What are you ingesting?
I have always made a habit of reading the ingredients of whatever it is I am consuming, not so much that I am trying to limit or increase the intake if certain things, but more so just to know what's there. Now I don't typically drink a lot of soda in general, and I almost never drink Mountain Dew, but there was a can of Throwback (with real sugar) in the fridge and I was thirsty. While sipping on the can I decided to take a look at what was in it.. All the usual suspects popped up (no pun) - Carbonated water, sugar, citrus acid, etc.. then suddenly Wahh Da Fah!?
'Brominated Vegetable Oil.'
"What's that!?"
*Google asap*
This immediately spawns a Wikipedia article you can read Here.
Basically it is modified vegetable oil that has the element bromine bonded to it. This makes it so the citric acid and all the flavorings in the soda don't settle to the bottom of the can. Great, right? Every sip will taste as delicious as the last! Well, not exactly.. Tests in animals concludes that BVO in large enough quantities (as little as 0.5% of a daily diet) can have reproductive, psychological, and behavioral health impacts. It even stays attached to fat cells long after consumption.
Now 0.5% of your diet would add up to a LOT of Mountain Dew, so chances are it will have little to no impact on the general consumer. However, I have known people to drink the stuff religiously - 2 or more 2L bottles a day even! A study over at the National Center for Biotechnological Information states that the offspring of rats who had a 2% daily diet of BVO had a mortality rate so high they could not collect adequate data on the behavioral affects of the food additive! Those that had smaller dosages suffered from various conditions ranging from lower weight and smaller size to serious functional impairments (it made them stupid). Keep in mind PepsiCo states this has be an additive in the soft drink industry since 1931! Also stating that only 15 parts per million are used - The maximum allowed by US Law.
'Brominated Vegetable Oil.'
"What's that!?"
*Google asap*
This immediately spawns a Wikipedia article you can read Here.
Basically it is modified vegetable oil that has the element bromine bonded to it. This makes it so the citric acid and all the flavorings in the soda don't settle to the bottom of the can. Great, right? Every sip will taste as delicious as the last! Well, not exactly.. Tests in animals concludes that BVO in large enough quantities (as little as 0.5% of a daily diet) can have reproductive, psychological, and behavioral health impacts. It even stays attached to fat cells long after consumption.
Now 0.5% of your diet would add up to a LOT of Mountain Dew, so chances are it will have little to no impact on the general consumer. However, I have known people to drink the stuff religiously - 2 or more 2L bottles a day even! A study over at the National Center for Biotechnological Information states that the offspring of rats who had a 2% daily diet of BVO had a mortality rate so high they could not collect adequate data on the behavioral affects of the food additive! Those that had smaller dosages suffered from various conditions ranging from lower weight and smaller size to serious functional impairments (it made them stupid). Keep in mind PepsiCo states this has be an additive in the soft drink industry since 1931! Also stating that only 15 parts per million are used - The maximum allowed by US Law.