Aparna Pradhan
The age old saying that "what we eat today determines our health tomorrow" is true for drinks as well. One of today’s ’in-thing foods’, soft drinks, can be quite detrimental to health. It has become a fashion, especially with youngsters, to drink aerated drinks every now and then. Soft drinks have become more of an addiction with the youth and soft drink commercial advertisements with popular film and sports personalities do a good job in luring the youth.
Aerated soft drinks contain a large number of calories but these are empty calories as they are devoid of any nutritional value. In fact, the ingredients in the soft drinks do a lot of harm to the body. Some of the major components in aerated soft drinks include water, carbon dioxide, phosphoric acid, sugar, aspartame and caffeine. The acidic and biting taste of soft drinks is imparted when carbon dioxide dissolves in water. Regular soft drinks are sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, sugar or a combination of both. Diet soft drinks have aspartame as sweetener.
Regular consumption of soft drinks has negative consequences on the health of children and adolescents. There is a growing concern in the medical and scientific communities about the harmful effects associated with these carbonated soft drinks.
This article is aimed at creating awareness amongst people, especially youngsters, about the harmful effects of ingredients that form these drinks and the health risks associated with drinking aerated drinks.
Bone loss: Consumption of soft drinks is strongly associated with an increased risk of bone loss leading to osteoporosis and increased risk of bone fractures. Phosphoric acid in soft drinks is responsible for bone loss from the body. Soft drinks consumption leads to high phosphate and low calcium levels in the blood because they contain virtually no calcium. When phosphate levels are high and calcium levels are low, calcium is pulled out from the bones eventually leading to osteoporosis.
Caffeine in soft drinks increases the excretion of calcium in urine, which further increases the risk for osteoporosis.
Tooth problems: Drinking carbonated soft drinks can cause dental problems. High sugar and phosphoric acid are responsible for tooth decay. High acid content attack the enamel, soften it and finally dissolve it. Complete loss of the enamel on the front teeth resulting in yellow teeth have been reported by dentists in teenaged boys and girls who habitually drink soft drinks. Enamel breakdown leads to cavities.
Behavioural problems: Caffeine in the soft drinks can have harmful effects on children. Consumption of large amounts of caffeine can lead to nervousness, anxiety, irritability and insomnia.
Increased acidity and oesophageal reflux: High consumption of soft drinks leads to acidity and discomfort. This is due to the high phosphoric acid and carbon dioxide contents. The stomach distention from carbonation in soft drinks can trigger reflux of acid from stomach into the oesophagus.
Obesity: Sweeteners, either sucrose or high fructose corn syrup, in soft drinks constitute a significant portion of added sweetener in children and adolescent’s diets. The high calorie intake due to these sweeteners is one of the main contributory factors in childhood and adolescent obesity.
This sweetener doesn’t turn off hunger signals, so soft drinks sweetened with corn syrup may increase appetite and weight gain.
More risk for heart disease and diabetes: The high fructose corn puts you at a greater risk for heart disease and diabetes. Studies have shown that consuming fructose leads to elevated levels of triglycerides and LDL (bad cholesterol) and low levels of HDL (good cholesterol), impaired glucose tolerance and increased blood pressure.
Aspartame in diet soft drinks has been associated with diabetes, emotional disorders and epilepsy/ seizures.
Increased risk of Gout: Consumption of soft drinks sweetened with sugar and fructose is strongly associated with an increased risk for gout, according to the results of a twelve year old study on 46,393 men recently published in British Medical Journal. Diet soft drinks were not associated with the risk of gout.
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