IS SODA GOOD FOR YOU? or ...

... EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SODA, BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK

LOUNGE NOTE: I'm once again going back into the vault for this piece I did for Bikini magazine. The now-defunct rag hired me to write a bunch of "health" stories in which I was never paid after it went to print. That's okay, we'll recycle it here. In any case, this time out it's an ode to soda. If there's EVER going to be an argument for the stuff, it's right here. A wacky assignment, indeed. In my younger freelance days, I was up for the challenge. Enjoy...
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The ancient Greeks and Romans may have been on to something.

Over 2,000 years ago, Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, suspected that the sparkling mineral waters preserved within the Earth's crust would be beneficial to overall "well being." Funny enough, they didn't drink the stuff but, instead, used the waters for bathing. Okay, so he was half on to something.

Flash forward a millennium to the mid 1800s when mineral waters finally made the transition from therapeutic bath to refreshing beverage when springs in New York state were discovered. At the time, many ridiculously believed the magic fizzing bubbles could cure everything from arthritis to indigestion. It was the bubbles.

It didn't take long for scientists to figure out the bubbles was just air being released as gas carbonium -- simple carbon dioxide. Replication soon followed. Ironically, though, scientists had little to do with the conception of modern soda. Believe it or not, it was American pharmacists who were the driving force behind the modern day soft drink.

Primarily operating during summer months, druggists believed they could improve upon the supposed "curative properties" in the mineral water, experimenting with a multitude of flavors. If you think about it, soda and drug stores were almost a perfect combination. Village pharmacies were generally the center of town especially in the mid-1800s so after a long day at work, pharmacies were the place to unwind and rekindle spirits. Shockingly, the revitalization came from the addition of small amounts of alcohol and narcotics such as opium. Other ingredients as progressive as ginseng, and alarming as uranium were touted in beverages as "The wonder drink of the day."

Coca-Cola, for instance, even contained a minute amount cocaine until 1906. Vice squads would have loved these guys. Hard to imagine your modern day druggist at Rite Aid down the street as a "dope" peddler but that's exactly the nickname people used back then when they ordered Coca-Cola.

Even take the term "Coca-Cola." The Cola leaf was highly publicized as having many benefits in medical journals. As was the Kola nut. Druggists, also savvy marketers, picked up on the buzz surrounding them and formulated modern cola syrups. As they realized that soda was becoming a big business, pharmacists abandoned their trade to become full-time bottlers.

So here we are in 2007 and soda consumption is pretty much the very fabric of our leisure activity and a $54 billion-a-year biz. But ask any dentist and he'll tell you the stuff is rotten. Anything that can take the paint off a car can't possibly be good for you, right? Depends on who you ask.

"The only nutrients in Coke or Pepsi are sugar (energy) and caffeine. They can energize you but that's about it," says New Jersey nutritionist and dietitian Elizabeth Scott-Hughes.

As a matter of fact, caffeine is a substance that occurs naturally in more than 60 plants including coffee beans, tea leaves, kola nuts and coca beans. In some cases, small amounts of caffeine are added to sodas as part of the flavor profile and, according to the National Soft Drink Association, "The amount in most soft drinks is only a fraction of that found in an equal amount of coffee or tea."

The NSDA is also quick to point out that many soft drinks contain Potassium, an essential nutrient found in many natural and man made ingredients. Like sodium, potassium exists naturally in drinking water and therefore, practically all sodas.

When it comes right down to it, would it kill you to have an extra Pepsi with a Meat Lover's from Pizza Hut. "Soda is neither good nor bad. It's how you use them in your diet," says Scott-Hughes. "They aren't harmful unless drinking them means that you are replacing other foods, such as cutting back on milk or eating and drinking fruit and juices."

Fair enough. We never got a practical answer like that from our dentists, who swore he'd hunt us down like a rabid beast if he ever found out we even tasted soda. The verdict? Soda won't kill you. It may give you a couple root canals, but to alleviate that just make sure to brush a little more and of course, always eat your veggies.
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BUT HOW SODA IS MADE?

