
Too Much Soda May Take Some Fizz Out of the BonesBy Judy McBride July
9, 1998Preliminary findings suggest that drinking lots of non-diet sodas coupled
with eating few leafy greens may compromise bone building and maintenance,
according to an Agricultural Research
Service study. It's a dietary combination quite common among U.S. youths. Drinking 57 ounces--close to 5 cans--of sugary sodas each day for weeks at a
stretch upset the calcium and phosphorus balances of 11 young men in the study. And the effect on these bone minerals was greatest while the experimental diets
were low in magnesium, according to
Forrest Nielsen and
David Milne at the Grand
Forks, N.D., Human Nutrition Research
Center. Non-diet sodas are a major source of fructose in the U.S. diet. Leafy
greens, nuts and whole grains are rich in magnesium. But 38 percent of U.S.
males over age 19--and 39 percent of male teens--get less than 75 percent of the
recommended magnesium intake through foods, according to recent USDA consumption
data. Statistics for females are worse: 46 percent over age 19 and 60 percent
of teens. Males drink more regular soft drinks, however, averaging close to one
12-ounce can daily. Teenage males average about 20 ounces a day. And some
regularly consume as much as the study volunteers. All that soda put the volunteers "in the red" for phosphorus. They excreted more than they absorbed--both when they got adequate magnesium and
when they got half the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA). Besides being a
major bone mineral, phosphorus is central to cells' energy production system and
is integral to DNA and its sister RNA. The volunteers' calcium balance remained positive but dropped, especially
during the low-magnesium period. In addition, an enzyme that indicates bone
formation and breakdown increased in the men's blood when they consumed excess
fructose. Scientific contacts: Forrest H. Nielsen or David Milne, Grand Forks
Human Nutrition Research Center, P.O. Box 9034, University Station, Grand Forks,
N. Dak. 58202-9034, phone (701) 795-8353, fax (701) 795-8395;
[email protected],
[email protected]. Story contacts Forrest H Nielsen U.S. Department of Agriculture | |