Dirty pop.

I used to be a huge N'Sync fan. I had every CD, got to see them play Soldier Field in Chicago and Justin Timberlake was my pretend boyfriend. (Nope, not afraid to admit that!) Though I'm not much of a listener these days, I still appreciate what they did for pop music. In fact, I think their song "Pop" will always be one of my favorites. Sadly, the only place I hear it these days is in my head when I get a soda pop craving, which is hardly at all.

And that's a good thing because soda pop = BAD. My instructors at Blue Heron Academy handed out a list of ten reasons why one should never consume soda pop. Each reason is fairly long, so I'll do some paraphrasing before I lose your attention:

1) Soda pop is essentially a diuretic, which means it drains water from your body. And your body needs water to function. To combat the damage done by one glass of soda pop, you'll likely need to drink 8-12 glasses of water.

2) Many people think soda pop is a good thirst quencher, but it isn't. One again, it's a diuretic that takes water out of your body. And a lack of water can lead to dehydration...which can then lead to a wide variety of issues.

3) Soda pop contains phosphates which drain minerals from your body. For example, calcium is a mineral and if you're not getting enough of it your body may be at a higher risk for Osteoporosis. In addition, minerals help your body absorb vitamins. Need I say more?

4) I'm sure you've seen the chain emails, and it's true—soda pop takes rust off metal. (That's enough right there to kill my craving, what about you?)

5) High fructose corn syrup! Woah, loads of sugar...and all that sugar causes your pancreas to produce an excessive amount of insulin which eventually just leads to a "sugar crash." Repeated fluctuations in sugar load can lead to Diabetes.

6) High levels of sugar and caffeine in soda pop negatively affect the way your body digests food. It essentially stops your body from taking in nutrients from anything you might have recently eaten.

7) While diet soda pops may seem like a good thing, they tend to contain high amounts of aspartame. Some of you may already be familiar with aspartame as an alternative to sugar, but what you may not know is that aspartame has been linked to depression, insomnia, neurological disorders...the list goes on.

8) Soda pop is acidic. So much so that tests have proven soda pop's ability to leach aluminum from its own can if it sits for too long. And here's where it gets interesting: According to this list I'm reading, autopsies on Alzheimer patients usually show high levels of aluminum in the brain. (Wish I had more background information on that one.)

9) One more point about the acidity of soda pop—acid waste. Yeah, it builds up in your body around your joints and organs. And diseases love acid waste. 'Nuff said.

10) Last but not least, that old wive's tale about 7-Up when you're sick...total lie.

And there you have it! I know it may be a lot to ask that you stop drinking soda pop completely, so my only hope is that you'll at least cut back your empty can (or bottle) count each week. If the list alone isn't enough persuasion, just try and remember that soda pop equals "dirty pop."