The Dangers of Soda to Your Body

     Ok, lets be honest here. Everybody knows that soda isn't exactly the best thing for you, right? Well, the funny thing is, most people drink it anyway because its tastes so good! But have you ever read the ingredient list? Have you ever wondered what those really long unpronounceable words are, and what they are doing to you?

     Lets talk about statistics. In the year 2000 over 15 billion gallons of Soft Drinks were sold, that's one 12 ounce can per person, per day! That one 12 ounce can (or more) that you drink daily adds up to about 60 gallons of soda in one year. Yikes!

     One of the reasons why people drink soda is the caffeine. In fact, that is one of the main reasons why people keep going back for more, because, lets face it, caffeine is a drug. When you drink a lot of caffeine your body becomes used to it, and really "needs" it. If you go without caffeine you will probably experience major migraine headaches, a rise in blood pressure, irritability, and stomach problems. Caffeine intoxication is very dangerous to your body. According to Rhonda J. Malkmus who said in her book Recipes for Life: "While the artificial stimulation of caffeine temporarily arouses the intellect and fatigue seems to disappear, it is short lived. The excess stimulation depletes the body of vital energy and it struggles to deal with the poison that has entered the system." So while you are drinking soda (or anything with caffeine in it) and trying to awaken yourself, what you are really doing is making yourself more tired! Caffeine also causes many other things including : Nervousness, anxiety, restlessness, insomnia, gastrointestinal upset, tremor, rapid heartbeats, and agitation.

     Dr Mary Ruth Swope in her article titled, Why I don't Drink Soft Drinks and I Wish You Didn't, makes the following statement: "Soft Drinks contain caramel coloring, which, according to some researchers, has genetic effects and is a cancer-causing suspect. Polyethylene glycol is used as an ingredient sometimes. Glycol is used in anti-freeze in automobiles and as an oil solvent. Perhaps you have noticed that pouring cola drinks on your windshield in a snow or ice storm with keep the windshield from freezing over with ice." So, soda has an ingredient in it that is used in anti-freeze! Do you want to be putting that in your body?

     Diabetes has been linked to extensive soda drinking. Drinking soda stresses your body's ability to process sugar and increases your risk of Diabetes. Did you know that type 2 Diabetes has increases by 90% in 10 years? I wonder if it has something to do with the large increase of soda intake by Americans? Do you drink lots of soda and get Heartburn often? Thats right, drinking soda causes heartburn, due to the very high acid content. Tooth decay is a horrible result of drinking soda. Did you know that if you place a human tooth in soda, within two days they will become soft and the enamel on the surface will have lost most of its calcium? Now, when you drink soda your teeth aren't submerged in the liquid for that amount of time so the affects will take a little longer to be noticed, but the soda does slowly wear down your teeth. Heart disease and High Blood Pressure are also results of soda drinking, as well as Kidney Stones. You see, the acid content in soda changes the urine in a way that promotes Kidney Stones. An ingredient in soda called Phosphate is really bad for you. Phosphate lowers the calcium in your body, and when your body is low in calcium, your body pulls the needed calcium out out of your bones, this is also known as Osteoporosis. Other results of drinking soda are: Impaired Digestion (soda on an empty stomach upsets the fragile alkaline balance); Mental Health problems (soda dissolves your brain); Gout; Cancer (cancer cant live in an oxygen rich environment, soda depletes your body of oxygen); Weight gain (1 can of soda per day is equivalent to 1 pound of weight per month); Liver Damage (soda is so strong and high in acid that your body has to work so hard to dilute it in your system that it overworks your Liver and Kidney).

     We have talked about regular soda now lets look at Diet soda. Diet soda is advertised as "Sugar Free," and it is. It doesn't have regular sugar in it, but it has something 200 times sweeter, and much worse for you: Aspartame. Aspartame, though you may not realize it, has a very addictive nature and instead of getting you off sugar it actually increases your appetite for sweet things! Have you ever heard of Aspartame Disease? The symptoms are headaches, dizziness, attention difficulties, memory loss, slurred speech, and vision problems. Aspartame is cancer causing and has been proven to result in brain tumors. Methanol makes up 10% of Aspartame and is extremely harmful to the optic nerve (can cause blindness). Aspartame causes Seizures, Multiple sclerosis, Chronic fatigue, Depression, Diabetes, Potassium Depletions (which can result in Cardiac Arrhythmias and Paralysis of the Skeletal Muscles). Pretty horrible stuff, huh?

     Hopefully this article has shed some light on the dangers of soda and next time, when you reach for a can of soda, perhaps you will remember all of the things that it causes and think twice about your decision. :-)

"If Mankind would at once discard all refined, sprayed, and unnatural foods, it would be the beginning of a people that would live long happy lives and be free of disease".

-Paul C. Bragg