Most people are unaware of the dangers of drinking soft drinks. Many consider soda a harmless soft drink. In this article, we’ll go over some of the most common ingredients found in soft drinks and why they’re dangerous to your health.
The first and most abundant ingredient is, of course, water. The water contained in soda should not be considered a good source of water. Soda water is carbonated. That means the carbon dioxide gas is injected directly into the water. And yes, that is the same gas that we exhale as a waste product.
Phosphoric acid can interfere with the body’s ability to use calcium. This can lead to osteoporosis, or softening of the bones and teeth. Phosphoric acid also neutralizes hydrochloric acid in the stomach, which can interfere with digestion. Your body needs an acidic environment in your stomach to digest nutrients.
This leads to a parallel discussion of Tums antacids with calcium. Tums acts as a buffer to decrease the acidity of your stomach. However, your stomach naturally has an acidic environment to digest food. It seems logical that a substance that interferes with the pH of the stomach would interfere with the digestive functions of the stomach. How will the calcium from the Tums be absorbed after changing the pH of the stomach? It would be better to determine the cause of indigestion and treat it appropriately.
Okay, okay… Let’s go back to the soda!
Sugar is one of the main causes of obesity. By consuming soft drinks, you are consuming large amounts of sugar, which is an inflammatory substance for your body. Estimates for the amount of sugar in a can of soda range from 8 to 10 teaspoons.
Sugar also increases insulin levels. this can lead to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, weight gain, premature aging to name a few. The sugar contained in soft drinks can also contribute to the formation of cavities. The acid in soda also eats away at tooth enamel. So there are two ingredients that negatively affect teeth. Does it still sound sweet?
Aspartame is a sugar substitute. Its consumption can cause brain tumors, birth defects, diabetes, emotional disturbances, and epilepsy/seizures. Additionally, when aspartame is stored for long periods of time or kept in warm areas, it converts to methanol, an alcohol that is converted to formaldehyde (used for embalming), and formic acid, which are known carcinogens.
Caffeine dependency is a real problem in this country. Just a note: each cup of coffee requires you to consume 2 cups of water because coffee dehydrates you. The explosion of energy drinks is alarming. What makes it worse is that they are marketed to children. They contain large amounts of sugar and caffeine.
These substances give you a brief burst of energy that quickly wears off leaving you wanting another drink. Make no mistake, caffeine is a drug. Don’t hook your kids on it. Should they have soda machines in schools? Now you understand why soft drinks have been linked to obesity, tooth decay, and heart disease.
Soda has also been linked to osteoporosis. It’s not as far-fetched as you might think. Let me explain. Soda is very acidic, so when you consume it your body has to lower its acidity. This is called buffering. To do this, your body uses calcium. Where does your body get its calcium from?…you guessed it, your bones! Drinking soft drinks for long periods of time can reduce the amount of calcium in your bones.
Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to read this article. I hope it has been informative and helpful in moving towards a healthy lifestyle. The two most difficult habits to change are generally diet and sleep patterns. Good luck and make good decisions!
