Hi, I'm Monica Reinagle, and you're listening to The Nutrition Divas Quick and Dirty Tips for

eating well and feeling fabulous. Robin writes, I was looking for information on carbonated water and I found your article.

I was very disappointed to see you say that the problem with soda isn't something in the pop but the fact that calcium intake is lower in people who drink more soda.

I disagree, Robin wrote, and so do the experts.

And here Robin cut and pasted a paragraph from an unnamed expert, which said,

Fosphoric acid, which is an ingredient in many sodas, interferes with calcium

metabolism and the building of bone mass.

A researcher from Harvard has found that soda pop consumption is closely

associated with an increase in bone fractures in teenage girls.

So did I get it wrong as Robin is bone fractures in teenage girls.

So did I get it wrong as Robin is convinced?

Well, it's certainly possible.

Perhaps it's time to revisit this topic and take a closer look at the evidence.

It appears that Robin stumbled onto my episode on carbonated water from an internet search.

If she were a regular reader, well she'd probably know that I'm no fan of soda. In fact, just last week in a show dedicated

to overhauling your diet, I called out soda and other sweetened beverages as the single most damaging thing in the typical

American diet. So it's not like I go around defending soda as a healthy or

even harmless choice, but it is true that in my article on whether carbonation

is bad for you, I wrote the following.

Soda consumption, particularly cola consumption,

has been linked to lower bone mineral density.

However, the most recent research suggests that the reason people who drink a lot of

...