Fizzy drinks subtract life

by John Marks

“Coke adds life”; that was the Coca-Cola slogan in 1976.  Well now it appears as if it might subtract from life, a new study suggests.  The study by UK and US researchers appears in the journal Hypertension.  It claims that drinking too many sugary beverages appears to raise the risk of high blood pressure.

This is no surprise as we have known for a long time that fizzy sugary drinks are in no small way responsible for a lot of the obesity in the western world.  Further studies have suggested that the corn syrup in fizzy drinks causes a problem because it is a complex carbohydrate and it poisons the pancreas which produces the insulin.  As insulin production is reduced so therefore is our ability to breakdown the fats leading to obesity and diabetes.

It goes on to say that “Findings suggest blood pressure goes up incrementally for every extra can of sugary drink consumed per day.”

Hypnotherapy can be very helpful in combating the desire for sugary drinks. Paul White, weight specialist at The Surrey Institute of Clinical Hypnotherapy said “All too often when we examine the diet of our clients we find large quantities of fizzy soft drinks.  The damage is not just being overweight and all that entails, but also hypertension, diabetes and heart problems.  Sometimes the only behaviour we have to change with clients is turning down the desire for these fizzy drinks and over a period of time the weight falls off easily.”

Paul continued “The problem is because these drinks contain high levels of carbohydrates it almost becomes an addiction, and sometimes that addiction can be problematical.  I recently worked with a young girl who was consuming 4 litres of coke a day.  This issue was quite problematical to resolve.  However, when we achieved the behaviour change the result was dramatic, not only in her weight but also her mood.  Her mother said that she just became a nicer person to live with.”

Although treatments like hypnotherapy can really help with these issues, there is a lot the average person can do to help themselves.  Simply by cutting right back, or even abstaining completely, you can really help your health as this study shows. However, if we all did this there would be no money in the coffers to fight the next US presidential elections and then where would we be!