How Bad is Soda for Health

An average person in America drinks about 56 gallons of soda a year. People drink soda to quench their thirst and some even admit to drink more soda than water. It has become a replacement for water with little or no heed paid to its adverse effects. With the availability of numerous carbonated drinks in the market, one just cannot resist a shot of the chilled non-alcoholic drink. As much as you like and enjoy cold drinks, you must also be aware of the health hazards it brings with itself.

Dr M S S Mukherjee, a senior cardiologist at Maxcure Hospitals in Hyderabad, sheds light on the serious health effects of soda onhuman health. He explains that soda is nothing but sweetened water.

One glass of soda contains about 10 to 12 teaspoons of sugar. But when we drink it, we do not find it that sweet. This is due to the presence of phosphoric acid in it. The phosphoric acid minimises the sweet nature of the solution making it feel moderate to the tongue.

The effect of soda on body is such that it shoots the sugar level in blood, causing it to be a deadly condition for people with diabetes. The sugar levels soar fast, within 20 minutes of soda consumption. The insulin cannot combat this sudden rise of sugar in blood and due to this mismatch of insulin-sugar levels, insulin production increases that causes an added pressure on pancreas.

Another disadvantage of soda as explained by Dr. Mukherjee is that soda is devoid of any nutritional content. “It is only plain sugar, no proteins, no minerals. Consuming sugar water without any health advantage is just consuming calories.” The body cannot extract any good things from soda as it has nothing to offer. It is detrimental to the health as it can devoid the body from healthy options and alternatives.

The black colour that you see in coke is due to caffeine. It is a known drug that causes drowsiness and feel good mindset. Consuming caffeine through coke and other soft drinks causes sudden blood pressure rise, heartbeat fluctuations and lax body. Soda is famous for causing negative effects like weight gain and obesity. A person who consumes soda on a regular basis puts on more sugar in the body. Overweight and obese people have admitted to consuming huge amounts of soft drinks and soda. The calories from sugar are turned into fat easily. That means eating and drinking sugar and sugar products will form fat in your body faster than eating fat itself.