Ya, Franz here again! Today I am going to try and scare you a little! I am opinionated when it comes to optimal nutrition! I hate to see people putting food in their mouth that does not help their body heal itself, but possibly creates disease. There is lots of debate on this topic! But one thing I know is that people love soda! They guzzle it by the “2 liter bottle!” But, there is enough doubt out there in the medical community that makes Franz want to talk to you about whether drinking soda causes cancer, and whether diet soda causes pancreatic cancer.

I have a friend who suffered two strokes within one year. Now most people would be in a lot worse shape then she is now, but she is a fighter. She is doing okay but has a long road of therapy before she can get back to an almost normal life. Now she drank a lot of diet soda – two liters per day! Other than that she ate a fairly normal American diet, not the healthiest, but nothing egregious! The thing that stands out is the soda consumption.

Okay, off to Google I went. I found that drinking diet soda increases the amount of phenylalanine in the body. This can create problems for those that can not handle that much in their system because they cannot metabolize the amino acid. This condition called phenylketonuria can damage the brain and cause mental retardation. Yikes! Doesn’t talking to someone who has had a stroke sound like they are mentally retarded? Could it be that this amino acid in diet soda, in large quantities, can affect the brain for those who can’t handle the excess?

This recent discovery, and the talk about pancreatic cancer, Steve Jobs, and links to soda consumption, have prompted this article as a wake up call to those you know who may consume large amounts of the stuff – more than twelve ounces a day. Searching in google for “soda causes cancer” will yield over 1.5 million hits and “soda causes pancreatic cancer,” which Steve Jobs died of, yields over 200,000 hits. People are talking about it! There is no conclusive evidence that Steve Jobs drank lots of soda, but there is an element of doubt.

Drinking as few as two sodas a week appears to nearly double your risk of getting pancreatic cancer. Stay with me here! A study done at the Georgetown University Medical Center’s Cancer Control Program concluded that those consuming two or more soft drinks a week appear to have an 87% increased risk, almost twice the risk, of getting pancreatic cancer compared to individuals who don’t drink soda. Of course the beverage industry took offense to the study and denies the findings. Are they right? Who knows! In my mind if there is any doubt about it, why even go there. Is soda that big a deal? What about water? Read my article on the benefits of water! Look, I am not trying to be an alarmist! I just want vibrant health for everyone! We should all be able to live our lives enjoying what it has to offer and be able to do all the things we want, not suffering from disease because of self-inflicted actions. It’s all about education and Franz wants you to know these things if you don’t already have a vague idea that drinking soda may cause cancer.

There is a lot more to talk about on this topic than I can cover here, but if you are a big soda drinker and don’t believe what Franz is telling you, please Google it for yourself. The internet is loaded with facts on both sides of the fence, but the evidence is mounting, and why take the chance.

I’ll give you Franz’s idea of soda, and it is delicious! I have a soda maker. I use my own safe drinking water and I make my own seltzer, or club soda as you may call it. You can buy club soda or seltzer at the grocery store. I mix in a little lemon and lime juice to taste, and for sweetener I use stevia. It is an organic natural sweetener that you can find at any natural grocer. Voila, your own healthy soda! If you don’t like lemon or lime juice you can use any natural juice you like. You can make your own soda at home. Just be sure to choose natural ingredients!

Okay, I hope I have not offended any one! My intentions for writing these articles on health and nutrition are to share some of the things I have learned, and continue to learn, so that we all can be healthier! I want you all to know how to eat healthfully, to stop yoyo dieting, to learn how to eat so that you will never have to diet again, and through it all eat foods you will enjoy. I don’t want you to ever hear the words “you have cancer!” If you will start to make a few changes amazing things will happen! So, make a New Year’s Resolution and give up the soda! I gave you a substitute, try it! As always, I wish you vibrant health, many blessings, and a long life!

Ya, zis is Franz signing off!