We’re designed to drink water, nothing else. In the past 10,000 years, raw milk became recognized as a nutritious food staple, as did raw, unprocessed fruit juices. Although I am not a proponent of processed milk and fruit juice, most mothers see milk and fruit juices as a staple food source. Americans today drink twice as much soda as milk and nearly six times more soda then fruit juice. This clearly demonstrates the power of advertising and certainly serves as a banner for the addictive powers of both sugar and caffeine, particularly when combined.

Adverse health effects from displacing water with soda pop and processed juice include:

• Tooth decay
• Sugar addiction
• Insulin resistance, Syndrome X and diabetes
• Increased chance of osteoporosis
• Increased severity of kidney stones
• Nervousness
• Attention deficit disorder

Where to Get Good Water

Supermarkets are loaded with water choices, but don’t be fooled into thinking that because it’s in a bottle it’s good for you. Many companies have been caught bottling tap water.

If you want your kids to drink more water while saving some money start buying water in 3 or 5 gallon jugs.

My advice is to stop buying bottled water and go green!

I can touch on milk here but it’s a whole article by itself. If you or your child is lactose intolerant purchase organic milk or other alternatives like rice, sheep or goats milk.

We could be doing a better job of teaching kids nutrition because the average American drinks more than 60 gallons of soft drinks each year, but before you grab that next can of soda, consider this: one can of soda has about 10 teaspoons of sugar, 150 calories, 30 to 55 mg of caffeine, and is loaded with artificial food colors and sulphites. Not to mention the fact that it’s also your largest source of dangerous high-fructose modified corn syrup.

If you need to see evidence of this watch the movie “Super Size Me,” it will be a wake up call.