Colas have No Class

Cola drinks, once a symbol of American upmarket style, is now to be found perched mainly on the shelves of road-side ‘paan walas’ and local grocers. True, there still are Americans who drink more colas than water, and consume an average of 2 bottles per day of the tangy fizzy dark drink, but it has clearly fallen in stature as offering it to visitors or serving it at parties is no longer elegant.

Premiere schools in Lucknow such as La Martiniere College for girls have shunned colas from their canteen for the last 4 years. The story started with extensive campaigns by HOPE Initiative (Health Oriented Programs and Education) in 2005 creating awareness among the bright students about the long term harms of cola drinks. A heated debate followed in which the rights of an individual student  was pitched against the hazards of allowing gullible youngsters to be enticed by aggressive marketing to gulp colas and fall sick. The intelligent and alert La Marts students dcided on their own, that colas be best removed from their canteen shelves. And a very supportive administration obliged. Several other schools soon followed.

Take one glass of water, add 7 spoons of sugar and a concoction of chemicals, colours, and pesticides and you have a soft drink. There are atleast 4 undesirable health risks that make soft drinks dangerous.

Unbalanced nutrition: A soft drink contains around 160 kilocalories, all of which come from its sugar content. It contains no other nutrients to balance. The content of protien, vitamins and fiber is zero; hence these are referred to as “empty calories”. Making up the daily carorie requirement of around 1600 kcals with these sugars causes imbalanced nutrition and makes the body vulnerable to diseases such as diabetes and fatty liver.

Fluctuations in blood sugar: Simple sugars, as in soft drinks are easily and rapidly absorbed leading to rapid fluctauations in blood sugar and insulin levels. Diabetic are especailly vulnerable to these fluctuations.

Dental caries. Children, or for that matter even adults, who consume soft drinks frequently are more susceptible to dental problems. Try putting a few drops of cola on the tiled floor, leave it for a few hours, and see the stain!

Weak bones: Phosphoric acid, one of the components of cola drinks that provides the tangy taste, leaches calcium from the bones and make them weak and fragile.

Although the calorie problems are offset with the “diet” forms of colas, the other ones still remain.

I drink colas only in way-side dhabas to quench my thirst where clean water is not available. Drinking colas at home or serving them at parties is neither healthy nor chic anymore.It is paradoxical that the very country from which cola drinks originated has recently been in the forefront of campaigning against them on health grounds.

 As published in HT City ( Hindustan Times) dated 5 september, 2010.