HealthAssist Blog

Few people drink soda because they believe it’s a healthy drink. We drink it because it is very tasty, convenient and inexpensive.

Statistics shows that Americans drink more soda pop than ever before. These popular beverages account for more than 25% of all drinks consumed in the United States. More than 15 billion gallons were sold in 2000. That works out to at least one 12-ounce can per day for every man, woman and child. Fifty-six percent of 8-year-olds down soft drinks daily, and a third of teenage boys drink at least three cans of soda pop per day.

Besides that, the number of Americans who consume products that contain sugar-free sweeteners grew from 70 million in 1987 to 160 million in 2000. At the same time, the incidence of obesity in the United States has doubled from 15 percent to 30 percent across all age groups, ethnic groups, and social strata. And the number of overweight Americans has increased from about 30 percent to over 65 percent of the population.

And though soda is rather addictive treat and for many of us it would be hard to give up soda habit once and for all, at least we should try to place it to the category of things we enjoy on occasion.

As for me, the following information will surely keep me away from opening the can:

1 Extra pounds.

Soda is a significant contributor to overweight and obesity. Many people either forget or don’t realize 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. The relationship between soft drink consumption and body weight is so strong that researchers(1) calculate that for each additional soda consumed, the risk of obesity increases 1.6 times.

Do you think the diet soda is the solution? It’s not.

Diet soda is just as likely to cause weight gain as regular, or even more.

Here is what research shows:
It may sound counterintuitive, but people who drink diet soft drinks don’t
lose weight. In fact, they gain weight(10).

An exciting new study(11) in the Journal of Behavioral Neuroscience has shown conclusively that using artificial sweeteners not only does not prevent weight gain, but induces a whole set of physiologic and hormonal responses that actually make you gain weight.

2 Liver damage

Soda damages your liver. There is evidence that consumption of too many soft drinks puts you under increased risk for liver cirrhosis similar to what chronic alcoholics have(2).

3 Tooth decay

Soda eats up and dissolves the tooth enamel. Researches(3) say that soft drinks are responsible for doubling or tripling the incidence of tooth decay. Soda’s acidity is even worse for teeth than the solid sugar found in candy.

4 Kidney stones and chronic kidney disease

Colas of all kinds are well known for their high phosphoric acid content, a substance known to change the urine in a way that promotes kidney stone formation. Research shows that drinking one quart (less than three 12-ounce cans) of soda per week may increase a person’s risk of developing kidney stones by 15%.

The new study, published in Epidemiology(4), found that drinking two or more colas a day (whether artificially sweetened or regular) was linked to a twofold risk of chronic kidney disease. Chronic kidney disease includes conditions that damage and decrease the kidneysТ ability to remove toxins and maintain normal fluid balance.

5 Diabetes

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(5). 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.

Researchers analyzed data from the Nurses’ Health Study II, a trial tracking the health of more than 51,000 women. None of the participants had diabetes at the onset of the study. Over the following 8 years, 741 women were diagnosed with the disease. Researchers found that women who drank one or more sugary drinks a day gained more weight and were 83% more likely to develop diabetes than those who imbibed less than once a month.

6 Heartburn & acid reflux

Heavy consumption of soda is a strong predictor of heartburn(6). First, a lot of carbonated beverages are very acidic. The other thing is that they deliver a lot of air - in the form of carbon dioxide - which can cause distension of the stomach. And that distension appears to be associated with more reflux.

7 Soft drinks = Soft Bones = Osteoporosis

Soft drinks containing phosphoric acid are definitely linked to osteoporosis (a weakening of the skeletal structure) because they lead to lower calcium levels and higher phosphate levels in the blood. When phosphate levels are high and calcium levels are low, calcium is pulled out of the bones. The phosphate content of soft drinks, such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi, is very high, and they contain virtually no calcium. Researchers found, that high soda consumption (particularly cola(7)) in children poses a significant risk factor for impaired calcification of growing bones.

On the other hand, soft drinks replace a calcium-containing alternatives, such as milk. Perhaps, milk is not the best calcium source, but it still is a source.

