Beat the cola temptation

Beat the cola temptation

A can of chilled soft drink is definitely a pick-me-up, especially in the summer.

While you can take one every other day, recent scientific evidence suggests that "reaching for a few cans of soft drinks every day to quench your thirst should NOT be an option."

The acidity of cola drinks... is approximately the same as that of vinegar. The sugar content masks the acidity, and most of us don't realize we're drinking this strange mixture of phosphoric acid, sugar, caffeine, colors and flavors.

I'm sure you already know that soft drinks are full of empty calories and really aren't the best drinks to quench your thirst. However, I'm listing a few pointers that highlight the facts about soft drinks that will hopefully help resist the cola temptation!

Here is a list of 10 reasons why you should avoid excessive consumption of soft drinks.

1) Carbonated soft drinks are a diuretic. Drinking a soft drink takes more water out of your system than it puts back into your body. The digestion process for the high sugar content will remove a lot of water from your system. To replace the water lost from drinking a carbonated soft drink, you will need to drink many glasses of water to offset your soft drink consumption.

2) An excess of sugar (and crash) in your body can lead to diabetes

High amounts of sugar in the soft drink can cause your pancreas to produce too much insulin. Constant increases and decreases in insulin and sugar in your system can lead to fluctuations in blood sugar levels and insulin resistance.

3) Heavy consumption of soft drinks can disrupt your body's iron metabolism and reduce the transmission of nerve impulses.

4) Cola drinks may interact adversely with the use of antacids, potentially leading to constipation, calcium loss, high blood pressure, nausea, vomiting, headaches, and kidney damage.

5) Caffeine has been linked to reduced absorption of calcium.

Soft drinks have long been suspected of leading to lower calcium levels and higher phosphate levels in the blood. When phosphate levels are high and calcium levels are low, calcium is pulled from the bones. The phosphate content of soft drinks is very high and they contain practically no calcium. Additionally, caffeine programs the kidneys to produce excess urine, causing dehydration. There is enough evidence that cola and other carbonated drinks are linked to low bone mass - in both adults and children - that people should be concerned about how much of these drinks they drink.

6) Carbonated soft drinks contain eight times the amount of benzene that is permitted in drinking water. The abundant chemical “benzene” has been linked to leukemia

7) Another benefit of avoiding sodas is that you avoid the caffeine that is found in many of them. Caffeine intake above safe limits has been linked to irritability, anxiety, nervousness, deep sleep deprivation and vascular headaches.

8) Soft drinks are indeed anything but soft. Because colas are high in phosphorus and phosphoric acid, they tend to infiltrate body fluids and corrode the stomach lining. They can also disrupt the alkaline-acid balance of the kidneys and affect your liver functions. Research has clearly shown that acids with a low pH of around 2.5 are 10,000 times more acidic than the desired neutral pH of 7.0.

9) Soft drinks also contain refined sugar and artificial substances such as colors, flavors, sweeteners, all of which are said to contribute to the production of free radicals in the body.

10) Since soft drinks are naturally quite acidic, with a pH of around 2.5, drinking too much of them can cause problems related to your teeth and gums.

So next time you decide to drink the soft drink, be aware that not only your teeth and weight could be at risk, but also your entire body system and overall health! Switch to green tea, lime water, fruit juices and buttermilk to quench your thirst and trust me, every single cell in your body will thank you for the switch!