I just spotted this short article (Mountain Dew would have dissolved mouse) while signing out of my email. Reading this reminds me of one of the many reasons myself and my family choose to eliminate food and beverage products like Mountain Dew from our diet.
Just the name of this drink demonstrates what an abomination it is in relation to its name. What exactly is in Mountain Dew? According to the producer Pepsi, it contains the following ingredients:
CARBONATED WATER, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CONCENTRATED ORANGE JUICE, CITRIC ACID, NATURAL FLAVORS, SODIUM BENZOATE (PRESERVES FRESHNESS), CAFFEINE, SODIUM CITRATE, ERYTHORBIC ACID (PRESERVES FRESHNESS), GUM ARABIC, CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA (TO PROTECT FLAVOR), BROMINATED VEGETABLE OIL, YELLOW 5
Source: PepsiCo
What could possibly dissolve a mouse? Let's examine some of the suspects:
Link
High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS):
Is used in a range of food products and medicines these days because it is a cheap sweetener. However, some of the dangers of HFCS include:
1. Significant Risk of Weight Gain & Obesity
2. Increased Risk of Developing Type-2 Diabetes
3. Hypertension and Elevated triglyceride and HDL “Bad” Cholesterol Levels. Together these can cause arterial plaque build-up and eventually lead to dangerous heart conditions including hypertension, heart disease, and even stroke.
4. Long-Term Liver Damage, and damage to your kidneys and gallbladder.
5. Mercury Exposure. Mercury exposure can result in irreversible brain and nervous system damage – especially in young, growing bodies.
CONCENTRATED ORANGE JUICE
Wow, it has orange juice in it. Well, it can't be too bad you say. But wait let's investigate this one a little. Fresh squeezed and concentrated fruit juices are naturally high in fructose which raises your blood sugar. A high blood sugar level forces your pancreas to secrete extra insulin to shuttle the glucose into your cells. Any that is not needed is stored as fat, which contributes to obesity. When you combine juice concentrate with HFCS, excess sugar is quickly absorbed into your bloodstream.
CITRIC ACID
Could this be the culprit? Exposure to citric acid on human skin can result in rashes and reddening of the skin. I am not sure how much citric acid is present in a can Mountain Dew, but excessive consumption of citric acid can result in the loss of enamel on the teeth and tooth decay, the stomach cannot absorb excessive amounts of citric acid and the kidneys may be unable to break it down.
SODIUM BENZOATE
Sodium Benzoate, sometimes listed as E211 is a food preservative used in salad dressings, jams, pickles and other condiments. It is also used in fireworks, but that's another story. The dark side to E211....
Danger to DNA
"Professor Peter W. Piper of the University of Sheffield claims that sodium benzoate by itself can damage and inactivate vital parts of DNA in a cell's mitochondria. Mitochondria consume oxygen to generate ATP, the body's energy currency. If they are damaged due to disease, the cell malfunctions and may enter apoptosis." Source: Wikipedia
Disclaimer:
This article is a stepping stone, a headline if you will. I suggest you do some research and don't take anything that I write as gospel. This is my small amount of research due to time constraints and your reading this suggests you have access to the internet. However, here are a few spots to start.
Further reading:
A sweet problem: Princeton researchers find that high-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain
