Last fall, I told you about the PR move by the American Beverage Association (ABA) to eliminate soft drinks in elementary schools, with one giant loophole: High schoolers would still have access to soft drinks. The newest deal agreed to by the ABA and other major bottlers today would be more stringent than the last one, unfortunately, with a very similar escape clause.
High school students could still buy diet soft drinks -- far worse for their health than regular carbonated drinks due to the presence of toxic artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose -- along with sports drinks, bottled teas and flavored water.
Unfortunately, the health of so many kids has been compromised by parents, who have, in turn, been deceived by all the marketing campaigns thrown at them over the years. And this health-harming mindset won't change until these high school students eventually graduate, get into the business world and start to break away from the deception.
My next book, Sweet Deception, to be published in the fall, should go a long way toward informing the public about this mess. The conclusion that anyone with common sense will reach after reviewing the evidence we present in the book: Regular soft drinks are actually less damaging to your body than diet sodas.
One of the best, easiest and safest ways you can give up carbonated drinks for good: Learn Turbo Tapping, a clever variation of the Emotional Freedom Technique that resolves many aspects of an issue in a short amount of time.
USA Today May 3, 2006