From a child to a middle-aged person, everyone loves soda. No social gathering is complete without drinking aerated drinks. But if you’ve been reading magazines and research reports, you would know how bad these aerated and artificially sugared drinks are for your health. Most of them are nothing but water with heaps of sugar and a lot of CO2, devoid of any nutritional value! Despite knowing all the drawbacks, have you tried to dig more into its negative impacts on your health? Let’s have a look.

• Unexpected spike in sugar levels, type 2 diabetes – 20 minutes after drinking soda, your blood sugar level spikes leading to insulin burst. In response to this, your liver starts turning any sugar into fat. After 45 minutes of gulping down a glass of soda, caffeine from the drink is completely absorbed, resulting in a rise in blood sugar levels and blood pressure. People who regularly consume sugary drinks, for example, 1 or 2 cans per day, have a 26% greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes than people who rarely consume such drinks.
• Reproductive problems – Nearly all the soda cans made of aluminum are lined with bisphenol A (BPA), an epoxy resin used to keep the acids in soda reacting from metals. BPA is a strong chemical which interferes with hormones and may lead to obesity, diabetes, infertility and some forms of reproductive cancers too!
• Obesity – According to a research by Harvard, soda is closely related to the obesity epidemic. They have calculated that each additional soda consumed increases the risk of obesity 1.6 times. It also leads to an increase in cholesterol, liver fat, skeletal fat and triglyceride blood fats and other organ fat, leading to obesity. Even diet sodas that contain artificial sweeteners are equally bad. They induce hormonal responses that cause weight gain.
• Tooth decay – Aerated drinks contain phosphoric acid, which is usually used in industrial cleaners. This acid erodes the tooth enamel leading to cavities. This acid when coupled with acid produced from bacteria, doubles the threat to tooth enamel. As a result, multiple teeth problems like pain, temperature sensitivity, cracking, transparency and darkening of the teeth emerge. Moreover, the caramel dye used to add color to these drinks contributes to yellowing of teeth.
• Osteoporosis – Osteoporosis is a condition where your skeletal system starts weakening. The phosphoric acid content of the soft drinks increases the phosphate levels and lowers the calcium levels in your blood. When calcium in the blood is low and phosphate is high, the calcium is pulled out from your bones, which leads to Osteoporosis.
• Heart diseases – The presence of a high percentage of fructose corn syrup, a cheap replacement for cane sugar, increases the risk of metabolic syndrome, which leads to heart disease and diabetes. This metabolic syndrome is also associated with elevated fasting triglycerides, elevated blood pressure, central obesity and low levels of HDL or "good" cholesterol. In a study following 40,000+ men for two decades, it was found that those who drank one sugary drink per day had a 20% higher risk of having a heart attack or dying from a heart attack, as compared to men who rarely consumed sugary drinks.
• Accelerated aging – Regular, as well as diet colas, contain phosphoric acid and phosphates which are responsible for improving their shelf life and adding the tangy flavor. Too much phosphoric acid can also lead to kidney stones, heart problems, osteoporosis, muscle loss and accelerated aging.

Apart from the above, sodas can also damage the liver and increase the risk of liver cirrhosis; and lead to an increased risk of gout, dementia and cancers.

So, the next time you gulp down these sugary treats, you know what diseases you are inviting!

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