Kristina Perry

UWRT-1102
4/10/2015
A Cup of Chemicals and Calories

For years my family has been drinking soda with majority of our meals. Our mudroom
had cases of soda stacked on top of each other, which at first I thought was alright, but then I
started to see changes in my family. My dad had started putting on weight and his blood pressure
went up, I gained weight, and my sister also gained weight. I thought I lived a relatively healthy
life apart from my soda consumption. At first I was a sceptic about soda, I figured it was just a
drink so it couldnt hurt you that badly. I decided to start living a healthier life style, first by
going vegetarian, then by going paleo. After quitting soda, and fast foods I not only saw an
improvement in my physical wellbeing, but also my mental health. It wasnt until I looked into
soda that I found out how bad it actually is for your health.
The first thought that comes to mind when looking into the health risks is typically how
much sugar is inside of it, but the most concerning thought about soda to me was about the
chemicals rumored to be inside of the bottles and cans. According to Christina Sarich, soda
contains:
E952- a sugar substitute that is two hundred times sweeter than sugar, and leads
to diabetes.
E950- Acesulfame Potassium, which disrupts the heart and nervous system.
E951- Aspratame, a GMO that causes headaches, fatigue, dizziness, nausea,
palpitation, weight gain, irritability, anxiety, and memory loss.
E338- Orthophosphoric Acid, which leads to skin and eye irritation, and
interferes with your bodys absorption of calcium (that can cause osteoporosis).
E211- Sodium Benzate, this chemical can harm DNA.
(Sarich)
There were many other chemicals listed, but these ones were the ones that popped out the most
as far as health was concerned. Some of these chemicals are even in the process of being banned
in other countries, for examples aspartame is becoming quite the public enemy for concerned
mothers in the US but also in the United Kingdom. There has been controversy over whether or
not to ban that chemical for years now. The chemicals listed have the possibility to harm the
body in pretty severe ways. There is no doubt that a little soda every now and then is alright, but
mass or habitual consumption seems to not be worth the risk.
Aside from the chemicals present in these carbonated beverages, there is also a staggering
amount of sugar. When looking at the little numbers in the nutrition information the amount of

sugar seems to not be so threatening. However when seeing a visual representation of how much
is actually inside of the can you see how bad it can be for you. Mountains of sugar are taken in
with each can. All of the calories inside of soda are from sugar. Which is why its possible for
diet sodas to be zero calories. 20 ounces of Mountain Dew has seventy seven grams of sugar,
which translates to 290 calories, or about twenty sugar cubes. (How Much) It is a well-known
fact that eating or drinking too much sugar leads to diabetes and high blood pressure. When
simply looking at a can, there is no label warning you about the risks in drinking too much, there
is only the nutrition information which can easily be ignored by any consumer.
Since the sugar seems to be a major enemy to the health conscious individual, there is
always the option of diet soda. However contrary to popular belief diet soda is not all its cracked
up to be either. Diet soda consumers have their fair share of medical misfortune as well. Diet
beverage drinkers have been proven more likely to have a stroke, heart attack, or to die from
cardiovascular disease than those who do not drink soda more than once a month. (Lee) Those
are some of the same symptoms that regular soda drinkers experienced. Also it has been proven
that diet soda causes a 36% greater risk of developing metabolic syndrome, a mix of high blood
pressure, high blood sugar, excess body far around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol levels.
As compared to people who avoid soda in general. (Lee) There is not really an answer as to
which drink is better for you, they are both pretty bad overall. They both still cause weight gain,
and they both have health risks. When I switched to diet options I actually experienced not only
more hunger, but worse cravings, along with terrible aches in my stomach. After doing a lot of
research and consulting with my teacher Mrs. Gottmann, we came to the conclusion that it was
the Aspratame that was causing me such pain, and cravings. So, in the end both regular and diet
sodas have their negative side effects.
The worst side effect of soda is the fact that it is addictive. At first the thought of a simple
beverage being addictive sounds Ludacris, however the neurological reasoning behind it makes it
all clear. Long ago when cavemen walked the earth salts and sugars were essential to living, but
were quite hard to come across. So over the years we developed a craving for these components
to keep us in good health. Now that we have such easy access to sugar and salt, we are
experiencing an overdose of sorts where it is now harming us. Instead of craving what we need
now, such as fiber, we still want to satisfy our primitive need for sugar and salt. (Maisto) When
we give ourselves sugar, it is seen by the brain as a reward and feels good. Sugar reacts in the
brain the same way the cocaine does. (How Sugar) Which is where we get the term sugar high
from. Cocaine is addictive to us in the same way that we are addicted to sugar. Humans even go
through withdrawals from sugar in the same way that they do cocaine. Of course the withdrawals
are not as severe, but moodiness and the want to consume it continues.
After finding all of this information on soda, I reported back to my family. My father was
shocked to find out that healthy food and exercise wasnt always enough. The soda was what was
keeping his health from improving. Having one or two glasses a day can really pack on the
pounds, and defiantly increase your risks of developing some sort of disease or experiencing the
side effects of soda. I had quit drinking soda a long time ago and it worked wonders on my body
and mind. I had spent years trying to get myself into good shape, and soda really was my last
stepping stone to reaching the weight I wanted. My dad was always a sceptic though, and

thought soda was the least of his problems. After I told him he really should stop, he has felt a lot
better and been more active. He still has some to drink every now and then, but not nearly as
much as before. Im proud to say that he has lost inches off of his waist, and has lowered his
cholesterol. Of course it took time and effort, but cutting soda out really helped him. After
looking at all of the articles I have found I am convinced that soda does a lot more harm than
good. I even tried to look up what was good about soda, and the only thing that came up was that
it tasted good.

1. How can I help you most in my response to your essay?

I want to know if its what youre looking for in an essay, and if the ordering makes
sense to readers.

2. What particular parts, passages or decisions are you unsure about?

Im not really sure Im citing the right way at the end of sentences, but thats really
all Im concerned about.

3. What are your questions for me as you develop your essay?

Do you think that it makes sense?

Does the information help you?
How did it make you feel?

Other Questions Required for Peer Review:

a. Where can the text benefit from further detail or explanation? Where does it need less?
To Do: Write more explanation/detail or less explanation/detail where these occur in
the paper. No additional words are needed.

b. What does this writer do particularly well that you would like to add to your own writing
repertoire?
To Do: Write this at the bottom of the piece of writing.

c. Where in the text do you, as the reader, get confused? Point these out to the writer with
suggestions for revision.
To Do: Mark the section in the text and write a question to the author.

d. Pick out a line in the text that you think is working particularly well and share this line with the
author so that s/he may continue to write at this level.
To Do: Highlight or underline the selection and note well done or nicely written or
some other positive feedback.

e. How well does the text match the structure of an Exploratory Essay as laid out in your text? (or
Argumentative if that is the case)
To Do: Note how closely the structure is followed and whether certain sections are
missing.

Maisto, Al. "Early Man." Psychology Lecture Spring 2015. The University of North Carolina at
Charlotte, Charlotte. Jan.-Feb. 2015. Lecture.