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Soda is present in most people’s homes, and in restaurants and bars around the world.   

For more than 100 years, modern society has become used to this sugary and carbonated drink constantly being around. In fact, the advertising and marketing used by the big soda companies have even made wearing their logo on clothing, hats, or bags popular. 

The problem is that the vast majority of people don’t realize how harmful it can be to our health, and for those who do sense it, they usually don’t know exactly why. 

There are tons of different brands and types of soft drinks but, one thing they all have in common is the huge amounts of sugar they contain. Many of us might say, “wait… what about the so-called zero kind- Isn’t that okay?” I’m sorry to say but no! Actually, they might even be more harmful because in order to get that characteristic sweet flavor they have to resort to using other products or sweeteners that are even less healthy. 

Tooth Decay 

Sugar is very damaging to our teeth. It promotes the formation of bacteria in our mouth which is responsible for creating significant damage to the enamel of our teeth. Not only do they start to yellow like with coffee and tea, but it accelerates the wear and tear damage and weakens them at a much faster rate. 

However, sugar isn’t the only thing in soda that damages our teeth. Virtually all soft drinks contain phosphoric acid. This acid has a low PH level, thus eroding teeth faster and again allowing bacteria to form in our mouths. 

Causes Obesity and Weight Gain 

This might seem obvious to some, but by containing so much sugar, the excessive consumption of soft drinks causes people to gain weight and/or become obese.

Soda is made from corn syrup (one of the worst sugars around). For every 330ml can of soda contains approximately 43 grams of sugar. This is equivalent to eating 2 large tablespoons of sugar! If we multiply this by an average of 46.7 liters per year per person (data from the study of “Consumption of soft drinks in Spain“) which is less than half a can per day, this comes out to being a total of 6.39kg of sugar per year!! Could you imagine eating that much sugar by the spoonful? Well, that is exactly what the average person is consuming without even realizing it.

Increase of Triglycerides In The Blood

When your body takes in more energy than it needs from sugar your blood sugar levels spike and your liver releases insulin. By overstimulating the liver all that sugar is then transformed into what are called triglycerides. 

Keep in mind that triglycerides are one of the leading causes of heart attacks and cardiovascular problems. 

Decreased Bone Density 

Phosphate acid not only damages teeth as we previously mentioned but also seriously damages bones, affecting their resistance and density.

This acid is an antinutrient, which means that it prevents the absorption of other nutrients in our body. It’s worth mentioning that this acid is an industrial chemical created in a lab, and it even contains arsenic. 

Sweeteners Are Also Bad

It’s true that there are soft drinks which don’t contain any sugar but, don’t let this fool you, that doesn’t make them any less harmful to our health. 

There are 4 cheap and very harmful sweeteners that are used in “sugar-free” soft drinks: aspartame, saccharin, acesulfame-K, and sucralose. All of these sweeteners are chemicals and consuming them in excessive amounts can lead to serious health problems.

Many people who choose to drink “light” or “zero” soda products are under the assumption that they are a healthier option and might even be a way to lose weight, but this is completely UNTRUE. Besides the fact that they have no nutritional value for our bodies and experiments have shown that they increase the chances of getting cancer it’s also been proven that these sweeteners increase food cravings which in the long run causes people to gain weight. 

These sweeteners are found in many soft drinks and fruit juices without warning. They are hidden poisons. 

Increased Risk of Diabetes

Of course, sugar not only damages everything that we’ve already mentioned, but it also increases the levels of glucose found in the blood creating sugar spikes, thus damaging the liver which can lead to diabetes.

Soda Addiction 

Sugar acts like a drug for our body, and like with any drug can cause an addiction. Many people don’t seriously take this into consideration when consuming soft drinks but it affects millions of people all over the world. 

Soft drinks are super harmful to our health and are a common enemy for societies across the globe. Rather than consuming these harmful beverages, we should be opting for equally delicious drinks that are also much healthier such as, natural fruit juice, smoothies, lemonades, or flavored water. Any option is better than soda!!!