I drink about a gallon of Diet Pepsi a day. Calories, 0. How do they justify eliminating that?
Posted on 11/20/2004 12:31:37 PM PST by Still Thinking
Yesterday was declared "National No Soda Day" by an activist organization called the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) -- presently unaffiliated with the American Medical Association. The group argued that people should cut soda "out of their diets," and urged medical students around the nation to drop their cans and preach to the rest of us. The only problem for AMSA: its anti-soda statements, and the research that supposedly backs them up, are nothing more than fizz.
In a "frequently asked questions" section of AMSA's website, the group notes that soda is just the first step in its anti-food-choice crusade. Responding to the question "Why are you picking on soda?" AMSA states:
Obesity is caused by many factors. We choose one. We have to start somewhere. There are good data on the relation between soda and adverse health affects. There are more years for more "No (fill in your favorite food)" Days.
The "good" evidence AMSA relies on comes from dubious research we've debunked before, originating with Steven Gortmaker, David Ludwig and the other "Fizzy Five" anti-soda researchers, as well as one ridiculous study that followed only 21 subjects. The group also recycles the term "liquid candy," coined by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), which deftly employed statistical malpractice to fuel its anti-soda report of the same name.
Donning a white coat and stethoscope and offering medical advice way above his pay grade, AMSA spokesman Lenny Lesser complained on the Fox News Channel yesterday about the supposedly "high caloric density of a liquid sugar beverage." That statement falls flat. As Good Housekeeping explains, "To calculate the energy density of a food, divide the calories per serving by its weight in grams. A low ED is under 1.5, while a high one is over 4.0." For the record, a regular cola has an energy density of only 1.8 -- the same as 1% milk or orange juice -- while yogurt has an energy density of 4.2. But you don't find anti-obesity activists clamoring for a ban on yogurt. Yet Lenny the Activist Med Student didn't hesitate to use this false claim to scare viewers.
AMSA's attack on soda follows previous forays into areas such as "environmental justice" and "Green hospitals." The organization, which wields a substantial $3 million annual budget, was started in 1950 under the auspices of the American Medical Association. Just ten years later, the group spun off and "refocused its energies" into activism. Some final causes taken on by AMSA's oh-so-serious members, who resemble a fraternity more than a medical group: "Med students love to party, bike for democracy, and meet up with other young folks organizing for change!"
Q: What are the steps to be taken care of in the week preceding the drive?
A: Please purchase sugar-rich foods (e.g. cookies, candies, soda) for day-of-the-drive donors. Also remind the volunteers/donors that the drive is coming up. Please ask everyone to report to the drive site, and include directions if necessary. Please also contact the minority recruitment group with a rough estimate--within 10 to 20 percent--of the expected turnout, so they know how many supplies to bring. It would also be helpful if you e-mail directions to the drive site.
A case of "Do as I say, not as I do?"
No, I think it's more about buying a lot so companies see their economic power when they buy none. A wacky idea, but what do you expect from wackos?
I made only one change in my diet--I cut out soda--and lost ten pounds without doing anything else differently. To say eliminating 150 calories with each drink is some kind of propaganda is silly--just look at the can, and calculate how many you drink in a day. Substitue water for the soda, and you're cutting calories. These anti-soda people are goofs but to say cutting sugar-rich soda out of one's diet has no effect is stupid.
I drink about a gallon of Diet Pepsi a day. Calories, 0. How do they justify eliminating that?
These people aren't forcing anyone to give up soda, so I don't see anything wrong with their boycott. Cutting down on drinks that are high in calories and low in nutrients is a good idea, especially for children.
http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/nutraswt.htm
I don't buy it. Period.
"The group also recycles the term "liquid candy," coined by the Center for Science in the Public Interest"
The will be coming soon to take away candy itself. no more evil snickers or milky way bars. Taking candy from babies. I knew a number of years ago, when the anti-smoking crusades took place that it was just a matter of time before the same jerks would come after Big Macs and Root Beer. That time is now.
Are the American Medical Student Association members Doctors? Or are the Med students?
They're medical students. AMSA is on the far left end of the spectrum. When I was in med school, I was warned (by a conservative) that AMSA membership would not look good on my CV.
Regardless of this group's politics, I can't see anything wrong with supporting a reduction in the consumption of soda. While soda may not have a higher density of calories than some other drinks, it provides no useful nutrition WITH those calories. And I know too many people that have lost weight (and fat, more specifically) simply by drinking water instead of soda.
I am open to hearing arguments against the various artificial sweeteners. So am I, but most arguments seem to be a list of scary symptoms and anecdotal evidence with little hard science to link to the substance in question. And there is usually a book or supplement for sale as a tie in, showing the profit center behind the theory.
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