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Skeleton for Speech 4
Thesis: Not consuming soda makes good sense for us as an individual and as a
society.
I. Soda’s ingredients let us see, up close, why it’s unhealthy.
II. Soda’s harmful effects are many.
III. To avoid the issues of consumption some compelling solutions have been
proposed.
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Christine Ehrhard
Williams
SC 105H
21 April 2010
Title: Soda Consumption should be avoided
Purpose: To persuade the class not to consume soda.
Introduction:
IV. Want to lose 12 pounds per year?
V. Or how about avoiding something that can make you go blind, cause lifelong
paralysis or death?
VI. There is one simple thing we can do to avoid these tragic outcomes and—at the
same time--help America.
VII. What is this one simple thing, you may ask?
VIII. (Thesis) Not consuming soda. Not consuming soda makes good sense for us as
an individual and as a society.
IX. (Preview) After we examine its harmful ingredients and the specific ways it can hurt
your health, you’ll see why. Rather than leave you thirsty, we’ll then explore
healthier alternatives to soda. All the while, let’s consider the broader implications
of our actions in terms of our nation’s ongoing concerns with health care.
(Transition): To understand the real issue with soda we must first look at what is in
soda.
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Body
I. Soda’s ingredients let us see, up close, why it’s unhealthy.
A. The average soda contains similar ingredients. The basic ingredients
include carbonated water, caramel color, natural flavors, caffeine,
phosphoric acid and high-fructose corn syrup.
B. The first few ingredients are really harmless.
1.
Carbonated water is plain water infused with carbon dioxide,
which creates the bubbles.
2.
Caramel color is a natural additive that tints food products,
providing the familiar color consumers expect to see.
3.
Natural flavors are often of the citrus variety and added for
taste.
(Internal Transition) Yet the next three ingredients are not so harmless.
C. Caffeine is a diuretic and stimulant known to be addictive. The original
main ingredient wasn’t caffeine but cocaine, as author Karen Cole from
the American Chronicle notes. It was too much of a good thing and
eventually became illegal.
D. Even though caffeine is legal, it is highly addictive and it can cause almost
as many problems later in life as alcohol, according to Cole.
1.
One problem is bone health. According to the Surgeon
General, “some dietary components, such as caffeine may
negatively affect calcium balance in bones.”
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2.
Not having the right calcium balance can lead to the early
onset of osteoporosis, which causes bones to become weak and
brittle — so brittle that a fall or even mild stresses like bending over
or coughing can cause a fracture.
3.
Another long term effect of caffeine would be the effect it has
on your sleep. The Mayo Clinic describes its negative effect stating,
“Using caffeine to mask sleep deprivation can create an unwelcome
cycle. For example, you drink caffeinated beverages because you
have trouble staying awake during the day. But the caffeine keeps
you from falling asleep at night, shortening the length of time you
sleep, creating a terrible cycle.”
(Internal Transition) Yet, Caffeine isn’t the only problem.
E. The next unhealthy ingredient is phosphoric acid. It is a chemical that
adds a tangy or sour flavor by breaking down starches into sugar, and
sugar is one thing we should avoid
F.
The reason for avoiding sugar is reported in the USDA’s Dietary
Guidelines for Americans. Those who drink beverages with a lot of sugar
tend to drink more calories than those who don’t drink sugar saturated
drinks. This then leads to the connection between consuming sugar filled
drinks and weight gain.
(Internal Transition): Starches aren’t the only source of sugar.
G. Another ingredient in soda that is cause for concern is high fructose corn
syrup.
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1.
It's included because it is a cheap form of sweetener,
cheaper than anything else and—if you haven’t heard already—
also one of the single most horrific ingredients in the food supply.
2.
By adding high-fructose corn syrup to foods provides little or
no nutrition and but lots of calories.
3.
Nutritionist, Katherine Zeratsky from the Mayo Clinic helps
sound the alarm, cautioning that “Regularly including these
products [products with high fructose corn syrup] in your diet has
the potential to promote obesity — which, in turn, promotes
conditions such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and
coronary artery disease.” Yes, type 2 diabetes, high blood
pressure, and coronary artery disease, all not good!
