Reasons You Should Stop Drinking Soda Now
It’s no secret that drinking soda on a regular basis is terrible for the body. When you’re in school and working on studies, it’s all the more important to keep to a healthy diet. Doing so will help you improve your brain function and energy levels so you can get the best possible results in your classes. Not to mention, there have been plenty of studies done proving just how bad the effects of soda are on the body. You might be thinking that they’re just high in sugar, but it’s so much more than that – even diet soda is bad for you, and we’ll explain why.
No Nutritional Value
Since soda has no nutritional value whatsoever, all those calories you are consuming are empty calories. They contribute to weight gain. This, of course, can lead to a wide array of problems like heart disease and obesity. Don’t get us wrong, diet soda is not the answer to this problem. Studies have shown that switching over to low-calorie or zero-calorie soda does not result in weight loss.
Too Much Acid
Drinking too much acid will have a negative effect on your stomach in the long run. The acid from the soda can irritate the stomach lining as well as cause heartburn and acid reflux.
Rotting Teeth
It’s a known fact that the acid in soda erodes the enamel in your teeth and promotes decay. In fact, one study found that teeth that were exposed to soda for 48 hours lost 5% of their weight, leading researchers to compare soda to battery acid.
High Sugar
The average can of soda contains more than 40 grams of sugar. That’s as much as 10 teaspoons! The sugar in most sodas come from high fructose corn syrup, which is actually harder to metabolize than normal sugar. Even artificial sweeteners in diet sodas have negative effects on metabolism and appetite.
Hydration
While a can of soda might seem like a good way to quench your thirst, the caffeine it contains is actually a diuretic, which dehydrates you. On top of that, the high levels of sodium and sugar in soda also contribute to dehydration. To top it off, those who typically drink soda on a regular basis end up replacing their water intake with soda.
Bone Health
As if all these reasons weren’t enough, the phosphoric acid in soda makes it harder for your body to absorb calcium. As a result, this could cause osteoporosis. Not getting enough calcium or absorbing enough of it can also cause teeth cavities that are already weakened by the soda.
Kidney Damage
It’s been proven by studies that diet soda can actually cause kidney damage. However, kidney decline hasn’t been associated with regular soda, which leads scientists to believe that the cause of the damage is the artificial sweeteners.
Cell Damage
Aside from all the other negative side effects soda has on the body, there is one thing diet soda has that many regular ones don’t: mold inhibitors. They’re usually called sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate. They are in just about all diet sodas. However, a lot of regular sodas don’t contain this preservative. All the same, both diet and regular sodas cause some serious damage to the body, so you’re much better off without them.
