Sodas: The Number One Weight Gain Culprit
According to statistics, 1 out of 3 Americans is clinically obese. Without using complicated mathematical computations, one can easily deduce that about half of the US population is either obese or overweight. If this does not alarm you, then perhaps the fact that obesity has now become a worldwide epidemic will.
Obesity can be caused by a number of things including metabolism and genetics, which is true for about 10 percent of the population. The rest of the obesity cases, however, are caused by eating and overindulging in unhealthy food choices. This includes salty, fatty, high-calorie, and low-nutrient foods. However, no other food has been directly linked to obesity as much as the soda. As it turns out, sweetened beverages account for 10 percent of the calories in the American diet.
According to Harvard endocrinologist, Dr. David Ludwig, foods that contain high levels of sugar and starch promote overeating. Sugary drinks, such as the ubiquitous soda, are the leaders of this pack. This is because soft drinks, most especially the non-diet kind, contain high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which researches say can set off a chemical chain reaction that may ultimately lead to diabetes.
However, a lot of scientists say that the problem with soft drinks is not the type of sweeteners used but the number of calories they contain. For instance, a 32-ounce Coke is said to contain 400 calories, about a quarter of what an average woman needs for an entire day.
But the calorie-count is not the only thing that bothers nutritionists. As it appears, the human body responds differently to liquid calories. The levels of ghrelin, a hormone that gives the go signal for a person to eat, does not drop if you drink an extra-large high-calorie soda compared to if you eat a burger. This only means that sweetened beverages do not do anything except add calories to your body. They do not even make you full, so sodas are really nothing but junk food.
So what does this mean? Well, if you are serious about your weight loss goal, then drinking soda should be the first thing you should give up. However, you should know that quitting soda once and for all is not enough to ensure dramatic weight loss. Below are other things you can do to ultimately shed those unwanted pounds:
1. Go for the right diet. This means that instead of guzzling down ounces of soda, you should load up in foods that actually have nutritional value. This includes fruits and veggies, fiber-rich and protein-rich foods, and plenty of water.
2. Exercise. Quit counting calories and count the number of sit-ups you can do instead. Aside from helping you get into shape, an exercise routine has other health benefits, too, such as strengthening your bones and reducing your risks of developing high-blood pressure.
3. Take advantage of the available help. Losing weight does not have be a one-man mission. There is available help out there that comes in the form of natural weight loss supplements. These products help you lose weight by suppressing your appetite the natural way. Aside from natural weight loss supplements, there are also diet programs that can help you and guide you in your weight loss mission.