(Transition): Zeratsky’s warning leads us to our second point—what happens to us after
we drink a soda. We’ve noted the harmful ingredients. Now let’s take a closer look at
the harm they can do.
II. Soda’s harmful effects are many.
A. The ingredients in both regular and diet sodas can wreak havoc on your
body. For one, as the Mayo Clinic notes, soda can eat away the inner
lining of your stomach, eventually causing severe digestive problems. The
heartburn you experience may be a preview of bigger, “badder” things to
come.
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B. Another side effect is that the average small bottle or can of soda contains
over 200 calories, none of which contains any real nutrients for your
health.
C. If you consume just one can of soda per day, you will gain 12 pounds in
only one year. One soda a day: 12 pounds in one year!
1.
If you’re thinking there might be a link between soda
consumption and obesity in our country, pat yourself on the back.
That’s exactly the case. And you can read all about it in Cole’s
article.
2.
(Internal transition) Experts have taken note.
3.
For example, Dr. Jason Block of Harvard University, writing
in the American Journal of Public Health states, “Regular soft drinks
make up about 7 percent of all calories consumed in the United
States and that they are a ’major driver‘ of obesity in the United
States, which has increased in recent years.”
D. America, we have a problem, a “big” problem. The LA Times reports that
33.3% of men and 35.3% of women are obese in the US.
E. This graph of the US helps us see the problem with obesity across our
nation.
F. Yes, soda turns into pounds, and it’s easy to understand how. In the
article “Soda Shock,” by the known author of numerous health novels,
Rachel Waugh, explains that that sugar is a pure carbohydrate, and carbs
give the body energy, but downing a soda of 250 calories isn't helpful.
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Unless you start doing jumping jacks the second you finish the soda, and
keep them up for an hour or so, those carbohydrates will turn to fat.
G. And if you don’t know what obesity can do to you, know this. Weight gain
itself is the prime risk factor for Type Two Diabetes, which can make you
go blind, suffer paralysis or even death. Again, I refer to Cole.
H. The Centers for Disease control likewise note these negative outcomes,
and they also note the negative impact on our wallet.
1.
We are paying dearly for others poor dietary habits.
According to the CDC, nationwide obesity-related disease
expenditures for Medicare and Medicaid was a whopping $78.5
billion.
2.
In the state of Missouri, alone, our Medicare and Medicaid
cost exceeded $454 million.
(Internal Transition): It’s easy to see how the costs are skyrocketing when we consider
soda and weight gain, but the health-related issues for which soda is responsible don’t
end at the weight scales.
I. As noted earlier, your bone health can suffer. The LA Times cites recent
medical studies that reveal that the ingredient, phosphoric acid, can suck
calcium out of your bones. Bones need calcium to stay strong and grow
properly. If not they will form pores which will make your bones brittle.
J. If you’ve ever had a toothache, you’ve glimpsed another harm soda can
produce. The acid and sugar in soda attacks the enamel of your teeth,
which can lead to cavities. "The more soda we drink, the longer it stays in
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our mouths, and the more destruction it will cause," warns Dr. Ron Rotem,
a dentist interviewed by the LA Times.
(Transition): The list of potential health problems goes on, but time prohibits us going
through them all. Given the many harms linked to soda consumption we must look at
some possible solutions to avoid it.
III. To avoid the issues of consumption some compelling solutions have been
proposed.
A. Rather than complete abstinence, the LA Times suggests that moderation
is the key. They advise, for example, that teens should drink soda no more
than three times a week. Instead, they say, “Encourage young people to
consume healthier drinks as well, especially water, which is free of
calories and sugar.”
B. A popular solution proposed by many government officials is to tax such
products.
C. Issues and Controversies notes that President Obama agrees. He
supports “the idea of adding a special tax on one of the most widely sold
food items in the country: soda.” He believes it's “an idea that we should
be exploring,” because, in his words, “There's no doubt that our kids drink
way too much soda. And every study that's been done about obesity
shows that there is as high a correlation between increased soda
consumption and obesity as just about anything else.”
