Mormon,Mormonism: Other Beverages

Section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants doesn't mention soft drinks or energy drinks. In giving us guidelines about alcohol, tobacco, tea, coffee, grains, fruits, and vegetables, the Lord has given us a foundation for healthy living. The Lord expects us to use common sense and scientific knowledge about other things. I personally don't use soft drinks or energy drinks even though I'm an active runner and need all of the energy while I run that I can get. I don't drink energy and soft drinks because of concerns about my health, not because of religious reasons.

Now, let's see what scientists are learning about other beverages.
Postmenopausal women who consumed sugar-sweetened beverages were more likely to develop the most common type of endometrial cancer compared with women who did not drink sugar-sweetened beverages, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Americans buy more soft drinks per capita than people in any other country. These drinks are consumed by individuals of all ages, including very young children. Although soft drink consumption is associated with aggression, depression, and suicidal thoughts in adolescents, the relationship had not been evaluated in younger children. A new study scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics finds that aggression, attention problems, and withdrawal behavior are all associated with soft drink consumption in young children.
Addicted to soda? You may be shocked to learn that drinking large quantities of your favorite carbonated soda could be as damaging to your teeth as methamphetamine and crack cocaine use. The consumption of illegal drugs and abusive intake of soda can cause similar damage to your mouth through the process of tooth erosion, according to a case study published in the March/April 2013 issue of General Dentistry.
Drinking one (or one extra)* 12oz serving size of sugar-sweetened soft drink a day can be enough to increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 22%, a new study suggests. The research is published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes) and comes from data in the InterAct consortium**.
New research suggests that drinking sweetened beverages, especially diet drinks, is associated with an increased risk of depression in adults while drinking coffee was tied to a slightly lower risk. The study was released January 8 and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 65th Annual Meeting in San Diego, March 16 to 23, 2013.
Sugary soft drink consumption contributes not only to weight gain, but also may play a role in the progression of knee osteoarthritis, especially in men, according to new research findings presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.
Men who drank a 12-ounce sugar-sweetened beverage a day had a 20 percent higher risk of heart disease compared to men who didn't drink any sugar-sweetened drinks, according to research published in Circulation, an American Heart Association journal.
People who were healthiest tended to be those who ate a prudent diet and did not consume diet beverages....But the second healthiest group was individuals with a prudent diet who also consumed diet beverages. In contrast, individuals who consumed the western diet had increased risk of heart disease, regardless of whether or not they drank diet beverages.
Researchers from Cleveland Clinic's Wellness Institute and Harvard University have found that greater consumption of sugar-sweetened and low-calorie sodas is associated with a higher risk of stroke. Conversely, consumption of caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee was associated with a lower risk.
"Over the last decade, there have been connections made between fructose intake and rates of obesity," said Dr. John Sievenpiper, a senior author of the study. "However, this research suggests that the problem is likely one of overconsumption, not fructose."
Parents beware. If your tots and teens get their hands on your energy drinks, they could experience seizures, heart palpitations or other problems that drive them to the hospital emergency room.
Children most at risk appear to be those who regularly consume the increasingly popular caffeine-laden energy drinks or gulp down a relatively large amount of the liquid in a short span, according to Rutgers University's poison control experts.

2 Comments (click to add your comment):

Pace said...

But 'Doctrines and Covenants' presumably says coffee is bad, whilst science says it is good. Tea is very good. Even a very moderate amount of alcohol is good for arterial health and sometimes very good for social health.

Mormons are allowed it eat chocolate, but only low sugar chocolate is healthy.

Am I off base here?

Allen said...

The Doctrine and Covenants doesn't say coffee is bad. It does say that strong drinks, which are interpreted by church leaders to mean tea and coffee, are not for the belly. This was given by the Lord as a warning: "In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation—"

That is, we have been warned that we shouldn't drink "hot drinks". The Lord didn't explain why we were being warned. Almost all of the science articles about tea and coffee that I've read relate to the stimulating effect of caffeine. Section 89 doesn't mention caffeine. Most LDS assume that coffee and tea shouldn't be drunk because they contain caffeine. Maybe that assumption is correct. Maybe it isn't.

The Lord, in giving the revelation contained in Section 89, didn't give a complete list of things that shouldn't be consumed. He gave a few things and expects, I assume, us to make intelligent decisions about other things, such as chocolate and soft drinks.