How And Why To Reduce Your Consumption Of Soft Drinks
Soft drinks seem harmless, but every time you drink one your health slowly deteriorates. It is time to change bad habits.
Soft drinks are delicious and quench thirst, but they are a real sugar bomb that our bodies can only tolerate by upsetting their natural balances. So that momentary pleasure from drinking soda causes a host of long-term health problems.
Even those advertised as light, low-calorie sodas are just as damaging. Although they have alternative sweeteners to traditional sugar, evidence shows that they also cause obesity and, in addition, increase the desire to eat.
The American Heart Association recommends an intake of less than 25 grams of sugar per day for adults and less for children. A small 12-ounce can of soda contains 39 grams of sugar, plus other added sugars.
Knowing about the problems that soft drinks cause can be a good motivation to find other drinks that really quench your thirst and are beneficial for your health.
The consumption of soft drinks and its effects on health
They accumulate fat in the liver
Fructose from sugar and corn syrup of soft drinks can only be processed by the liver. But studies show that excess fructose turns into stored fat. Some of that fat is converted into triglycerides in the blood, while the rest remains in the liver.
Cause obesity
In addition to fat in the liver, fructose also turns into belly fat. This is proven to be one of the leading causes of diabetes and heart disease.
Elevate insulin levels
Insulin carries glucose from the blood into cells, but soda causes cells to become insensitive to glucose due to insulin resistance. When this happens, the pancreas begins to produce excess of this hormone.
This phenomenon is known as metabolic syndrome, which causes hypertension, excess fat or triglycerides and cholesterol in the blood, among many other problems.
They can cause diabetes
A study carried out in 170 individuals and led by the Center for Preventive Research at Stanford University, California, revealed that the consumption of soft drinks once a day, every day, increases the risk of contracting type 2 diabetes.
Increases the risk of cancer
Another study carried out in several countries with 60 thousand people determined that those who drink at least two soft drinks a week, have an 87% greater chance of contracting pancreatic cancer.
Causes heart problems
Soda causes the body’s potassium levels to drop to lower than normal levels. This can cause the so-called Long QT Syndrome, which consists of abnormalities of the potassium and sodium channels of the heart and causes cardiac arrhythmias.
Can weaken bones
One of the ingredients in soft drinks is phosphoric acid, which is used for its preservation. Phosphorus is necessary for the body, especially for the brain and memory functions. However, its excess is problematic.
Calcium and phosphorus coexist in balance in our body. When phosphorus increases its levels, it prevents the assimilation of calcium. Continued consumption of soft drinks can lead to decalcification and diseases such as osteoporosis.
Stomach problems
Both sugars and artificial sweeteners, in the case of diet sodas, promote bacterial overgrowth in the intestine and especially bad bacteria.
Excess bacteria can lead to irritable bowel syndrome, which can cause problems such as intestinal irritation, immune deficiencies, and even memory loss.
In particular, artificial sweeteners are linked to an increase in the bacterium Clostridium difficile , which is one of the main causes of stomach infections in recent years, according to studies by Dr. Robert Briton of the Baylor College of Medicine.
What to drink instead of soft drinks?
Without a doubt, the healthiest thing is water. “It doesn’t matter if it’s pure, carbonated or flavored. The important thing is that it has no sugar or sweeteners, ”says Allison Sylvestky of Georgetown University in Washington.
- Carbonated flavored water. It is a good way to start, due to its similarity in texture to soft drinks.
- Cold tea. It is refreshing, has caffeine just like soda and you can sweeten it with a teaspoon of honey.
- Soda water with fruits. You can try to make a juice of the fruit that you like the most and add sparkling water to it, to recreate a soda.
- Fruit water. Prepare a jug with fruit slices, such as lemon, orange, pineapple, apples, strawberries, or any other, and fill it with water and ice. Let it rest and you will always have a delicious and refreshing drink on hand.
- Natural juices. You can also directly try drinking natural juices. Do not add sugar, as they already have the natural sugar of the fruit. Don’t swap sodas for commercial fruit juices either, as these are also loaded with added sugar.
- Kombucha. A more exotic but highly beneficial drink. It is a fermented tea that has a large amount of probiotics. It is a bit bitter, but over time you can get used to its taste.
- Coconut water. It is delicious, very refreshing, and full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