D. Our president isn’t the only one thinking along these lines. The idea of
taxing soda is quite popular throughout the country. Issues and
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Controversies observes that “Soda is already taxed in nearly 40 states,”
and “many public-health experts--say that government officials on both the
state and the federal levels should think about levying an additional tax on
soda.”
E. Dr. Block from Harvard University even found that “raising the price of a
can of soda by 35 percent cut soft drink sales in a hospital cafeteria by 26
percent, offering some evidence that adding a tax to soda pop may prod
consumers into making better choices.”
(Transition): But, don’t leave it up to the government to do something. We need to take
personal responsibility for our own actions, plus help spread the word. Pilar Geraismo in
Experience Life Magazine hits the nail on the head, “Don’t we need to start focusing on
getting people to change their habits and take more personal responsibility for their
health?”
Conclusion
I. Will you help lead the way? It makes sense to do so because soda’s ingredients
are not something we should want to put in our bodies.
II. The effects of soda are also something we shouldn’t want to endure.
III. Therefore, I hope that by hearing these words you might really think before
opening the next soda can.
IV. And if you worried about what to do with your recent purchase of soda, don’t
panic. According to numerous household cleaning Web sites, soda can clean
your toilet, eliminate rust from a car bumper and remove grease from clothing.
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V. When you’re tempted to open a nice cold Coke-a-cola, think twice! Remember
that what resides inside is just like this picture, pounds of fat! And how many
pounds of fat will you put on in one year with just one can? That’s right, 12!
VI. Instead reach for some thirst quenching clean water.
VII. You’ll be taking better care of yourself, and you’ll be one less person to burden
our already over-burdened health care system and national debt. Just imagine if
everyone were as responsible. Just think of how much we could reduce suffering
as well as costs. And to get there involves but one simple decision—the decision
to avoid soda.
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Works Citied
"Caffeine: The Short and Long Term Effects." Over Caffeinated. Google, 2008. Web. 26
Aug 2010. <http://www.overcaffeinated.org/effects-of-caffeine-on-the-body.php>.
"Carbohydrates." Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 09 July 2008: n. pag. Web. 26
Aug 2010.
<http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/html/chapter7.htm>.
Cole, Karen. “Don’t Drink Your Calories-Soda Pop is Mankind’s Worst Ever Discovery.”
Lifestyle (August 2006). Web. 17 April 2010.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/51311/dont_drink_your_caloriessoda_p
op_is.html?cat=25
Gerasimo, Pilar. "The Way I Hear It." Experience Life May 2009: 12. Print.
Janoff, Susan. “The truth about soda: Is it bad for you?” iVillage Health. (July 2006).
Web. 17 April 2010. http://www.ivillage.com/truth-about-soda-it-badyou/108216?p=2
Roan, Shari. "Obesity doctors urged to back off soda tax." Los Angeles Times (October
2009). Web. 10 April 2010.
"Soda Taxes." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts
On File News Services, 18 Dec. 2009. Web. 10 Apr. 2010.
<http://www.2facts.com/article/i1400680>.
"U.S. obesity rates could fall if soda pop prices rise." People's Daily Online 21 Jun 2010:
n. pag. Web. 26 Aug 2010.
<http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90782/90880/7033250.html>.
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Waugh, Rachel. "Soda Shock." Scholastic Choices 24.3 (2008): 6-9. OmniFile Full Text
Mega. Web. 10 Apr. 2010.
Zeratsky, Katherine. "High-fructose corn syrup: What are the concerns?." Mayo Clinic
10 Mar 2010: n. pag. Web. 26 Aug 2010. <http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/highfructose-corn-syrup/AN01588>.
Zeratsky, Katherine. "Obesity: Doctors slow to address the problem." Mayo Clinic 02
Apr 2010: n. pag. Web. 26 Aug 2010.
<http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/obesity/MY01251>.