Cadbury Schweppes' ludicrous and deceptive claims that 7Up is 100 percent natural must, unfortunately, be working. In looking to turn around dropping sales of its flagship diet soft drink product, Coca-Cola plans to launch a new product, Diet Coke Plus next spring.

No wonder, considering the fortunes of multi-national soft drink bottlers (among them Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Cadbury) are under attack more than ever before from the makers of energy drinks with catchy names like Cocaine.

Hard to imagine bottlers could claim any carbonated soft drink, particularly one of the diet variety, does your health any good, as it can double your obesity risks. And artificial sweeteners are more dangerous for your health than even high fructose corn syrup.

By the way, that's only a fraction of the many health-harming effects associated with soft drinks, including cancer, osteoporosis and liver damage. In your journey to optimize your health, one of the easiest things you can do to strengthen it is to make the switch to clean fresh water. And I do mean clean -- there is simply no reason that you should be drinking chlorine or fluoride in your water supply. Your best bet is to install a reverse osmosis filter.

On Vital Votes, biochemist Dr. Russ Bianchi from Soquel, California points out the following:

"Crystalline Fructose (which is highly refined form CORN, is not fruit sugar, nor metabolized as fruit sugar), as well as High Fructose Corn Syrup, and hydrolyzed high fructose inulin syrup ... are all among the main sweeteners in most sodas. 

"... these highly chemically refined, man made, and not recognized in human metabolization ... sweeteners are used BECAUSE THEY ARE LOW COST. 

"Low cost refined sweeteners line soda companies pockets, and profit margins, and DAMAGE YOUR long term health!

"Read Dr. Mercola's 'Sweet Deception' that explains all this.  Read the politics of it all in Greg Critser's 'Fat Land'.

"Refined fructose based sweeteners, irrespective of false and misleading labeling, metabolize directly to 9 calorie stored FAT in your body (brown adipose tissue), OR are converted (kilated) directly to triglycerides in your blood stream!  Triglycerides are the precursor, or building block, of LDL or BAD cholesterol.

"Sometimes in energy branded drinks they will try to hide the fact they are using low cost HFCS, by mislabeling it as glucose-fructose syrup, or iso glucose, or just glucose ?

"The single largest total contributor to obesity, cardiovascular disease, hypoglycemia and diabetes in the American food chain are these refined and chemically created fructose products ... avoid them like the long term poisons they are!

"These comments are NOT speculation, no matter the spin and confusion tactics out there on the internet, or in fructose pusher press releases.

"Fructose, in any form ... JUST SAY NO!"

Other responses to this article can be viewed at Dr. Mercola's Vital Votes section, and you can add your own thoughts or vote on comments by first registering at Vital Votes.