Coke and Pepsi are soon to feel the sting of a series of lawsuits that are intended to reduce their influence in schools and public venues throughout the United States.??Stephen Gardner, staff lawyer for the Center for Science in the Public Interest sites soaring obesity rates among children,?arguing that soda and other sugary beverages are harmful to students' health and that selling those drinks in schools sends a message that their regular consumption is perfectly fine.
In a lawsuit they plan to file in the next few months, Mr. Gardner and half a dozen other lawyers who have made some spare change in tobacco litigation, will seek to ban sales of sugary beverages in schools.? The lawsuit is to be filed in Massachusetts where some of the lawyers are based, and will name Coca-Cola,?Pepsi and their local bottlers, the lawyers say. They hope to succeed here and ply their trade throughout the rest of the U.S.? Interestingly, in December 1773 the people of Boston symbolically threw off the shackles of the British Empire by dumping tea in their harbor.? The?patriots?dressed up as native Americans and "raided" the ships because they didn't like the idea of a tax being rammed down their throat by King George.? I love it when history repeats itself!
Back at the home front we rarely keep soft drinks around.? I don't believe they are the "Great Satan" but am convinced that they are definitely harmful to the immune system and increase diabetic tendencies.? The soft drink industry has begun to use high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in most products because it is inexpensive and really sweet.? The kicker is that HFCS produces no feedback to tell you to stop eating and drinking.? In other words the normal signals that tell you to stop eating are shut off by the consumption of HFCS.? The liver may also be adversely affected by HFCS because of the way it must be digested.? The best advice I can give you about soft drinks is:
- Don't keep them in your home
- Don't let your kids have them as a drink with meals
- Try to find drinks that are sweetened without sugar or HFCS
- Learn to enjoy less sweet beverages (your tastebuds will adapt)
- Water is the best sport drink and thirst quencher
- Don't go overboard and freak out if your kids drink a Coke at a birthday party or other function....... they'll live!
I'm disappointed that the legal profession has to be so involved in every part of our life.? If we would use our power as consumers and parents to limit the consumption of low-quality high calorie foods we'd be much better off.? When every person accepts responsibility for their health our whole society will benefit.? Medications are only band-aids to cover the ill-effects of poor food choices in most cases.? The medical profession needs to transfer most of the responsibility for health to the consumer.? This has to happen "on-purpose."? Patients need to become health advocates and eventually savvy consumers with the help of the medical profession.? We can't continue to use medication as a substitute for personal responsibility or we'll be in "deep weeds", as they say in Texas!
Step one........ dump the Coke in the Boston Harbor?? That sure sounds familiar!
