What Health Problems Are Caused by Drinking Soft Drinks?

Here are 5 potential health problems caused by regularly consuming soft drinks and sodas.

Here are 5 health problems caused by drinking soft drinks:

1. Diabetes mellitus:
   • Individuals who consume one to two cans of soft drinks every day are 26 percent more at risk of type II diabetes mellitus than those who never have such drinks. Young adults and Asians are at a higher risk than other populations.
   • Strong evidence is available that states that people who frequently consume sugary beverages are at the highest risk of diabetes due to sudden insulin spikes.
2. Obesity:
   • Sugary drinks can contribute to empty calories. The more sugary drinks you have, the more calories you are consuming.
   • Moreover, you don’t feel full from drinking soft drinks because the body doesn’t treat liquid calories like calories from solid foods. As a result, you might be tempted to eat more even after having a high-calorie drink.
   • People on a diet tend to go easy on sodas and other soft drinks mainly because of a misconception that beverages have fewer calories than solid foods. However, the reverse is true because soft drinks provide more calories than many desserts or high-calorie foods. Hence, people consuming more sugary drinks are at a high risk of gaining weight.
3. Heart diseases:
   • Studies have reported that people who regularly drank a can of soda are at a high risk of a heart attack or dying from a heart attack.
   • Heart diseases caused by sugary drinks may be due to obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure associated with them.
4. Bone health:
   • Soda and other sugary drinks may pose a threat to bone health in the following ways:
     • High phosphate levels in carbonated drinks can have a damaging effect on bone health.
     • Phosphate levels might replace calcium levels in the bone, making it brittle.
     • Soft drinks do not have any essential nutrients required for the bone or any other organs.
5. Tooth decay:
   • Excess sugar and acid in fizzy drinks can cause dental caries or tooth decay, especially in children. Tooth decay occurs when the tooth enamel gets dissolved by the sugar and acid present in carbonated drinks.

Soft drinks are the go-to drinks for most Americans. Be it regular or diet fizzy drinks, a can of soda can be refreshing, especially after eating certain foods. However, studies show that even drinking just one can of soda contributes to significant health problems.

Components of soft drinks include:

• Water
• Phosphoric acid
• Caffeine
• Sugar
• Colors
• Preservatives

Caffeine is deliberately added to carbonated beverages to make them addictive. Contents of soft drinks are known to exert many dangerous effects on human health.

Some of the health problems associated with soft drink consumption include:

• Obesity
• Dental/bone problems
• Diabetes mellitus
• Cardiovascular disease
• Kidney stone formation

Caffeine in fizzy drinks starts to act gradually and its effects are described below:

• After 40 minutes of drinking any fizzy drinks, the body absorbs all the caffeine. Caffeine produces effects that are similar to those of heroin and results in dilation of the pupil and increased blood pressure. Adenosine receptors in the brain are blocked, thus preventing drowsiness.
• After 45 minutes of drinking soft drinks, the brain releases a neurotransmitter called dopamine that stimulates a person to have more.
• After an hour of drinking soft drinks, a sugar crash occurs, resulting in irritability and drowsiness. The body finally clears the water from soft drinks along with other essential nutrients through urine.

The American Heart Association recommends consuming no more than six teaspoons (about 24 grams) of added sugar for most women and no more than nine teaspoons (about 36 grams) for most men for optimal health.

• A can of soft drink may provide up to 10 teaspoons of added sugar, which is way more than the recommended sugar intake.
• The intense sweetness of soft drinks can make you vomit. However, phosphoric acid present in the beverage can reduce the effect of sugar. Thus, you can guzzle it down without feeling nauseated.

With this level of sugar getting into your body, your blood sugar levels are going to increase dramatically within 20 minutes of gulping it down. The liver then converts this excess sugar into fat and stores it in the body.

People who drink soft drinks do not feel full because they have empty calories. If you regularly drink soft drinks and do not burn the calories, you will easily gain up to five pounds a year.

Higher consumption of soft drinks has been associated with premature death.