You’re driving home from school, dying of thirst. Looking ahead, you see a Sonic sign rapidly approaching. You pull in, buy yourself a Coke and immediately begin to feel refreshed. However, if you realized what that drink was actually doing to your body, you might not feel so comfortable.
Most carbonated soft drinks include excess amounts of sugar, caffeine and carbohydrates. All of these ingredients actually slow your body’s hydration. This is especially significant following exercise. The more you sweat, the more water your body loses. Drinking a soft drink after working out may taste good, but it will not replenish the water you have lost.
There are several health issues pertaining to soft drinks. A primary concern is dietary health. Healthier drinking options are usually pushed out of a person’s diet by carbonated drinks. Soft drinks have no nutritional value; they provide nothing but empty calories, which pack on pounds. Dr. Caroline Apovian, director of clinical research at Boston University’s Obesity Research Center, stated that drinking one soda each day for one year can result in a 15-pound weight gain. The issue of calories, however, is minimal compared to other dangers related to soft drinks.
Your mouth is another area that can be affected by these beverages. The phosphoric acid in carbonated drinks erodes tooth enamel, making teeth softer. Also, bacteria on the teeth turn sugar from soft drinks to acid, which results in more cavities. The more soft drinks you consume, the more tooth decay you experience. Brushing your teeth after consuming a soft drink does not help, either. In fact, it worsens the effect by driving the acid deeper into your enamel.
A serious health concern related to drinking sodas is diabetes. A research report published in August 2004 in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed evidence that soft drinks were linked to the development of Type 2 diabetes and weight gain. Several other studies have supported these findings. The results indicated that women who drank one soft drink per day had an 83 percent greater chance of contracting Type 2 diabetes than those who consumed less than one per month. Researchers also took into account the variety of lifestyles of the participants. The conclusion remained the same, though.
Osteoporosis, kidney stones and heart disease are other problems that some attribute to soft drinks. Although conclusive research is still being done on the correlation between these, the possibilities are frightening.
This information is not a scare tactic designed to make you stop drinking all soft drinks. However, if you choose to drink sodas, you should know the possibilities. Is it worth the risk? That’s up to you.
There are several alternatives to soft drinks you should consider. You do not have to give them up completely; however, incorporating other beverages into your diet would be wise. Water, of course, is the absolute best thing to drink. I realize, though, that many people do not like the blandness of water.
There are yet more options for you. First, an array of flavored waters now exists. You could also try tea, fruit juices, lemonade, Powerade or Gatorade. Also, try to incorporate some milk into your diet. This is especially crucial for women, who need to build up calcium while they are young to prevent osteoporosis later in life.
With all these options, there is certainly something out there that will quench your thirst while pleasing your taste buds.