What rots your teeth, makes you fat and is likened to heroin? That bottle of soda innocently sitting next to your desk, thats what.
I have a big issue with our overconsumption of minerals/soda/soft drink/colas.
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Why you need to ditch the soda
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People gulp them down without thinking about, or plain ignoring the consequences of this teeth-rotting liquid.
Do you really know what happens to your body when you drink these sugary drinks?
Let me enlighten you.
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The UK Telegraph quotes research by health writer Wade Meredith, who explained that a 330ml can of Coca Cola contains so much sugar, your body should vomit - but the phosphoric acid "cuts the flavor", helping you keep the liquid down.
It works like heroin – after you drink it the body starts to produce more dopamine, a neurotransmitter that controls the brain's pleasure centres - "physically the same way heroin works, by the way" she says.
As medicaldaily.com reports, the immediate effects of soda are well-documented. About 20 minutes after you finish the can, it hits you — 100 percent of your recommended daily intake of sugar, or 10 teaspoons.
It's not pretty. First, your blood sugar spikes which causes an insulin burst that then tricks your liver into converting all sugars into fat. Within 40 minutes, caffeine (there is caffeine in cola/Coke) absorption is complete - your pupils become dilated, your blood pressure rises, and the liver begins to dump even more sugar into your bloodstream.
So that's the first hour. If you are drinking this every day, you are doing huge damage to your body.
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High-sugar diets are terrible for your brain – especially memory making.
A study published in the journal Neuroscience found that excessive amounts of added sugar can reduce the production of a chemical known as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). And with inadequate levels of BDNF, everyday cognitive tasks like learning and memory formations become much more difficult, medicaldaily.com reports.
You heart is also at risk. Maybe this will make you put down that can: In 2012, a Harvard University study found that people who drink only one can of soda a day dramatically increase their risk of chronic heart disease (CHD).
They were 20 percent more likely to have a heart attack than those who drank the least soda.
Then there's the risk of diabetes, carbohydrates means sugars, and most of the food we eat are high in carbs, so if you an adding soda to an already high-carb diet you are getting into a scary territory. It’s extremely hard to treat diabetes so lay off the soda, or risk a future of insulin injections.
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There was a documentary released a few years back that really shook things up, called That Sugar Movie, a large emphasis was the damage soft drinks do to teeth.
The sugar in these drinks bond with the bacteria in your mouth, giving rise to acid. This acid weakens the enamel on your teeth, so over time this leads to bacterial plaque that causes cavities – that means fillings.
Everything in moderation as the saying goes, but if you are knocking back these drinks daily then you need to reassess. Cut back to every second day, then once a week and then, preferably, never!
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