1. There is no nutritional benefit in drinking soft drinks at all since they are mostly filtered water and refined sugars and yet the average American drinks about 57 gallons of soft drinks each year.
2. Many people don’t realise how many extra calories they consume in what they drink. Drinking a single 330 ml can a day of sugary drinks translates to more than 1lb of weight gain every month.
Studies prove that soft drinks are directly related to weight gain and the relationship between soft drink consumption and body weight is so strong that researchers calculate that for each additional soda consumed, the risk of obesity increases 1.6 times.
3. Anything that promotes weight gain increases the risk of diabetes. Drinking soda not only contributes to making people fat, but it also stresses the body’s ability to process sugar. Some scientists now suspect that the sweet stuff may help explain why the number of Americans with type 2 diabetes has tripled from 6.6 million in 1980 to 20.8 million today.
Interestingly, women who consumed a lot of fruit juice–which is high in natural fructose–were not at increased risk of diabetes, leading researchers to speculate that naturally occurring sugars may have different metabolic effects than added sugars. They also speculate that vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytochemicals in fruit juices may have a protective effect against weight gain and diabetes, counterbalancing the adverse effects of sugar.
4. High soda consumption (particularly cola) in children poses a significant risk factor for impaired calcification of growing bones.
In the 1950s, children drank 3 cups of milk for every 1 cup of sugary drinks. Today that ratio is reversed: 3 cups of sugary drinks for every cup of milk. Tellingly, osteoporosis is a major health threat for 44 million Americans. Most experts now say that the real culprit is soda’s displacement of milk in the diet, though some scientists believe that the acidity of colas may be weakening bones by promoting the loss of calcium.
5. Soda eats up and dissolves the tooth enamel. Researchers say that soft drinks are responsible for doubling or tripling the incidence of tooth decay.
6. There is good evidence that cola beverages can increase the risk of kidney problems, more so than non-cola sodas.
7. Experts have reasons to believe that over-consumption of High Fructose Corn syrup, particularly in the form of soft drinks, leads to an increase in blood pressure.
8. Soft drink consumption is a strong predictor of heartburn.
9. Drinking soft drinks is a significant risk factor for developing metabolic syndrome, a combination of high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol, and insulin resistance.
10. Consumption of too many soft drinks may increase your risk for liver cirrhosis similar to what chronic alcoholics have.
11. Soda is the most acidic beverage you can buy, with a pH of about 2.5. Consider that battery acid has a pH of 1 and pure water has a pH level of 7. A pH below 4 or above 10 will kill most fish and very few animals can tolerate waters with a pH below 3 or above 11.
12. Soda acts as a dehydrating diuretics. Both caffeine and sugar cause dehydration.
Caffeine is a diuretic and causes an increase in urine volume. High concentration of sugar draw off water because the kidneys try to expel the excess sugar out of the blood. When you drink a caffeinated soda to quench your thirst, you will actually become thirstier.
13. Avoid sodas to avoid the unnecessary caffeine. Soda drinks are a major source of caffeine in the American diet and high doses of caffeine can cause irritability, restlessness, tension, insomnia, high blood pressure, gastrointestinal disturbance, excessive urination, irregular heartbeat and other side effects.
14. Diet soda is no better! Aspartame is made up of three chemicals: aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol. It is used because it’s about 200 times sweeter than table sugar.
As a chemical sweetener, Aspartame breaks down into its starting components: phenylalanine, aspartic acid, and methanol (that further converts to formaldehyde and formic acid, which are known carcinogens.). There are over 92 different health side effects associated with aspartame consumption.
15. A new health scare erupted over soft drinks recently over evidence that they may cause serious cell damage. Research from a British university suggested a common preservative E211, known as sodium benzoate, found in drinks such as Fanta and Pepsi Max has the ability to switch off vital parts of DNA.
Sodium benzoate is used in large quantities to prevent mould in soft drinks.
16. Soda replaces healthier drinks. By drinking soda, you cut the intake of fresh juices, milk, and even water and deprive yourself from essential vitamins and minerals.
- Water. Water is the best drink in the world.
- Tea. Any kind of tea – herbal, green or black – is rich in antioxidants, which were shown to protects the body form many health problems.
- 100% Juice. Fruit juice can be also useful for flavouring your water and teas.
- Jamba Juice Juices and Smoothies…packed with nutrition! Whole fruit smoothies, Wheat Grass Shots, Matcha Green Tea Shots , Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice and Carrot Juices are available for a healthy snack or a meal!
