Why Soft Drinks Are Hard on Your Health

Few of us drink soda because we believe it's healthy for us, but because it tastes good, quenches our thirst, and tingles pleasantly on our tongues. We hope that even if soda is no health drink, at least it won't harm us. But the reality is that it can, and it will. Chronic soda imbibers end up paying dearly for their pleasure. Some of the bad ingredients in soda are sugar, artificial sweeteners, caffeine, phosphorus, and carbon acids, but that's not all.

Let's start with phosphorus. Too much phosphorus in your body leads to a reduction in calcium and magnesium, which are vital for a normal heart rate, nerve and muscle function, blood clotting, good bones and teeth. It can lead to tooth loss, damage your gums, cause osteoarthritis in adults and bone fractures in adolescents.

Many soft drinks contain caffeine, which is another easy way to lose calcium. Too little calcium can cause heart rhythm irregularities and severe anxiety in susceptible people. Withdrawal from caffeine includes headaches, fatigue, muscle pain and stiffness, nausea, vomiting, and depression. Women may suffer from increased PMS (premenstrual syndrome) symptoms.

Regular soda is loaded with sugar, which has no redeeming nutritional value whatsoever except for a transient increase in energy followed by a crash. Too much sugar can cause obesity and tooth enamel damage because it impedes the ability of white blood cells to kill bacteria in the mouth.

Sugar in soda often comes in the form of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which is suspected to have a multitude of deleterious effects on the body. HFCS can interfere with minerals that the heart needs for proper function. It can cause elevated blood cholesterol and contribute to blood clots, increase uric acid-a symptom of heart disease-contribute to the development of cancer and diabetes, raise phosphorus levels, and cause diarrhea and chronic mineral losses leading to premature aging of the skin. It also contributes to copper deficiency, which in turn can lead to anemia, soft bones, connective tissue defects, obesity, infertility, heart arrhythmias, high cholesterol, heart attacks, and even diabetes. There's nothing healthy about high fructose corn syrup.

How about diet soda? Unfortunately, diet soda contains artificial sweeteners such as Aspartame, which may increase your cravings for real sweets and junk foods. Aspartame is converted into methanol, and if you drink enough diet soda, you can be slowly poisoning your body with this dangerous chemical. Methanol, also known as wood alcohol, is a toxin that can damage the central nervous system. Saccharin, another common artificial sweetener, is a petroleum derivative that can harm the bladder and reproductive organs.

What's the bad news about the carbon acids in soft drinks? The damage they wreak is to increase the acidity of the blood and saliva. Carbon acids are as acidic as vinegar, with the same ability to dissolve tooth enamel.

Last but not least, the sodium benzoate often used as a preservative in soft drinks can increase blood pressure and cause skin rashes and even asthma.

As if all that weren't scary enough, it turns out that a chemical in the polycarbonate plastic that coats the aluminum inside of soda cans, called bisphenol A or BPA, is suspected of causing chromosomal abnormalities and spontaneous abortions, according to a 2003 study. Aluminum itself can cause bone loss or soft bones because of its tendency to bind with phosphorus and calcium.

Still crave that soft drink with your lunch sandwich? Try decaffeinated herbal iced or hot tea, soy milk, low-fat milk or iced water instead. Your body will thank you long into the future.