Do you drink soda? If yes, then you may be interested to know how your habit can be damaging your body more than you think. If you drink sugary soda, you probably already know how those extra empty calories will mess up your diet and damage your teeth. However, you are not safe even if you drink diet soda. Soda can have many negative effects on your health.
- Decline in Kidney Function A Harvard Medical School study found that consuming 2 or more artificially sweetened soda is associated with 2-fold increased odds for kidney function decline in women.
- Dehydrating. Most sodas out there have caffeine. Caffeine is a diuretic. Diuretics cause an increased production of urine, which can lead to dehydration.
- Want to gain weight fast? Drink soda. A 20-ounce bottle of Coca-Cola contains 17 teaspoons of sugar and 240 calories! Drink Coke and then walk for over an hour to burn off the extra calories.
- Would you like some flame retardant with that? Many sodas and electrolyte drinks contain a synthetic chemical called BVO (brominated vegetable oil). BVO prevents the drink from separating. BVO is also patented by chemical companies as a flame retardant. It’s banned in over 100 countries but is still used in the US.
- Asthma. A study in Australia discovered a positive association between the consumption of soft drinks and asthma / COPD among adults.
- Throws off your balance. Since soda is very acidic (whether diet or not), it will weaken the delicate alkaline/ acid balance in your body and will contribute to such problems as loss of bone calcium, teeth decay and stomach, and intestinal weakness. An over-acidic diet over time has also been shown to be a major contributor to the so-called “aging” diseases.
If you like soda and do not want to give it up entirely, you might consider reducing the amount you drink every day and gradually shifting to drinking more water. And because soda is so acidic, we recommend that you consider drinking alkaline water because this will help restore the balance needed for overall wellness. Even if you choose to continue drinking a lot of soda, you can drink alkaline water right after drinking soda to help re-hydrate yourself (soda actually dehydrates the body) and to neutralize the soda’s acidity. You will probably feel better, have energy that lasts longer and reduces the experience of heartburn.
If you are new to the concept of alkaline water or ionized water, here is how it works in a simple way. Tap water contains many ions. Some ions are desirable (like calcium, which is good for building teeth and bones and magnesium for the heart) and some ions are less desirable (like chlorine which will make your water smell and taste bad). A good water ionizer contains a quality filter that will remove the vast majority of toxins from the water while concentrating on the essential alkalizing minerals. This increase in alkalinity comes through electrolysis (without adding anything to water). A water ionizer also creates a strong negative charge in the water (which makes the water easier to absorb and takes away that heavy feeling in the stomach). The result is great tasting, healthy, clean water with no need to ever buy plastic bottled water again!
Who knows? You might discover that you like the taste of water and ditch your sodas for good, once you try it.
