The Dangers of Drinking Soda
Author: Melissa Lahti
March 14, 2012
It is no secret that soda contains alarming amounts of sugar and has absolutely no nutritional value what so ever. The soda companies are the number one user of refined sugar. Each can of soda contains about 10 teaspoons of sugar. That’s over 100% of the recommended daily allowance a person should have in a day. Even though it’s no big secret how bad soda is, it still makes up ¼ of all drinks consumed in the US each year. Soda has been called many things such as, toxic, poisonous, lethal and venomous. It is linked to osteoporosis, obesity, tooth decay, heart disease and many more health problems.
Having as little as one or two sodas a day is very bad for a person. If we take a look at the main ingredients in a soda, it will give us a better idea of just how bad it really is. Soda contains phosphoric acid. This interferes with calcium absorption in the body and causes the bones to lose density, osteoporosis. Phosphoric acid is also known to neutralize hydrochloric acid. This is the main acid in our stomach which aids in the digestion of our food. If the stomach does not start the digestion process then our body will not get the proper nutrition from any food we eat. There are such high amounts of sugar in soda that it is very dangerous. It will increase insulin levels, cause high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes and weight gain, just to name a few. Diet sodas contain an ingredient called aspartame. Aspartame has been known to have over 92 different side effects including brain tumors, birth defects, and epilepsy/seizures. If aspartame is stored or made warm, it will turn into formaldehyde and formic acid. Well known carcinogens. Finally, soda contains high amounts of caffeine to make it addictive. Children have been known to go through withdrawals when they stop drinking soda. Caffeine has also been known to cause other problems such as; high blood pressure, irregular heartbeats, high cholesterol and vitamin and mineral depletion.
Soda companies have grossed over $57 billion last year, targeting mainly children and teens. In 1993, School District 11 in Colorado Springs, Colorado signed an $11 million, 10 year deal with Coca-Cola to advertise their product in their schools. They gave $60 million to the Boys and Girls club to advertise their product exclusively in over 2000 of their facilities. Since then the schools and clubs all across America have been making tons of money to allow the soda companies to market to our children. In 1998 the Center for Science in the Public Interest tried to warn America that the soda companies are trying to infiltrate our schools. One high school in Beltsville, Maryland made almost $100,000 last year.
Limiting soda to less than one drink a day, or not drinking it at all is a very good idea. Studies have shown that people who don’t drink soda are much healthier. It has also been proven that when people who have been drinking sodas regularly, stop drinking it, they will show improved health. If a person is struggling to lose weight, one sure place to start is to stop drinking soda. Also, as parents, we should check if our child’s schools are taking part in the marketing ploy for the soda companies to get richer. We need to make them get the soda out of the schools. We don’t need them getting rich at the expense of our children.