The Secrets in Everyday Beverages

The beverage industry is happy today. Much happier than 25 or 30 years ago. We are drinking more high calorie drinks than ever before and you can see it, not only in the size of our clothes, but also in our health records.

More of the liquids isn’t all we’re drinking. There’s much more to the story than meets the naked eye. Let’s have a look at some of these well-hidden secrets.

For instance, let’s look at Baskin-Robins milkshakes. Ok, this isn’t just the little milkshake mom used to make with ice cream and a little milk. These little numbers are chock full of all kinds of high calorie, high fat so called “goodies”. Some have as many as two or three dozen ingredients! In their Chocolate Chip Cookie shake, sugar rears it’s ugly head at least seven times, not to mention all those artificial colorings and flavors… No wonder thy keep these things secret! Why do we need artificial flavors in a milkshake, isn’t it great like it is? Makes no sense. One of those shakes can rake up nearly 1,700 calories! Just give me a scoop of vanilla dipped in chocolate and I’m a happy camper. Who needs all the junk anyway?

Now let’s look at something we drink every day: milk. Sounds healthy, looks healthy. No hidden secrets there, right? Let’s take a look at some of the labels. Some will say that the milk comes from cows that have not been treated with a hormone called rbST. This hormone is given to cows to increase their milk production. (Of course, more milk equals more money). Here’s the skinny: rbST causes the resulting milk to have higher than normal amounts of a growth factor called IGF-1. This growth factor is known to increase the risk of several different cancers. Make sure the label on your milk clearly states “hormone-free”.

O.K. Now, let’s look at a soft drink. (You knew this was coming, didn’t you?) The fact that they are all bad for us is no secret at all. All of the regular sodas are nothing more than glorified sugar water with enough sugar to sweeten at least 60 bowls of cereal in a single 12 oz. can. 7-UP on the other hand, claims it is “all natural”. Wanna bet? Look at this, true the high-fructose syrup is made out of corn, but that’s not the whole story, after crushing the corn and retrieving the starch, it is then blended with dextrose and various enzymes in order to convert it into a sugary tasting concoction. Is this all natural? I’m not going to bet on it.