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 sodas is associated with a 2-fold increased risk of kidney function decline in women.
• Dehydrating: Most sodas contain caffeine, which is a diuretic. Diuretics increase urine production, leading to dehydration.
• Want to Gain Weight Fast? 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.
• Flame Retardant in Your Drink: Many sodas and electrolyte drinks contain brominated vegetable oil (BVO), a synthetic chemical that prevents separation. BVO is also patented as a flame retardant and is banned in over 100 countries but still used in the US.
• Asthma Risk: An Australian study found a positive association between soft drink consumption and asthma/COPD among adults.
• Disrupts Your Body's Balance: Soda is highly acidic, which weakens the body's delicate acid-alkaline balance. This can lead to issues such as loss of bone calcium, tooth decay, and digestive problems. An overly acidic diet has been linked to "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.