Numerous studies have shown the negative health effects of drinking soda on your waistline and your teeth. Drinking soda however, has far more health risks than many of us may realize. Regular consumption of sugary drinks is linked to numerous health problems including diabetes, heart disease, asthma, COPD and obesity.
Not only do soft drinks offer no nutrition, they also contain harmful chemicals. Their high sugar content, often high-fructose corn syrup, can cause diabetes and affect the heart and liver. Preservatives like phosphoric acid can cause bone loss and kidney disease and citric acid can cause severe dental erosion. The caramel color in cola and the chemicals in the containers are also linked to cancer. Drink infused water or kombucha instead.
The average American drinks approximately 56 GALLONS of soda a year . Some people even admit to drinking more soda than water each day, or no water at all. Soft drinks are a multi-billion dollar product, and they account for a quarter of all drinks consumed in the United States.
7 HARMFUL EFFECTS OF SODAS
1.Weird Fat In Weird Places
Researchers have discovered that drinking non-diet soda leads to dramatic increases in fat buildup around your liver and your skeletal muscles, both of which can contribute to insulin resistance and diabetes . The study revealed that people who drank a regular soda every day for six months saw a 132 to 142 percent increase in liver fat, a 117 to 221 percent jump in skeletal fat, and about a 30 percent increase in both triglyceride blood fats and other organ fat. Their consumption also led to an 11 percent increase in cholesterol, compared with the people who drank other beverages such as water or milk.
2.Can Cause Kidney Trouble
OUR KIDNEY Kidney is one of the organs that we do not pay much attention to but do we know is a vital organ just like the heart, the brain and the lungs.
In a study on 465 patients of chronic kidney disease and 467 healthy people, it was found that drinking 2 glasses of cola daily, but not non-cola beverages, raised the risk of kidney disease by 2 times. This was attributed to the phosphoric acid in colas which causes urinary disturbances, kidney stones, and chronic kidney disease.
3.Can Disrupt Sleep
The caffeine found in your soft drinks is highly addictive and acts as a stimulant by enhancing the production of adrenaline. That’s good news when you need a pick-me-up to get through that deadline at work or that mammoth home renovation project. But if it’s a regular feature, things takes a turn for the worse. When consumed in excess, caffeine can interrupt your sleep and digestion.
4.Causes Tooth Erosion
Drinking soda regularly causes plaque to build up on the teeth and can lead to cavities and gum disease.The sugar in your sodas, when acted upon by the bacteria in the mouth, becomes an acid. And this acid attacks teeth enamel and weakens it. Children and adolescents are especially susceptible to tooth decay because of their underdeveloped enamel.
Using a straw to drink a soda, gulping quickly, and brushing your teeth 30 mins after consumption can reduce damage.
5.Increases Cancer Risk
The added colors and preservatives in drinks spell more trouble for you. And this is trouble of the worst kind.
It's not just the soda that's causing all the problems. Nearly all aluminum soda cans are lined with an epoxy resin called bisphenol A (BPA) , used to keep the acids in soda from reacting with the metal. BPA is known to interfere with hormones, and has been linked to everything from infertility to obesity and diabetes and some forms of reproductive cancers.
6.Leads To Osteoporosis And Bone Fractures
Phosphoric acid is a food additive added to colas to give them a tangy flavor and also to inhibit the growth of microorganisms in the sugar-rich environment. Too much phosphate in the blood can intervene with proper calcium metabolism essential for healthy bones. Caffeine too can interfere with mineral absorption. As cola can lead to bone loss in older women, it’s important to keep the calcium levels up with calcium-rich foods.
7.Accelerated Aging
Diet or regular, all colas contain phosphates , or phosphoric acid, a weak acid that gives colas their tangy flavor and improves their shelf life. Although it exists in many whole foods, such as meat, dairy, and nuts, too much phosphoric acid can lead to muscle loss, and osteoporosis, and one study suggests it could trigger accelerated aging.
The study, published in FASEB Journal , found that the excessive phosphate levels found in sodas caused lab rats to die a full five weeks earlier than the rats whose diets had more normal phosphate levels--a disturbing trend considering that soda manufacturers have been increasing the levels of phosphoric acid in their products over the past few decades.
HEALTHY ALTERNATIVES TO SODA
If you’re a soda drinker and are looking for some healthy alternatives, here are a few suggestions:
Club soda flavored with a squeeze of fresh fruit juice or some fresh ginger root.
*Homemade water kefir *
Kombucha
Soda may taste good and it certainly seem to have some addictive properties (ask any self-proclaimed Diet Coke addict!) but the bottom line is that soda isn’t healthy in any amount and there is absolutely no reason or justification for consuming it.