You can’t blame a child for thinking that sweet fizzy or soda drinks taste better than water. Adults may think differently, but most children will reach for the sweet option every time. With so many soft drinks, energy drinks and sports drinks being marketed to children and adults alike it’s not surprising that many people are picking up one of these drinks without realising the possible effect on their health; not just now but over the long term. The attitude that drinking one extra energy drink now won’t make any real difference appears sensible until you realise that those who make the same excuse every single day of the week and will soon be overloaded with an excess of supplements, manufactured E-numbers and unnatural colourings. A habit can turn into an addiction Children soon forget how many cans of sugar filled soda they have consumed during the course of the day, and have no idea over a full week. And while you would think that fruit drinks would be healthy, many of these also contain high levels of sugar. That means that parents have to regulate consumption of these too. It’s time to show kids what’s in the bottle The key to moving your children’s drinking habits from soda to water is to physically show them what’s in the bottle. If you can have your child agree that five spoonfuls of sugar in every soda drink would be unhealthy, when you physically pour out 7 to 9 spoonfuls of sugar into one pile in front of them, they will quickly see how much sugar they are taking into their system every time they guzzle down a bottle of sugar packed soda. By using every child’s favourite educational toy, the Internet, you can quickly show them how the chemicals that they are consuming can cause a range of diseases. When they physically see the effects and problems of type II diabetes, tooth decay, skin problems, cancer and premature ageing, they might be throw out the soda drinks and reach for the water. Studies have shown that when children drink at least one soda drink a day, they have a 30% greater chance of gaining excess stomach weight. Many sugary carbonated drinks will rapidly reduce calcium levels which makes people particularly susceptible to osteoporosis. Fruit drinks can be healthy for most people if they are diluted to reduce the high sugar intake. If you gradually change the mix from mostly soft drink to mostly water, your children’s taste buds will gradually get used to the new flavour. Consider plumbed in water coolers to provide healthy water drinks at home or in the office.
