Hard Times for Soft Drinks..(carcinogen benzene found in some soft drinks)

[RedEarth]

It could be nearing high noon for the soda industry. After years of repeated battering over the issues of childhood obesity and tooth decay, sugary beverages have suffered an unprecedented backlash. The New York Times reported last week that soft drink sales are down for the first time in 20 years, and sales of bottled water, juices and energy drinks are continuing to eat into the soda market.

Into this anti-carbonated climate comes a potentially bigger bombshell that could spell disaster for the industry. Last month, the FDA quietly revealed that some soft drinks were found to contain the human carcinogen benzene in levels up to 10-20 parts per billion (ppb) -- four times the acceptable limit found in drinking water. Benzene, a chemical linked to leukemia and other forms of cancer, forms in certain beverages under certain conditions, such as exposure to heat and light.

The agency immediately downplayed the risk, saying that such small amounts did not pose a significant danger to health. "Levels like that with benzene, our only concern would be lifetime consumption," says George Pauli, associate director of science and policy in the office of food additive safety.

While scientists and doctors disagree on how hazardous benzene is to human health, the Environmental Protection Agency requires public notification and alternative water supply for drinking water contaminated with levels of 5 ppb. Even "relatively short periods" of exposure at that level can "potentially cause … temporary nervous system disorders, immune system depression anemia," according to the agency. A lifetime of exposure, says the EPA, can cause "chromosome aberrations cancer."

http://alternet.org/story/33380/

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. I have as much sympathy for the soda industry...

... as I have for the coca growers in Columbia or the poppy growers in Afghanistan. "Your 'war on drugs' is driving us out of business! Whine!!"

[smtpgirl]

5. I would be drinking soda if it had coca leaf in it

I am a water drinker, maybe a diet soda from time to time

[Viva_La_Revolution]

2. "some soft drinks" as in the ones that have Vitamin C added...

I'm NOT saying soda is good for anyone, but it's worth noting.

[henslee]

3. Thats why they all went into the water business.

[GrumpyGreg]

4. Good--it's a waste of money!

[GOPS Worst Fear]

6. I Was Raised On The Stuff and am Now am a Cola-Holic

My parents raised us on Pepsi Products. When I moved out of the house in the latter 1970's, I switched to Diet Pepsi and got used to the taste. So much so that I prefer that to Regular. Fast forward to today..where I am a cola-holic, drinking three to four cases of cola every two weeks. I know all the health hazards. In the case of Diet Pepsi, the Phenlketonurics is no more than poison one's body. There may not be sugar in DP but there IS alot of sodium. That coupled with the fact it's carbonated has bloated me. I have gained 120 pounds in the past 10 years. I consider the fact that I also work graveyard shift to this but the soda is the main culprit.
The cola companies could care less. They continue to raise prices on a product that cost pennies to make.
Last week I have begun weaning myself off of cola. I have now drank just 4 colas in the past 3 days. Quite an achievemnt for me.

[bostonbabs]

7. good luck...I feel so much better off of them

[Divernan]

8. I switched to iced tea to stay off of Diet Coke.

I got addicted to diet coke when I was in law school. That's how I kept awake during boring classes and then to study late into the nights. I was going through a liter bottle at home every night, and 3 or 4 cans of it at school during the day. I went off of it cold turkey when I came down with a terrible flu and just didn't eat or drink anything but water for 3 or 4 days. I know before that, if I couldn't get my diet coke I would develop a terrible headache. Well, with that flu, my head and rest of my body ached nonstop for days, and I was too sick to keep anything down. The first thing I could keep down was tea and I didn't get a headache, so just decided to stay off Diet Coke.

So good luck to you - it's hard to give up but you will feel a lot better overall.

[GOPS Worst Fear]

9. That's What I keep Hearing..

I have aching joints and the rest of my body aches. Alot of that too is contributed to the pop.

[Vinnie From Indy]

10. I quit drinking soda as a new years res a few years ago

and I dropped 20 lbs and have kept it off. Diet sodas always gave me headaches so I rarely drank it. I drink alot of teas both hot and cold. I also like water with lime or lemon.

[pnwmom]

11. This reminds me of the aspartame controversy

The issue there, too, is of chemicals breaking down under conditions of light and heat. The by-product in the case of aspartame is said to be formaldehyde.

I mostly don't drink soda, but I went through a period of drinking diet pepsi. But after a few days, I started having restless legs and other neurological symptoms. I ended up going off the soda and the symptoms disappeared. Later on, I thought it was probably just a coincidence, so I bought some diet drinks again. Same symptoms returned. So I threw the stuff away and have been fine since. Regular soda doesn't bother me though . . . except for the calories. . .

But the FDA is certain aspartame is safe. I don't know why the FDA wouldn't be as worried about formaldehyde in our drinks as benzene. Here's the other point of view:

http://allergies.about.com/cs/aspartame/a/bluc_mgold.htm

"The formaldehyde exposure from aspartame is significant. Aspartame breaks down into methanol, amino acids and several other chemicals. The methanol is quickly absorbed and converted into formaldehyde. The methanol found in foods and alcoholic beverages is also absorbed, but there are "protective chemicals" in these traditionally-ingested foods and beverages that prevent the conversion of methanol to formaldehyde.

Formaldehyde is known to cause gradual damage to the nervous system, the immune system and has recently been shown to cause irreversible genetic damage at long-term, low-level exposure.

The most recent, independent research shows that the situation related to aspartame may be more serious than simply regular formaldehyde exposure. This research on animals demonstrates that the formaldehyde accumulates as adducts (bound to protein molecules) in the organs (brian, liver, kidneys) and tissues of the animals when aspartame is ingested at relatively low doses"

"These are indeed extremely high levels for adducts of formaldehyde, a substance responsible for chronic deleterious effects that has also been considered carcinogenic. .... "It is concluded that aspartame consumption may constitute a hazard because of its contribution to the formation of formaldehyde adducts."