Warning!! Drinking Soda May Be Hazardous to Your Health

Can you Guess How Much Soda Americans Drinks?

The average American drinks an estimated 56 gallons of soft drinks each year. Consider this: one can of soda has about 10 teaspoons of sugar, 150 calories, 30 to 55 mg of caffeine, and is loaded with artificial food colors and sulphites. Soda accounts for more than one-quarter of all drinks consumed in the United States. This is an alarming amount of sugar, calories and harmful additives in a product that has absolutely no nutritional value.

Studies have linked soda to osteoporosis, obesity, tooth decay and heart disease. Despite this, Teenagers and children, who many soft drinks are marketed toward, are among the largest consumers. In the past 10 years, soft drink consumption among children has almost doubled in the United States. Teenage boys now drink, on average, three or more cans of soda per day, and 10 percent drink seven or more cans a day. The average for teenage girls is more than two cans a day, and 10 percent drink more than five cans a day.

Here’s What’s in a Can of Soda:

• Phosphoric Acid: May interfere with the body's ability to use calcium, which can lead to osteoporosis or softening of the teeth and bones. It also neutralizes the hydrochloric acid in your stomach, which can interfere with digestion, making it difficult to utilize nutrients.
• Sugar: It is a proven fact that sugar increases insulin levels, which can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, weight gain, premature aging and many more negative side effects. Most sodas include over 100 percent of the RDA of sugar. Soft drink manufacturers are the largest single user of refined sugar in the United States.
• Aspartame: This chemical is used as a sugar substitute in diet soda. There are over 92 different health side effects associated with aspartame consumption including diabetes, brain tumors, birth defects, Alzheimer’s, emotional disorders and epilepsy/seizures. Further, when aspartame is stored for long periods of time or kept in warm areas it changes to methanol, an alcohol that converts to formaldehyde and formic acid, which are known carcinogens.
• Caffeine: Caffeinated drinks cause insomnia, jitters, high blood pressure, elevated blood cholesterol levels, vitamin and mineral depletion, irregular heartbeat, breast lumps, birth defects, and perhaps some forms of cancer.
• Soda is one of the main reasons, nutritionally speaking, why many people suffer health problems. Aside from the negative effects of the soda itself, drinking a lot of soda is likely to leave you with little appetite for vegetables, protein and other food that your body needs.

Pure water is a much better choice than soda. If you must drink a carbonated beverage, try sparkling mineral water.