Soda- Yes, I'm going to go there.

Soda; Yes, I’m going to go there.

Soda holds a special place in the hearts of quite a few O'Donnells, but it may be leading to unhealthy weights and possible other health problems in the future. I have attached a blurb from a book called, Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnounin. It’s a no-nonsense guide to eating, written in a “girlfriend to girlfriend” manner. I have almost quoted the section on soda, except that I have removed some of the swear words for Midgie’s sake. It includes many, but not all of the reasons, that you and your kids should not drink soda. There are many more reasons not to drink soda—it is BAD stuff.
In addition, the link below the blurb is a video of a TED winner, Jamie Oliver, who goes around the country teaching people about the importance of teaching kids about food. Obesity and related health problems have become epidemic (literally), because people are not educated about food. In order for children to avoid diet induced health problems (which many health problems are), they need to be educated about healthy eating. Watch the link—it’s helpful for adults, too.

Soda, p.13, Skinny Bitch
Soda is liquid Satan. It is the devil. It is garbage. There is nothing in soda that should be put into your body. For starter’s, soda’s high levels of phosphorus can increase calcium loss from the body, as can sodium and caffeine. You know what that means- bone loss, which may lead to osteoporosis. And the last time we checked, sugar, found in soda by the boatload, does not make you skinny! Now don’t go patting yourself on the back if you drink diet soda. That stuff is even worse. Aspartame (found in Diet Pepsi and Diet Coke) has been blamed for a slew of scary maladies, like arthritis, headaches, birth defects, fibromyalgia, Alzheimer’s, lupus, MS, and diabetes. When methyl alcohol, a component of aspartame, enters your body, it turns into formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is toxic and cancer causing. Laboratory scientists use formaldehyde as a disinfectant or preservative. They don’t drink it. Perhaps you’re preserving your fat cells with diet soda? The FDA has received more complaints about aspartame than any other ingredient to date. Want more bad news? When aspartame pairs with carbs, it causes your brain to slow down the production of serotonin. A healthy level of serotonin is needed to be happy and well balanced. So drinking diet soda can make you fat, sick and unhappy. Drinking soda may also cause you to not drink the necessary 64 ounces of water a day, which flushes out all the toxins and helps with elimination.

http://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver.html

Winner: Go Midgie, Go Midgie!
1. Midge 97%
2. Mike 97.6%
3. Dan 97.85%
4. Aileen 98.23%
5. Annette 98.4%
6. Mary 99.22%
7. Megan 100%
8. Bill 102%

John ??????