewing, I have something that you will most definitely love. Kevin Gianni has teamed up with one of the most knowledgeable doctors in the world for numerous health conditions from not only a western perspective but also a holistic perspective as well. In my opinion, this is very important because there many other ways to treat almost all conditions without resorting to high powered drugs which many times giveyou a slew of other side effects that you really didn't want to sign up for in the first place. The well renowned doctor and author of several books is none other than Dr. J.E. Williams. These two intellectual powerhouses teamed up to present to you an audio and book kit on improving your immune health. It's called the Complete Immune Health Program and after going through the materials I give it two thumbs up, without a doubt. There is a ton of good information in here that all of you can take advantage of. Usually this time of the year people are catching colds and flus like they are going out of style, but with the knowledge presented to you in this kit, that will now be a thing of the past.

I know many of you will want to know more so I will touch on just some of the many topics covered in this amazing kit. One of the things I liked is the section they discussed how many MDs overlook the most common cause of illness and how they treat only one part of the problem while ignoring an even more important factor. They also covered how the immune system really works and why your doctor may not be targeting your illness from the proper angle. They also dispel many old-school myths that seem to go from one generation to another while most of it holds little to no scientific accuracy. They also talked about the genetics you are born with in relation to your immunity strength and how you can help to improve this situation. The part about toxic chemicals and how they destroy your immune system is also not to be missed. They talk about what you can do to keep these chemicals that you most likely have contact with on a daily basis away to keep your immune system strong and healthy. They also go in depth in discussion on how to treat the most common cold and flu, which is something all of us seem to get at least 2 to 3 times per year. They even have a section on combating herpes as well, which this alone is worth the cost of the kit if this problem affects you. They also talk in depth on how inflammation in the body affects the immune system and what you need to do to keep it at bay. Another section I am sure all the Power Vixens will love is how a strong immune system is related to the rate at which your body ages. They cover what the best foods are to help keep your immune system in tip-top shape. They also go in depth on the key biological role players that lead to chronic diseases like cancer and diabetes as well as the cellular deficiency that helps make them active. They also talk about how you can help generate healthy cells instead of diseased ones that many of you reading this are guilty of. Lastly, they let you in on 10 key steps on fixing your immune system once and for all. They help lay out diet and supplement tips and much more to make sure you are healthier than ever! So, as you can see, this is one very comprehensive kit on immunity and it is one that I recommend fully for all my readers to take advantage of. There is way too much good information in here to simply ignore. For those of you interested in finding out more about the kit simply go to Kevin's website at www.renegadehealth.com and check it out in the online store. Believe me, once you have devoured all this information and put it to use you will wish you had this available to you a decade ago—believe me, it's that good.

 

Soda Linked to Metabolic Syndrome and Type II Diabetes
Q: I just wanted to drop you a line and let you know how much I like your column. Some time back you did an interview with Adams about the dangers of drinking soda. My brother is a huge soda drinker and what is even more annoying than that fact is that he totally doesn't believe it's bad for you. I had him read your series and all he said was that he wanted to see the studies to prove it. I was wondering if there were any new studies relating to soda and the many bad health ailments they cause. Thanks in advance as I want to shut him up once and for all. Is there anything new that has been put out that I can use since I need some more ammo to shut this soda guzzler up once and for all? Thanks again for your great work, it truly is a great addition to this magazine.

Yours in strength, Vito Cotali

 

A: Thanks for the kind words about my work. I try really hard to bring you the most up to date and informative information that you can use in your daily life. There are some new studies and if you are reading this issue, then previously I quoted the new study on how drinking even one diet soda a day increases your chances for cardiovascular incidents. Now, I'll give you some data on another study that has been out recently as well. So, let's take a look at what it covers.

This new study shows that by drinking sugar laced sodas it can increase your chances for Type II Diabetes. Okay, tell us something that we haven't heard at least a million times. Well, folks, here it is! What was very interesting about this study is the fact that those that seem to stay skinny and not gain any fat from drinking all the soda they like are actually more likely to get diabetes than those that put on weight from soda. Oh boy, do fat people finally get their sweet revenge or what! I can see 300 pound women all across the nation loving this one now that these skinny babes get a dose of their own medicine. This goes to show you that poor eating and lifestyle habits can still kick you in the ass even if you fit into a size 2 dress.

The researchers did a very thorough job putting this one together and I'll show you why. They took data from close to a dozen different studies, which involved well over 300,000 different people. What all this data showed was that for those that drank one to two soda cans per day had a 20% increase risk of getting Metabolic Syndrome and a 26% chance of getting Type II Diabetes when they were compared to those that drank little or no sweetened drinks. This shows you that facts are facts and when you consume garbage drinks that are going to spike your insulin levels through the roof you are creating the perfect environment for causing Insulin resistance no matter if you are thin or not. Victory one for fat people! As you can see, if you are fat or thin, drinking soda will help make you a diabetic in no time at all. So, there you go, Vito, let your brother know about this study and see if it sinks through his neanderthal-like skull. If it does, good for him, but if he likes to remain a foolish ignoramus who keeps pounding back the soda then at least you can buy him a nice glucometer machine next Christmas and some nice warm thermal socks to keep his crusty diabetic feet warm. Until next month, eat clean, train hard and please don't give yourself diabetes by drinking that garbage in a can. Believe me, it's not worth it!

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