America’s Love Affair with Soda
America loves its soft drinks. Studies show that, while Boomers and older adults typically drink coffee in the morning, many of today’s 18 to 25-year-olds opt for soda instead. While some prefer diet sodas, most go for the fully sugared variety. Over the past 15 years, the trend of drinking soda at breakfast has nearly doubled, while coffee consumption has dropped by a quarter. It seems Mom’s no-pop-for-breakfast rule has backfired. And it only gets worse as the day progresses—surveys show that Americans now drink twice as much soda throughout the day as they did in the 70s. In 1997, American consumers spent a staggering $54 billion on soda. On average, Americans consume about 54 gallons of the stuff every year.
This isn’t good news for America’s health. Soft drinks contain about 150 calories in an average can, and that’s much less than what you’ll find in a bottle or in a ‘Big Gulp’ at the movie theater. They also contain other ingredients that can wreck a person’s health, especially when consumed regularly. If you drink even one soda a day, you could be at risk for the following diseases and health problems:
Weight Gain
Many soda drinkers doubt that their Mountain Dew habit is the cause of their weight troubles, but it’s backed by facts. Twelve ounces of soda—that’s the amount in a single can—provides 150 calories. If you drink one can a day, you could be taking in 4,500 extra calories in a month. For many people living an average lifestyle, this could translate into a weight gain of approximately one pound per month. It’s easy to see how your soda consumption can undermine a good workout and healthy eating routine.
There has always been anecdotal evidence linking frequent soda consumption to expanding waistlines, but in 2001, the Harvard School of Public Health presented a study with hard evidence that regular soda drinking was one of the nation’s top causes of obesity. The study followed 548 teenagers for 19 months and found that those who regularly drank soda were much more likely to be obese than those who didn’t. In fact, according to the study, your chances of becoming obese increase by 60% with each can of soda you drink per day.
Diabetes
Type-2 diabetes often goes hand-in-hand with weight gain, and the more soda you drink, the harder it becomes for your body to produce insulin. Soda contains high-fructose corn syrup and lots of sugar, which enters your bloodstream quickly when you drink a soda. When it does, your pancreas has to secrete large amounts of insulin to break it down. Evidence suggests that regular soda consumption over time places a heavy demand on the pancreas, ultimately reducing its ability to keep up with the body’s normal insulin requirements. Essentially, you wear out your pancreas.
Cavities
Your mother probably always told you that soda would rot your teeth—and she was right. Many health professionals compare drinking soda to bathing your teeth in corrosive acid. It dissolves enamel and has an acidity level of around 7, which is seven times more acidic than battery acid. The worst part is that as you drink soda, the acidity of the liquid actually acidifies your saliva. After gulping one can, your saliva’s acidity returns to normal after about 20 minutes. But if you drink soda often throughout the day, your saliva never gets the chance to return to normal, leaving your teeth exposed to corrosive saliva all day—even when you’re not drinking soda. Studies show that regular soda drinkers have 62% more tooth problems, including decay, fillings, and cavities, than occasional drinkers.
Osteoporosis
This is a recent finding: scientists have linked lower bone density to regular soda-drinking habits. It’s unclear whether the cause is that more kids are drinking soda instead of milk lately, or whether the acidic properties of soda leach calcium from bones. However, two things are pretty clear: darker sodas like Coke and Dr. Pepper are worse than fruit-flavored soft drinks like Sprite, and teenage girls who drink soda regularly are five times as likely to experience bone breaks or fractures than girls who don’t.
Many people concerned about the health effects of soda turn to diet sodas. Although diet sodas have significantly less sugar, they still corrode your teeth and can cause bone-density issues. If you’re worried about your soda-drinking habits and want to know which drinks are safe, the data is clear: stay away from diet sodas and any fruit-juice drink that’s less than 10% fruit. Sports drinks like Gatorade and Powerade aren’t much better for you than soft drinks, despite their advertising. The best way to quench your thirst is by drinking low-fat milk or water.
