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A grim warning about soft drinks
12th October 2007
Remember a week ago I told you all about my newfound
love of Rooibos tea?
You know, the herbal remedy from South Africa that is anti
allergic, antimutagenic, antispasmodic, antibacterial, anti
aging and antiviral.
Yes, that's a LOT of 'antis'.
More antis than you'd get at a family wedding trying to
dance with the best man and gossiping about the uncles.
Har, har.
Anyway, I still recommend you get some from your local
health store, online shop or supermarket (heaven forbid).
It's well worth a try.
And if you don't know what I'm talking about, check out the
archives. Go to http://www.goodllifeletter.co.uk and type 'Rooibos'
into the search box on the top left.
Find your chosen health tips in secondsWhen you press 'GO' you'll see all the Good Life Letters that
mention Rooibos tea.
In fact, you can do this for any health topic at all. If I've
covered it, you should find the relevant information in
seconds. I've uploaded almost three year's worth of my
letters for your benefit.
This is your resource to help you find out more about the
foods and supplements that are available.
Remember, there's a lot more out there in that big old world
than the doctors and mainstream press tell you about.
Knowledge from the East, remedies from our own nearly
forgotten past, breakthroughs from cutting edge new
research laboratories.
This information is never handed to you on a plate.
In fact, lots of big pharmaceutical companies would rather
you never heard about it at all... otherwise you'd find
cheaper, more easily available remedies than those lining
the shelves at your chemist's.
But it's your right to hear about these alternatives.
This way you can make your own decisions... adjust your
diet to fight the causes of disease... ask medical
professionals the right questions... and feel more
empowered.
Okay, rant over.
What I was really trying to say today... before I distracted
myself... was that while I was groping around the internet for
information on tea and other titbits, I came across this really
fun, free book.
I thought you might like to download and read for yourself.
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Find your chosen health tips in
secondsIt's called 'The Little Book of Tea'. (Yes, cute.)
Written by the lovely Wendy Churchill, it reveals dozens of
ingenious uses for tea - beyond it being Britain's favourite
drink, of course.
For instance, did you know that a homemade tea face tonic
can be as effective for your skin as an expensive face
cream?
Ah, no, I thought not.
Or that you can use tea as a tonic for your plants... used
teabags for a great place to grow seedlings.... a pint of
brewed tea to shine your mirrors... or even tea as a weight
loss aid?
Yes? No?
Well, it's all there in the book. Plus plenty more revelations
about tea that will surprise you.
You can get it absolutely free as a welcome gift when you try
out at online information service (also free) called Life is a
Bag of Revels. This is great fun and full of brilliant little
insights.
Click here and it's yours:http://www.bagofrevels.co.uk/
While on the subject of the nation's favourite tipples...
Is the alarm over soft drinks worth worrying about?If you followed the health news over the summer, you'll know
that there's been a new health scare over soft drinks.
Now, I'm not one to jump at every alarmist cry from the
press. They're usually too busy screaming about how low
carb diets will KILL US ALL, instead of worrying about the
poisons people put in our processed foods.
But this does concern processed food... well, drink, actually.
There's new evidence that soft drinks (your coca colas and
orangeades for instance) can cause serious cell damage.
Research suggest that a common preservative found in
these drinks can 'switch' off vital parts of DNA.
This, researchers worry, could eventually lead to cirrhosis of
the liver and diseases like Parkinson's.
The kerfuffle is all about an ingredient called sodium
benzoate (E211). For many years, this preservative has
been used by the £74bn carbonated drinks industry.
It comes from benzoic acid, which is found naturally - in
small doses - in berries. Producers use massive quantities
of the stuff to prevent mould in soft drinks, pickles and
sauces.
And this is where the problem lies...
Benzoate attacks your cells!The expert behind the latest warnings regarding sodium
benzoate is Professor Peter Piper, a scientist from Sheffield
University.
Now, my first thought when I read his name was, 'I wonder
whether he picked a piece of pickled pepper to do his tests
on?'
The articles don't say, surprisingly.
Anyway, he went and tested the effect of sodium benzoate
on living yeast cells... and found that the benzoate was
damaging an important area of DNA in the 'power station' of
cells known as the mitochondria.
He told The Independent on Sunday:
These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage
to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally
inactivate it: they knock it out altogether.
At the moment, these preservatives in drinks are legal to use
and okayed by the government. |
But we've been here before....A few years back, it was discovered that, when mixed with
added vitamin C in soft drinks, sodium benzoate creates
benzene: a carcinogenic substance.
Mmmm... now who's for a delicious, refreshing, cancer-
causing drink?
After the last scare, The Food Standards Agency found high
levels of benzene in four brands, and they were promptly
swept from the shelves.
There's not reason why this couldn't happen this time round.
Whatever happens, here's my tuppenceworth....In my view, you shouldn't panic or run screaming from fizzy
pop. A little bit of what you fancy is fine.
Food fascists are always telling us to NEVER drink that and
ALWAYS eat this. They're annoying and boring, right?
The key is to know the facts and tweak your diet accordingly
so you can make your own decision.
Soft drinks are a great occasional treat, and I even indulge
myself occasionally. But if you're a daily drinker of these
things, consider cutting back dramatically.
Alternatives: buy freshly squeezed juice, not from
concentrate. Don't stick to boring old orange. Try new
flavours like blueberry, grape and apple. Experiment. Make
cocktails. See your non-alcoholic drinks as a culinary
adventure!
Explore. Educate your taste-buds. Have fun.
Get a juicer and buy weekly batches of fruit from the market.
You'll get amazing health benefits - these drinks fight
cancer, boost your immune system and improve your skin -
and hey, it's cheaper.
The upshot is, replace artificially made soft drinks with a
good juice whenever you can.
It's obvious advice, I know, but research indicates that there
could be more grim soft drink revelations to come.
Yours as ever,
Ray Collins
The Good Life Letter |
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