Consider the hard facts about soft
drinks: soda consumption could lead to various
health problems, and scientists are adding to
the list seemingly every day.
Here are 10 reasons to put down
the cola and quit adding to the 13 billion gallons
of soda consumed in the United States annually:
Because caffeine is a diuretic, it leads to
an increase in urine volume. So, when you drink
a caffeinated soda to quench your thirst, you
will actually become thirstier.
• High calories.
A can of regular cola contains over 150 calories.
Not only are these calories devoid of any nutritional
value, but they also deplete your body of vital
addiction. Researchers at Johns
Hopkins University say when people don't
get their usual dose of caffeine, they can suffer
a range of withdrawal symptoms including headache,
fatigue, muscle pain and inability to concentrate.
The amount of acid in soda is enough to wear
away at the enamel of your teeth, making them
more susceptible to decay. In tests done on
the acidity levels of soda, certain ones were
found to have PH levels as low as 2.5. To put
that into perspective, consider that battery
acid has a pH of 1 and pure water has a pH of
A person who drinks just 2 cans of soda a day
will pay $206 over the course of a year to keep
the habit going. If there is more than one soda
drinker in the household, that yearly total
could quickly double or even triple.
• Weight gain.
Researchers at the University of Texas say artificial
sweeteners can interfere with the body's
natural ability to regulate calorie intake.
This could mean that people who consume artificially
sweetened items are more likely to overindulge.
sweeteners. Many people opt for diet
sodas to cut out the calories, but some research
shows the sweeteners may cause additional harm,
such as cancer, while others dispute any risk.
The jury is still out.
• Mineral depletion.
Colas contain phosphoric acid and caffeine,
which drain calcium from the bones. Also, because
caffeine increases urine volume, more minerals
end up leaving the body before having a chance
to be properly absorbed.
Some scientists believe that the unceasing demands
a soda habit places on the pancreas may ultimately
leave it unable to keep up with the body's
need for insulin – which could eventually
lead to diabetes. While no studies have
definitively proven this, the daily consumption
of soda does contribute to other problems, such
as obesity – a leading cause of diabetes.
• A replacement
for healthier drinks. In the 1950's,
children drank three cups of milk for every
cup of a sweet drink. Today that statistic has
flipped. Less amounts of milk in the average
diet could account for lower bone density and
higher occurrences of osteoporosis - "brittle
bones" - later in life.
Diet soda and heart disease?
Now, scientists at Boston University’s
medical school say people who drink more than
one regular or even diet soda each day develop
the same risks for heart disease. Dr. Ramachandran
Vasan, the lead researcher, says he found that
among 9,000 middle-aged people, those who drank
more than one soda per day had a 48 percent higher
risk of metabolic syndrome.
"Metabolic syndrome" is
the term that refers to a group of symptoms
that increase the risk for heart disease, such
as a large waistline, and high blood pressure,
cholesterol and triglycerides. The presence of
three or more of the factors increases your risk
of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease,
health experts say.
And those people in Vasan's study
who showed no signs of metabolic syndrome and
quaffed more than one soda a day were 44 percent
more likely to develop the cluster of conditions
four years later, according to an article
in the latest Circulation, a journal
published by the American Heart Association.
What’s more, people who drank
more than one soft drink a day were between 25
and 31 percent more likely to become extremely
overweight, have larger waists, and develop higher
levels of triglycerides and lower levels of “good”
cholesterol than folks who drank only one daily
soda, according to the findings.
However, Vasan says his study doesn’t
prove diet sodas drive up the risk of heart disease,
but the link is worth exploring. Other nutritionists,
however, aren’t so sure.
Barry Popkin, a nutrition expert
at the University of North Carolina in Chapel
Hill who helped developed last year beverage consumption
guidelines, says many people who drink diet sodas
also have bad habits that lead to higher heart
disease risks. They turn to diet sodas because
they realize they need to lose weight, he adds.
"There's too much contradictory evidence
that shows that diet beverages are healthier for
you in terms of losing weight," Popkin says.