Quick Tips for Everyday Wellness: Additives in Sport Drinks get a second look

Quick Tips for Everyday Wellness: Additives in Sport Drinks get a second look: From increased tooth decay to neurological side effects that sport drink you’re reaching for might not be such a good idea. The hidden ing...

Additives in Sport Drinks get a second look

From increased tooth decay to neurological side effects that sport drink you’re reaching for might not be such a good idea. The hidden ingredients and the obvious ones are wreaking havoc on our bodies beyond what the human eye can see.

BVO
Brominated vegetable oil is used to keep fruit flavoring balanced in sports drinks. However, this not-so-dangerous sounding additive has also been blamed for causing unwanted damage to our bodies, even though it's FDA approved. PepsiCo has long used BVO in Pepsi products, like Mountain Dew, Powerade, Fresca and Sunkist Orange. Dr. Pepper Snapple’s Squirt and Sunkist Peach soda also contain BVO.

The buildup of BVO’s in our body can be passed along to babies through breast milk, have been linked to thyroid problems in puberty and neurological disorders, even though they're FDA approved.

The FDA passed a law in the 1930’s that allowed “generally safe” additives, which had already been previously approved, to be added in our products without being required to be on the product label. The greatest downside to a decision that keeps the public unaware of what they’re consuming is how it ultimately effects their health.

Between good lawyers and public notice, food and beverage companies can push many products through the loophole legal system without FDA approval. As long as you have an expert opinion on a product, new additives are added to our food each year without any FDA approval. Until the product comes under the scrutiny of public outcry or someone starts doing their homework to unmask the content, a product can go into consumption without anyone knowing anything different than it’s presumably safe.

Tooth Decay
The acidity level in a sports drink is causing an increase in tooth decay, according to a General Dentistry study (http://jada.ada.org/content/143/6/560.2.full) by Dr. Poonam Jain.

"Young adults consume these drinks assuming that they will improve their sports performance and energy levels and that they are 'better' for them than soda," says Poonam Jain, BDS, MS, MPH, lead author of the study. "Most of these patients are shocked to learn that these drinks are essentially bathing their teeth with acid." (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120501134319.htm)

According to the J.A.D. A (Journal of the American Dental Association), Dr. Pain’s research concluded the following:
“The study results showed that the mean fluoride level was significantly higher in sports drinks than in energy drinks, the authors wrote. Energy drinks had statistically higher pH levels and titratable acidity compared with sports drinks.

The investigators also found significantly higher enamel weight loss in samples exposed to energy drinks than in those exposed to sports drinks. However, exposure to sports drinks also resulted in considerable enamel weight loss after five days of simulated exposure, the authors wrote.” (http://jada.ada.org/content/143/6/560.2.full)

So what’s the conclusion to this discovery? Unless the FDA requires full access and inclusive product labeling, we’ll never know what we’re consuming.

Quick Tips for Wellness: The best defense is offense. Only consume what you know.

Pat Ferguson is an AASDN Nutrition Specialist, Author of “PrayFastEatLive – Wellness Guide” and founder of Live Life Well Now. You can follow Pat on Facebook (PrayFastEatLive & Live Life Well Now) and on twitter @wellnesstips4u
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