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The one thing you may be giving your children thats hurting their education
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There's a new infographic out there that sheds light on what Coca-Cola does to one's body, which can impact a child and his education. - photo by Herb Scribner
With its latest advertising campaign, Coke has asked the world to Share a Coke.

But the Renegade Pharmacist, a mental wellness website, wants to share the damaging effects of Coke instead. In a recently published infographic, pictured below, the website outlines what happens to an average persons body within an hour of consuming the sugary soda drink.

As the infographic outlines, within 20 minutes, heavy amounts of sugar hit your system, eventually making your blood sugar spike and your insulin rise.

After 40 minutes, your body is overwhelmed with caffeine, making your pupils dilate, blood pressure rise and your liver throw sugar into the bloodstream, according to the chart. Then your brain fills with dopamine which activates the rewards system in your brain, much like hard drugs.

By the hours end, your body starts to crash when the caffeine and dopamine die off, the chart explains.

As the rave inside of you dies down youll start to have a sugar crash, it reads. You may become irritable and/or sluggish. Youve also now, literally, pissed away all the water that was in the Coke. But not before infusing it with valuable nutrients your body could have used for things like having the ability to hydrate your system or build strong bones and teeth.

Building strong bones, teeth and a healthy body is something that parents want for their children. And in recent years, schools, especially with the help of first lady Michelle Obama, looked to help parents and their children cut down on sugary drinks and snacks to make sure youngsters receive a healthy amount of nutrients and proper education, according to MSNBC.

I think we can all agree that our classrooms should be healthy places where our kids are not bombarded with ads for junk food, Obama said in February 2014. We are well on our way to building healthier schools for all of our children. Children born today will be accustomed to eating healthier food during the school day, so their norm will be fruits and vegetables and not chips and candy.

Obamas surge to rid schools of sugars began with the Lets Move campaign, which aimed to give families access to healthy food and cut down on childhood obesity, MSNBC reported. This was after the U.S. Department of Agriculture created the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act in 2010, which changed the lunch and breakfast meal plans at school to be more health conscious.

The effects of both are still being measured, but schools have followed through on both and made their hallways more health-conscious. According to the American Beverage Association, shipment of full-calorie soft drinks to schools dropped by 97 percent in the last five years.

Though this can help the country cut down on obesity rates among children which is no small problem, since one out of every three children in the United States suffers from obesity too much soda can also hurt a childs behavior in the classroom and make it more difficult for them to learn, Time magazine reported in 2013.

In fact, soda can make children as young as 5 years old feel more aggressive and more suicidal, one study noted. And, according to a 2013 study published in the Journal of Pediatrics cited by Time magazine, soda with high amounts of sugar can make it more difficult for children to pay attention in class.

Soft drinks are highly processed products containing carbonated water, high-fructose corn syrup, aspartame, sodium benzoate, phosphoric or citric acid, and often caffeine, any of which might affect behavior, the authors wrote in the study.

And even though schools and some fast food restaurants have started to cut down on sodas and sugary drinks, theres no surefire method to wean children completely off soft beverages. But experts and research have both offered tips for parents and school officials to help children stay away from those drinks.

In 2012, a study found that a childs thirst for sugar-filled soda and juice dropped when the child was offered water and diet drinks instead, according to NBC News. In fact, the study found those children also gained less weight when they stopped sipping something sugary. Schools have embraced this method by ridding their halls of soda and high-sugar juices.

"No other single food product has been shown to change body weight by this amount over a year simply through its reduction," Dr. David Ludwig told NBC News.

Parents may also want to try making their children fresh fruit beverages at home. The Chicago Tribune spoke with experts who suggested parents buy a blender and make mixed fruit drinks for their children based on what fruits their youngsters like. This will give children something enjoyable to sip on instead of a sugary soda.

The experts told the Tribune that children are more likely to drink a fruit-based concoction when they create it themselves.

It`s fun for the kids to make their own special ice this way, Donna Land, president of Culinary Arts and Services, told the Tribune. Plus it looks good in the glass.

For some tasty fruit alternatives, check out recipes here, here, here and here.
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