Soft drinks or soda is very bad for your health. That fact has been pointed out by many experts through these years. Still, people sought after drinking sodas for their hearts’ content, quite unconcerned about the health risks they might be exposing themselves into. If you are one of them, read on. Open your eyes on the truth. Make certain how bad soda is for your health so you will think twice drinking it next time you come across one in the grocery or even in your own pantry.
The Ingredients
The things that make soda bad for your health are the very ingredients that compose it. Sodas are often loaded with caffeine, sugar substitutes, carbonation, and additives such as artificial coloring, preservatives, and artificial flavoring.
Those ingredients, when put together and when taken in high amounts could pose risks for contracting serious health conditions such as diabetes, heart, disease, tooth decay, nutritional depletion, and obesity. What is even more alarming is the fact that the health effects of soda can be seen in a bunch of children who, at a young age, have already discovered almost an addiction to carbonated drinks.
The addition of high amounts of sugar in every can of cola – as others prefer to call soda – is especially alarming. Too much sugar intake can raise your insulin levels beyond normal, which could then cause depression in your immune system and weaken your body’s natural ability to fight disease. Also, excessive amounts of sugar are stored as fat, which leads to obesity, heart disease, and cancer.
Diet Soda, the Better Choice?
To help eliminate the problem with sugars in soda, or so as the soda manufacturers may impress, diet sodas or sugar-free alternatives are introduced. But do they really come as the better choice?
You might be surprised to find out that drinking soda, whether it is regular or sugar-free, can cause 30% chance of weight gain. That means, it does not matter if you are getting a diet coke or a regular coke. Drinking one can or more in a day can still pose serious risks to your health.
That’s because diet sodas use artificial sweeteners such as saccharin and asparteme. Those artificial sweeteners, particularly saccharin, have been found to cause bladder cancer in rats. They are carcinogenic ingredients that are also bad for your health.
Drinking diet soda, therefore, does not lessen the bad effects soda may have in your health. It only gives the health risks a different name.
The Best Option
The best substitute for drinking soda, therefore, is skipping it altogether. Instead of soda, opt for the healthier options.
* Choose fresh water. Drinking water is vital for your health. It does not have ingredients that pose harm to your body but instead carry on minerals and nutrients that will help your body perform its normal functions.
* Choose fresh fruit juice. If you want to go for something with flavor, go for freshly squeezed orange juice or any kind of fruit juice. You will get that sweet taste minus the guilt. If you will have to add in sugar, make sure that it will just be a small amount.
* Choose tea. Another healthy alternative is tea. It is packed with antioxidants and may induce a calming effect on your body. You will feel relaxed while enjoying a nice cup.
Jenny is a free lancer writer and content builder of http://www.deartips.com/