A nearly decade-long decline in U.S. carbonated soft drink
sales accelerated last year as more Americans turned their backs on
artificially sweetened diet sodas, according to data published Monday.
The drop-off is a mounting problem for industry giants Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo. Inc., and Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc., which have long depended on zero-calorie sodas to make up
the difference as Americans became increasingly concerned about the health
effects of sugared drinks.
A growing number of Americans are worried that aspartame
and other artificial sweeteners are unhealthy, despite decades of studies by
the Food and Drug Administration and other government agencies having found
them to be safe. There is also a debate over how diet drinks might affect
metabolism.
I find this news most encouraging, as diet sodas are merely artificially sweetened, artificially
flavored, poor substitutes for plain, simple water. It is time that Americans take responsibility for their
physical wellbeing by carefully selecting the food and beverages that they
consume.
It is important for the public to be aware of more of the fallacies that the food industry gives consumers in order to get sales. In this case along with other ploys such as various, supposedly organic foods, and "low calorie," or "low fat," products." people are drawn to these phrases. However, we need to remember that in a majority of these cases there is usually a catch as far as the nutritional value. Also, less fat does not equal healthier.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised that they're in decline. There are many rumors (as well as truths) about how unhealthy diet sodas are. It's always better to just drink water.
ReplyDelete