Waterworld
All soda production starts with a pure source of H20. Regular sodas Pepsi contain 90 percent aqua while diet soft drinks contain 99 percent. A super-purified filtration system allows bottlers of your favorite soda to produce the same tasting soft drink on two different coasts.

It's all in the flava
From secret "formulas" (ala, Coke) and recipes, flavorings are now added. By combining sweeteners, herbs and berries, a syrup base is created which is then added to the pure water. Natural flavors in soft drinks also come from spices, extracts and oils. Fruit-flavored sodas such as Orange soda (Sunkist) or lemon lime (Sprite, Slice, 7Up) often contain natural fruit extracts. Other flavors such as root beer and ginger ale contain flavorings from many herbs and spices.

Bubble boys
At this point we basically have sugary-flavored water. Decent, but boring. Carbon dioxide, an odorless, colorless natural gas, is the essential characterizing ingredient. In the early days of soft drink manufacturing, carbon dioxide was made from sodium salts -- hence, the term "soda."

Fill 'er up
The beverages are now transferred under pressure to filling machines as the soda is put into squeaky clean containers, immediately sealed for freshness.

Warming up
Every container is then sprayed with warm water to bring them to room temperature (after being chilled) before shipping.

Just name it
Many soda containers have their labels pre-printed before they arrive at the soft drink plant. If not, they are applied now. Then they are placed in cartons, bundled into large pallets and whisked away to the local supermarket.
Okay, so soda "could" be bad for us if we don't eat properly. To be safe, take a vitamin and brush your teeth before bed.

SODA FACTS
There are 500 soft drink bottlers in the U.S. that market roughly 450 different brands.

Most erotic soft drink names -- Squirt, Cherries N' Cream, Cock n Bull Ginger Beer, Champ Cherry

Gayest name -- Frolic, Fruit Buddies, San Francisco Seltzer

Americans each consume 56 gallons of soda annually. (Collectively, 14 billion gallons).

Twelve billion gallons of water is used in the mass production of soda each year.

Roughly 62 million soft drinks are packaged in cans versus 3.6 billion in glass bottles. Around 48 billion of them were recycled.

Innovations in packaging have lightened soft drink containers 30 percent since 1972.

Soda machine crimes cost the soft drink industry $100 million annually.

SODA TIMELINE
1874 The first ice cream soda is served.

1876 Root Beer is produced in mass quantities

1881 The first cola flavored soft drink is produced.

1886 John S. Pemberton prepares the first batch of Coca Cola.It was first sold at Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta, GA. Sales averaged only nine drinks per day.

1893 "Coca Cola" is registered officially in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

1896 Caleb Bradham, a respected North Carolina pharmacist creates Pepsi Cola.

1910 Soft drink plants soar to just under 5,000

1923 The introduction of the "six pack" carton.

1948 Introduced by the Tip Corporation, Mountain Dew is born (later acquired by Pepsi).

1955 Coke markets Fanta, it's first soft drink other than Coca-Cola.

1963 TAB, Coke's first low-calorie beverage, is born

1965 Frito-Lay and Pepsi-Cola merge to create media giant PepsiCo.

1970 Plastic bottles are first used for packaging and Pepsi introduces the world's first two-litre bottle

1976 Pepsi becomes the single-largest selling soft drink brand in U.S. supermarkets when "The Pepsi Challenge" is a national phenomenon.

1982 Diet Coke (called Coca-Cola Light in some countries) is introduced.

1983 Caffeine free versions of Coke and Diet Coke are released.

1984 Diet Pepsi is reformulated with 100% NutraSweet

Pepsi makes advertising history as Michael Jackson and his brothers make two ground-breaking commercials. During the filming, Jacko's hair catches fire and causes even more furor.

1985 A Pepsi "space can"is successfully tested aboard the space shuttle

Cherry Coke is born.