European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 20, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Soda pop is tops with americans Rise in soft drink consumption total 12-ounce units per american per year 242.9 utes year for which figures Are available. Source National soft  Wathington representing .  Mew York Temaat he season of maximum thirst is approaching and a latest data on what americans most like to drink suggest that Lar Loo Many nutritionally questionable beverages Are sliding Down our throats at the expense of drinks that May improve health a Well As mental and physical performance. Ironically the most popular choices sugar sweetened carbonated soft drinks do not even quench thirst. Rather their High sugar Content can leave you thir Stier setting off a thirst Cycle thai supports soaring Sod drink consumption and an Industry with sales of More than $36 billion a year. Espilo Competition from products like Mineral water with and without fizz and fruit juice drinks especially those packaged in Little boxes with straws for the stroller be. The soft drink business is bigger today than Ever. Mot Only is total volume up but per Capi a consumption is still on the steady climb it has enjoyed since the first coca cola was bottled Industry figures show that Solt drink sales More than doubled from 1970 to 1985, from the equivalent of 49.5 by Iron 12-ounce cans to a staggering 116.1 billion. Per capita consumption Rose from 9.6 ounces a Day in 1975 to 16 ounces a Day in 1985 although some people consume no soft drinks others Down As Many As a dozen 12-ounce Servings a Day. According 0 Industry data. Americans drink Lour times More soda pop than fruit juice which supplies vitamins and minerals along with the Sweet liquid. The nine Teaspoons of sugar in a typical 12-ounce soda Are about equal to the amount of sugar in Orange or Apple juice but the soda supplies no nutrients other than Sweet calories. A told Toft drink account for one Quarter of the refined sugar americans consume. Sugar supplies 99 percent of the 144 calories in a 12-ounce Coke which is typical for sodas. Solt drinks Are most popular among children and Young adults. Forty percent of the nation s 1 to 2-year Olds drink an average of nine ounces of soft drinks a Day. Consumption of soil drinks is especially High among teen agers Many of whom have All but eliminated milk from their diets in favor of artificially Flavoured artificially coloured artificially carbonated and olten artificially sweetened sodas. A National study of beverage consumption by 4,455 Leen agers published last year found not surprisingly that the More Sott drinks teen agers consume the less milk Hoy drink the study by Patricia w. Guenther a nutrition analyst for the agriculture department also showed that soft drinks Ere As Likely to be used As a beverage at meals As Lor a snack. In fact according to Industry data 10 percent of the soil drinks consumed Are Lor  Calcium intake is already marginally adequate in teen agers who do not drink soft drinks those who Are heavy Consumers of Sott drinks average lass than 60 percent of their daily Calcium requirement. Failure to build up Bone strength in adolescence sets the Slage for osteoporosis decades later. Given the status of Calcium consumption among teen agers the osteoporosis epidemic could double or triple in size in the next generation. In addition teen agers who drink a lot of soil drinks tend to have Low intakes of Riboflavin Vitamin a and Vitamin c. Also worrisome is the amount of caffeine youngsters consume with soft drinks. Although some soft drinks have no cat Cine and Are so labelled the typical 12 ounce soda including Many non Colas contains one third to one half As much Carleine As a cup of Coffee a child who drinks four sodas a Day therefore takes in the equivalent of two cups of Coffee then there is the acid in soft drinks which can corrode tooth enamel and cause far More damage than the dissolved sugar the Aci Lily of Colas is about the same As that of vinegar. Soft drinks also often contain a Lair amount of sodium and phosphorus though the sodium level in one 12 ounce drink is nol High ranging from 30 to 80 milligrams it can add up for a heavy consumer. Sodium can raise blood pressure in susceptible people and phosphorus if consumed in excess can Isle Lere with the body s ability to use Calcium. Seltzer however has no appreciable amount of sodium or nos chorus and most club sodas now Are Low in sodium but Check the Label increased calorie consciousness and the introduction of the artificial sweetener aspartame Nutrasweet have spurred sales of diet Solt drinks which by 1985 represented 23.1 percent of the soft drink Market up from 10 percent in 197s. But is growing popularity of these drinks containing almost no calories has done nothing to curb the Nalion s weight problem. Americans today Are fatter than 10 or 15 years ago and while people Are drinking More artificially sweetened drinks per capita consumption of sugar sweetened soft drinks has also risen. The safety of aspartame especially in the amounts Many diet conscious americans Are now consuming is a subject of serious debate. Aspartame was approved Lor marketing on the basis of animal studies without tests in people to establish its safety. Some experts Are concerned about possible hazards particularly to the brain. Aspartame triggers epileptic seizures in animals prone to this problem and hundreds of individuals have reported such brain effects As seizures depression irritability severe headaches and panic attacks when consuming aspartame in Normal amounts. Desperately needed Are Well designed studies to determine whether these anecdotal reports represent cause and effect or merely coincidence. The sweetener Industry Haa said it has such studies under Way. Question have at of been raised about the possibility that aspartame stimulates rather than satisfies an appetite Lor sweets. If an artificial sweetener perpetuates a Sweet tooth it could contribute to obesity rather than curb it because most swells Are made with the real thing. In addition to the deliberate additives soft drinks May be inadvertently contaminated with cancer causing pollutants. A Lexicology is a t the University of medi Ine and dentistry of new Jersey found that certain coloured soft drinks contain  known carcinogens in amounts that averaged twice those found in new Jersey drinking water. Among the newer wrinkle in the Sott drink Markal Are natural sodas targeted to heal in conscious Consumers who avoid refined sugar and artificial flavors and colors. But these drinks Are heavily sweetened with fructose a refined sugar and while natural Havers May improve the taste they add nothing to nutrition value. The lobe on one Brand of natural Root Beer lists ingredients almost identical to those in caffeine free Coke. And one wonders what tha natural flavor might be reel Root Beer flavor Sarole was banned years ago because it causes cancer in animals. Seltzer and sparkling Mineral Waters that Are Flavoured with various fruit essences have no calories or artificial flavourings nor Are they High in sodium. They Are an excellent Choice for those who find Ordinary bottled water or tap water Boring and who Don t Cany wedges of Lemon Lime or Orange around with them. Wednesday May 20, 198t the stars and stripes Page 17