Understanding the Dangers of Soda

Soda is the beverage of choice for most Americans. In most grocery stores, soda fills up an entire isle. Research has demonstrated that the average American consumes over two servings of soda per day. This includes men, women and children.

Regular soda contains large amounts of sugar. It is often found in the form of high fructose corn syrup. It is estimated that a regular can of soda has the equivalent of nine teaspoons of sugar. Imagine eating nine teaspoons of sugar one right after the other. This is essentially what you are doing when you drink a can of regular soda. This helps to explain why childhood diabetes and obesity are becoming a huge problem.

Many people drink diet soda to avoid the sugar, thinking that it is the healthy way to go. Not according to research. In many studies, people that drink diet soda appear to be gaining more weight than people that do not. America drinks more diet soda than anywhere else in the world. Many scientists believe that the artificial sweeteners found in diet soda are unhealthy for the body and may lead to health problems. Scientists also believe that artificial sweeteners cause the body to crave more sweets and carbohydrates, causing you to eat more.

Soda companies have huge advertising budgets to try to convince the general public that diet soda is healthy for us. In addition to artificial sweeteners, diet soda contains other ingredients that are harmful for our health. Similar to regular soda, they often contain caffeine, phosphoric acid and sodium. Caffeine can be addictive. It also is known to cause chronic fatigue, sleep disorders and extreme anxiety. It is a diuretic. This means that instead of helping the body stay hydrated, it actually causes the body to excrete water. When you drink diet soda, you may think you are hydrating the body, but really you are doing the opposite. The fluid you are drinking will simply go right through you into your urine.

Phosphoric acid, which is found in soda, is not good for the bones. It competes with calcium. Instead of the body producing healthy bone with calcium, it causes formation of bone with phosphorus. This causes the bones to be weak and brittle and can be a precursor to osteoporosis. Phoshoric acid can also be hard on the stomach. It is essentially acid. Try dropping a nail into a glass of soda and see what happens after a short period of time. You'll notice that the soda eats away at the nail. Think of what it does to the lining of our stomach and other parts of our body.

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