Soda: Harming more than just your teeth and waistline

It is well known that the high sugar content in soda can cause cavities in your teeth and expand your waistlines, but did you know that consuming soft drinks might also increase your risk for asthma and/or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)?

A recent study examined approximately 17,000 people aged 16 and older in South Australia. Participants were asked about their consumption of soft drinks (such as soda, flavored mineral water, lemonade, Powerade and Gatorade).

Over 10% of participants reported on average the drink more than half a liter of soft drinks per day.

Researchers found that 13.3% of the participants with asthma and 15.6% of those with COPD consumed more than half a liter of soft drinks per day. This showed that people who consumed at least a half a liter of soft drinks a day were 1.2 times more likely to have asthma and 1.7 times more likely to have COPD than those who did not consume soft drinks.

The researchers concluded that the risk was dose-related, meaning the more soft drinks consumed, the greater the odds of having COPD or asthma. However, this study merely points out an associate, but does not establish a cause and effect relationship.

This study emphasizes the importance of a healthy diet to prevent chronic diseases like asthma and COPD.

Artificial hips don’t slow this doctor down

Despite a double hip replacement surgery six years ago, La Peer Health Systems anesthesiologist, Dr. Calvin Johnson, is just as mobile as he was in his prime.

Dr. Johnson spent his Super Bowl XLVI morning running his first race with his two artificial hips. He had a great time at the 10k race and finished in under an hour!

Like many, Dr. Johsnon was very active in his youth and continued to stay active into his 40s. At 40 he started experiencing hip pain and by 46 the pain was there 24/7. Not only did this threaten his active lifestyle, but it also had an impact on his career.

In 2006, he decided to undergo a double hip replacement, which substituted his arthritic joints with manmade joints.

Dr. Johnson returned to work 9 days after surgery and returned to his active lifestyle and works out 4 months later.

Today his hips are still pain free and allow him to live life as actively as he wants!