Fizzy Drinks and Processed Food Tied to Premature Aging

Each week new research rolls in about the unhealthy nature of America’s diet. Only Satan herself would take on America’s sugar industry, fast-food chains, and cattle farmers — positioning herself dead center against the DNA, fabric of our lives, icons of America.

No, we’re not talking down-home Jimmy Dean sausage and grits. Today’s Love to Eat talk is about the fizzy drinks and high levels of phosphates in our food.

If the results for dead mice hold in humans, fizzy drinks and processed foods may make you old before your time.

Phosphates are used in drinks to react with sodium bicarbonate and release carbon dioxide or fizz. They are used as a preservatives and flavour and appearance enhancers in processed meats, cheese and bread products.

The study published in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal shows the toxic effects in mice of high levels of phosphates not only caused the mice to die prematurely and succumb to a host of diseases, but also their skin and muscles withered. 

Premature aging of skin is particularly bad news, given America’s California-girl, you’re washed up at age 28 popular culture. The food and everage industry is already pushing back on these findings:

“Soda is the caffeine delivery vehicle of choice for millions of people worldwide, but comes with phosphorous as a passenger” said Gerald Weissmann, Editor-in-Chief of the FASEB Journal. “This research suggests that our phosphorous balance influences the ageing process, so don’t tip it (the balance).”

Richard Laming, of the British Soft Drinks Association, added: ‘Phosphoric acid is used in some soft drinks as a flavouring, but only three per cent of phosphorous in the overall diet comes from soft drinks.

‘People can continue to enjoy soft drinks in moderation as part of a balanced diet.’ via Daily Mail