What Are The Side Effects Of Soft Drinks?

In today’s advancing society, everyone enjoys the pleasurable and refreshing taste of fizzy drinks such as cola or diet drinks, and many more. No party or celebration is complete without a range of soft drinks that titillate our taste buds before temporarily quenching our thirst. Kids and teens consider such drinks to be an inseparable part of their lives. The main component of such drinks is carbonated-caffeine that triggers the excitation of the reticular system within the brain. Consuming one or two sugary drinks per day elevates your risk for health issues like diabetes, obesity, cancer, vascular issues, etc. by 25%. In this article, you can know the carbonated drinks side effects and also know what are the side effects of soft drinks.

What is A Soft-Drink?

Soft-Drinks are non-alcoholic beverages that contain carbon dioxide, nutritive or non-nutritive sweeteners, natural or synthetic flavors, colors, acidification agents, chemical preservatives, and emulsifiers in addition to various other functional agents.

Soft Drinks are a rich source of sugar and energy, with no nutritional value. These drinks are the second biggest contributor to caffeine intake which is often considered as the most widely consumed psychoactive drug after tea and coffee in the world.

How Much Sugar Is In Soft Drinks?

Globally, and in developing countries, consumption of sugary drinks is rising dramatically due to widespread urbanization and beverage marketing. Sugary Drinks refer to as ‘Full-fat drinks.’ The average tin of sugar-sweetened soda or fruit punch provides about 150 calories, almost all of them from added sugar. Consumption of sugary could contribute to increased weight gain both in men and women. A half-liter of cola contributes about 11% of an adult’s daily calorie intake.

One issue with these sugary and fizzy drinks is that they increase blood sugar levels very rapidly and can lead to tiredness and increased hunger even in people without diabetes. Besides, they don’t contribute any nutritional value apart from energy. 

What Are The Side Effects Of Soft Drinks?

Regular consumption of sugary drinks is somehow related to numerous health problems. It has far more health risks than many of us may realize. Following are the reasons to try and quit your soft drink habit;

• Drinking soft drinks can cause a decline in kidney function.
• Fizzy Drinks also increase diabetes risk.
• Soft drink cans are lined with BPA.
• Drinking soft drinks can cause dehydration.
• Artificial brown coloring in colas is linked to cancer.
• Caramel coloring also gives rise to vascular issues.
• Cold Drinks are high in calories.
• Sugary drinks increase the obesity risk in children.
• Cold drink increases heart disease in men.
• Acidification in soft drinks wears away dental enamel.
• Fizzy drinks also contain a high amount of sugar level.
• Cola contains artificial sweeteners.
• Having soft drinks deplete your mineral levels.
• Drinking cola brings changes in your metabolism.
• Consuming more than one soft drink per day stimulates the risk of heart disease and metabolic syndrome.
• Soft drinks do not help you lose weight.
• Diet colas contain mold inhibitors.
• Soft Drinks containing ascorbic acid and potassium benzoate can form benzene, a known carcinogen.
• Regular colas and other sugar-sweetened drinks are linked to Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD).
• Some soft drinks contain flame retardants.
• Cold drinks are linked to asthma as well.

Some individuals might face behavioral and physical changes due to excessive intake of Soft Drinks such as;

• They can make us behave in an aggressive manner.
• They can cause premature birth in pregnant women.
• They can transform protein levels in your brain that leads to hyperactivity.
• They can cause premature aging.
• Soft drinks can cause early puberty.
• They can increase our risk of Alzheimer’s.

Cutting Back On Sugary Soft Drinks

It is very important to reduce or avoid the excessive intake of sugary drinks. There is a wide range of healthier beverages with water, being the top option.

It is easy to tell than to stop drinking for frequent soda drinkers. If you possess a craving for carbonation, you should go for naturally flavored sparkling water to get rid of soft drinks addiction. If it still doesn’t work for you and you find its taste too bland, add a splash of juice, sliced citrus fruit such as lime, or some fresh herbs to elevate its taste.

Action Beyond The Individual Level

Alleviating our preference for sweet beverages requires concentrated action on several levels from innovative food scientists and marketers in the beverage industry, as well as from individual consumers and families, schools and worksites, and state and federal government. We must co-ordinate towards this worthy and urgent cause.

Fortunately, soft and sugary drinks are a growing topic in policy discussions both nationally and internationally. This issue should be emphasized widely and more awareness should be raised to reduce its further consumption.