Over the past 20 years, we have become fat. There is no other way to say this. Obesity is an epidemic in America For adults and increasingly, for children. Over the same period, intake of calories from soft drinks has more than doubled for Americans (see Obesity and Soft Drinks. We now get more of our calories from soft drinks than from fruit, vegetables, grains, meats, or any other food group. Are we meant to feed ourselves with liquids? How did this happen? A University of North Carolina study showed that caloric intake from soft drinks in the United States increased 135 percent between about 1977 and 2001. Over the same time period, calories from milk dropped 38 percent. Red Bull's sales over the same period increased by an even larger percentage. And as Coke expands across the world, the world is steadily following in our footsteps towards obesity. In order to curtail this problem, big pharma has come up with all kinds of prescription drugs to deal with the symptoms of obesity. The most readily available are the artificial sweeteners concocted by the likes of Monsanto and ADM. These artificial sweeteners (sucralose, sucrose). These significantly reduced the caloric value of soft drinks. The only problem with these sweeteners is that many people think they're dangerous. There are many studies that link these products to different forms of cancer (see Dangers of Aspartame. While these studies are far from conclusive, many consumers are nonetheless searching for more natural substitutes. One of these options is Stevia. This all-natural sweetener has been around for centuries in many parts of the world; from Morroco, to Japan, to Argentina. Stevia is also very popular as an alternative to sugar for diabetics. Recent research points to Stevia as a potentially very beneficial deterrent to Type II diabetes. Besides its medicinal properties, Stevia is a simply a good natural alternative to sugar to reduce our caloric intake. Unfortunately, the FDA has decided that Stevia is bad for you. Why? Well, for one, its hard to patent or trademark. God has the original recipe and unlike large corporations, he will share this great product for FREE. Not a cool word for Coke, Pepsi or Cadbury Schweppes (see The Stevia Conspiracy. Because of this, it is extremely complicated and ironically, expensive to produce good, naturally sweetened soft drinks or energy drinks. But they are worth trying out if you are looking for something healthier.Very few products are available in the US currently that use Stevia. I've found one soft drink and one energy drink. Soft Drinks: Virgils: Hard to locate in stores. Good range of products (Cream Soda is my favorite). Tastes good and also uses other natural ingredients. Virgils Sodas. Also available in health food stores. All natural Energy Drink: GURU Energy Drink, white can. The only naturally sweetened energy drink I've seen on the market. It gets its calories from Stevia and organic cance juice. I must admit I am biased because I've been drinking one of these every day for the past few years (instead of coffee). Available online at Organic Energy Drink. Also available at Whole Foods.
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