Choosing between milk and soda can be a hard decision. Not all students think about their health but just think about the tasteful drinks.
“I don’t like milk,” said Daniel Na, a sophomore at Arnold O. Beckman High School. “It tastes weird and whenever I drink milk, it feels disgusting and I don’t feel good. Soda tastes a lot better and at the same time, it doesn’t feel gross.” Many students don’t favor food that is healthy for their body. Recently, there was a survey that stated 16-33 percent of students and adolescents were obese. Soft drinks are considered to be junk food which contributes to their obesity. It is said that 44.7 gallons of soft drinks are consumed by the average Americans. Many students don’t even care what soft drinks do to their bone. However, students who care about their health would choose milk over soda.
Soda is said to deteriorate the human bone little by little. All the sugar that the soda contains might only be known to make someone energized, but without knowing, it can make one part of the bone melt. Milk is a liquid that would make one’s bone strong and healthy. “Even though I don’t like milk, if I had to choose one, I would choose to drink milk,” said Elisa Kim, a sophomore at Irvine High School. “I know that milk is so much healthier than soda. I would want to stay healthy.” The proteins that are contained inside the milk strengthen the human bones. Students need milk to grow and to fill up their daily calcium level. The school Nutrition Services said, “By the time children become teenagers they need 1,300 mg of calcium per day.” Flavored milk might help the students to drink more milk every day. 70% of students drank flavored milk at school, but it fell to 35% because the school got rid of the flavored milk. Flavored milk covers up the disgusting taste that the students dislike. At the same time, while students are enjoying their flavored milk, they consume more calcium and vitamins to their bodies.
Not all students dislike drinking milk. “I like drinking milk,” said Chloe Yim, a junior at Cypress High School. “First of all, it doesn’t make me feel fat. I know all the nutrition facts for milk and soda. Comparing from these two drinks, milk has less percentage for the total fat than soda. I want to make the right choice for my body.” There are types of milk that is best for dieters too. Diet milk isn’t as bad as diet soda. Skimmed milk still contains the same amount of vitamins as regular milk. According to a Danish study published in 2005, diet soda creates high blood pressure for people. “Even though milk might not taste good, I wouldn’t want weak bones and live an unhealthy life,” said Andy Choi, a senior at Cypress High School. “I’m a guy. I want to be strong and I don’t want soft drinks to destroy my health.”
