So recently I decided to quit drinking soda cold turkey after learning more about the negative health effects. I then did some more research on how soda effects health and I was surprised to learn that soda even affects organs like the kidneys and mineral levels! Here are a few surprising facts about soda that I bet you didn't know about:
-Increases diabetes risk:
Consuming high levels of sugar places strain on the pancreas, leaving it unable to keep up with the body's need for insulin. Drinking 1 or 2 sodas a day can increase your risk of type 2 diabetes by 25%!
-Caramel coloring in soda is linked to cancer and vascular issues:
The artificial brown coloring is not natural caramelized sugar, but instead a chemical process. It is made by reacting sugars with ammonia and sulfates under high pressure and temperatures. These chemical reactions result in the formation of 2-methylimidazole (2-MI) and 4 methylimidazole (4-MI), which in government-conducted studies caused lung, liver, or thyroid cancer or leukemia in laboratory mice and rats.
-High in calories
-Acid in soda wears down dental enamel (something your body doesn't make more of).
-Depletes your mineral levels:
soda contains phosphoric acid which removes calcium from your bones.
-Can change your metabolism (for the worse)
-Diet sodas contain mold inhibitors:
They go by the names sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate, and they’re used in nearly all diet sodas. “These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it – they knock it out altogether,” Peter Piper, a professor of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the University of Sheffield in the U.K., told a British newspaper. The preservative has also been linked to hives,asthma, and other allergic conditions, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
-Side note:
I had a really bad craving for a coke today but didn't give in! Researching this has solidified my decision to stop drinking soda all together. Hopefully this is some food for thought for you all :)
-Fitgirl
Source:https://foodrevolution.org/blog/food-and-health/soda-health-risks/