8 Hypertension (high blood pressure)

Experts have reasons to believe that overconsumption of soda leads to an increase in blood pressure(8). It actually doesn’t matter if the soda is regular or diet.

Teens, particularly black teens, who drink several soft drinks daily may increase their blood pressure and their risk for developing hypertension.

9 Heart disease

Heavy soda drinkers are more likely to develop risk factors for heart disease. Research(8) shows that drinking more than one soft drink a day is associated with an increased risk of developing the metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a group of symptoms such as central obesity, elevated blood pressure, elevated fasting blood sugar, elevated fasting triglycerides, low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL or “good” cholesterol). Having three or more of the symptoms increases a person’s risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

10 Impaired digestion (gastrointestinal distress)

The common problem is general gastrointestinal distress. This includes increased stomach acid levels requiring acid inhibitors and moderate to severe gastric inflammation with possible stomach lining erosion. Drinking sodas, especially on an empty stomach, can upset the fragile acid-alkaline balance of the stomach and other gastric lining, creating a continuous acid environment. This prolonged acid environment can lead to inflammation of the stomach and duodenal lining which becomes quite painful. The phosphoric acid present in soft drink competes with the hydrochloric acid of the stomach and affects its functions.

Sources & References

• 1. Harrington S. Abstract The role of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in adolescent obesity: a review of the literature. J Sch Nurs. 2008 Feb;24(1):3-12. PubMed
• 2. Zelber-Sagi S, Nitzan-Kaluski D, Goldsmith R, Webb M, Blendis L, Halpern Z, Oren R. Long term nutritional intake and the risk for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD): a population based study. J Hepatol. 2007 Nov;47(5):711-7. Epub 2007 Aug 14. PubMed
• 3. Ebbeling CB, Feldman HA, Osganian SK, Chomitz VR, Ellenbogen SJ, Ludwig DS. Free Full Text Effects of decreasing sugar-sweetened beverage consumption on body weight in adolescents: a randomized, controlled pilot study. Pediatrics. 2006 Mar;117(3):673-80. PubMed
• 4. Saldana TM, Basso O, Darden R, Sandler DP. Abstract Carbonated beverages and chronic kidney disease. Epidemiology. 2007 Jul;18(4):501-6. PubMed
• 5. Montonen J, Ja”rvinen R, Knekt P, Helio”vaara M, Reunanen A. Abstract Consumption of sweetened beverages and intakes of fructose and glucose predict type 2 diabetes occurrence. J Nutr. 2007 Jun;137(6):1447-54. PubMed
• 6. Fass R, Quan SF, O’Connor GT, Ervin A, Iber C. Predictors of heartburn during sleep in a large prospective cohort study. Chest. 2005 May;127(5):1658-66.
• 7. Ma D, Jones G. Soft drink and milk consumption, physical activity, bone mass, and upper limb fractures in children: a population-based case-control study. Calcif Tissue Int. 2004 Oct;75(4):286-91. Epub 2004 Jul 30. PubMed
• 8. Dhingra R, Sullivan L, Jacques PF, Wang TJ, Fox CS, Meigs JB, D’Agostino RB, Gaziano JM, Vasan RS. Soft drink consumption and risk of developing cardiometabolic risk factors and the metabolic syndrome in middle-aged adults in the community. Circulation. 2007 Jul 31;116(5):480-8. Epub 2007 Jul 23. Erratum in: Circulation. 2007 Dec 4;116(23):e557.
• 9. Choi HK, Curhan G. Free in PMC Soft drinks, fructose consumption, and the risk of gout in men: prospective cohort study. BMJ. 2008 Feb 9;336(7639):309-12. Epub 2008 Jan 31.
• 10. Fowler SP, Williams K, Resendez RG, Hunt KJ, Hazuda HP, Stern MP. Fueling the Obesity Epidemic? Artificially Sweetened Beverage Use and Long-term Weight Gain. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2008 Jun 5. PubMed
• 11. Swithers SE, Davidson TL. Abstract A role for sweet taste: calorie predictive relations in energy regulation by rats. Behav Neurosci. 2008 Feb;122(1):161-73. PubMed