http://www.care2.com/greenliving/health-risks-of-drinking-soda.html
Health Risks of Drinking Soda
At a picnic this weekend, I listened as an extended family member nagged at kids to stay away from the cola and other types of soda pop being served. “They rot your teeth,” one grandmother admonished her grandkids. But she herself was drinking a big glass of Diet Pepsi, and didn’t seem aware of the irony of her pronouncement: It’s actually older women who are most at risk of health problems from drinking cola and other fizzy soft drinks.
Every six months or so, it seems, a new warning comes out about the dangers of drinking too much soda. And you may feel you’ve heard it all. But a couple of new studies have led experts to begin calling for a public health campaign to warn women about cola consumption.
Women are at greater risk of osteoporosis, or bone thinning, as they get older. Most of us already know that. But many people don’t realize that drinking a lot of cola and other soft drinks increases osteoporosis risk — or causes the disease to progress faster. The phosphoric acid that makes fizzy drinks fizz actually eats away at bone, making it more porous.
This news, while worrying, has been known for a while. But now scientists are sounding the alarm that soft drinks weaken muscles as well as bones. According to a new study, drinking large amounts of cola (the study focused on people who drank two quarts or more a day) causes potassium levels in the blood to fall, which can lead to a severe deficiency. And potassium deficiency, as athletes know, makes you feel weak and dizzy, and causes muscles to atrophy.
Researchers aren’t sure yet exactly how soft drinks are causing the potassium deficiency; they theorize that flooding the kidneys with caffeine and sugar causes them to filter out too much potassium from cells. This is a dangerous double whammy for older women, who have a higher risk of falling and hip fracture than men do.
Of course, the real message health and nutrition experts are trying to convey is that we need more calcium and other bone- and muscle-building nutrients in our bodies, and fewer empty calories.
So what to do when soda’s out but you’re thirsty and milk just won’t cut it? Try water, lemonade, or iced tea.
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19 comments
add your comment »(when you drink say Cola, a substance in it turns to embalming liquid.)
turns to embalming liquid? come on quit trying to insult our intelligence with this nonsense. We all know embalming liquids are toxic. so much so, that you'd be dead in minutes after drinking it. you can drink old sodas that have sat around open and nothing happens.I get so tired of people spreading stupid lies to scare others. its ridiculous.
and as for the claim that sodas will cause you to gain weight, thats another ridiculous thought.weight gain comes from eating much more than your body needs to survive and be healthy. a few sodas a week or even a day won't make you gain weight.if that were true ,I'd weigh 400 pounds . as it is, if you could say anything about me,its that I am under weight not over.
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It's not just the fizz in sodas that make them bad for us, and dark ones are the worst. Also, as horrid as corn syrup is for us, I'm apt to believe that diet is even more harmful, or at least close to equal. Drinking in moderation's definitely less harmful, but do realize a few things if considering this: One soda a day and you'll weigh 10 lbs more in a yr. Also, just one's hard to stop at. The corn syrup, and possibly other stuff in it too, makes you crave more, and that craving might not stop at soda. So that could easily cause you to drink a few sodas & some other horrid junk you'd have avoided otherwise. Soda is also one of the big causes of childhood obesity & diabetes (& it does the same for adults). Most colas can clean up some toxic stuff, meaning they can hurt your innards. If you must, try a more natural soda like Blue Sky or Hansons. After a little time on those, you won't be able to stand the others, & maybe you can wing yourself onto one that's even better than those are. They cost more, but just drink less until you're winged, & then just use them on occasion.
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Wow! Harsha, that is really interesting!
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Please distinguish between fizzy and fruity or tangy. Fizzy is from carbonation whether natural or added. Carbonated beverages like sparkling waters will not destroy your bones. It's what else is added and it's excessive consumption which puts us at risk.
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All colas and fizzy drinks have questionable substances!! Whether you drink one can or a lot.
Because when you drink say Cola, a substance in it turns to embalming liquid. Don't believe? Leave your soda can or soda in cup in place where it's warm (as warm as your body). Open it up and send to laboratory for testing. If you try to drink it, the fizz is gone because it's turned to embalming liquid already.
Champagne and sparkling wines do not fall into this category of "soda drinks".
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What about caffeine free diet colas? Is it the caffeine that causes the leaching? And I think the quantity they were talking about was 2 quarts or more so I think you'd be safe with 1 or 2 cans...
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One of my favorite drinks is Perrier mixed with any of the Naked Juices. The juices, which can be a little pricey for some, last longer because you're not using as much of it and the Perrier thins the juice down a bit. I love it and my kids prefer that over soda any day!
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Fructose is a sugar, only slighty different than cane or beet sugar. Go to Google and search for Fructose, look at the formula of Hydrogen, Carbon and Oxygen, Not a bit of Mercury. Our body converts sugars and starches to Fat, and all of this is based upon Benzene Ring formulas, 6 carbon atoms in a hex ring with attachments at each of the six corners. When our body needs energy, it converts the Fat back to SUGAR, to feed the blood stream to the muscles or what ever the body needs to restore. The waste is returned by the blood stream to the Kidneys to filter out these wastes as urine. Simple process. The Caffine is used of course to keep us awake, and give us additional energy. Learning about the chemistry of the body is quite interesting. It's amazing we survive at all. Alcohol is not good in this scheme at all, and smoking destroys the little Oxygen transfer pockets in the lungs. WE need Oxygen, and Sugar to make us run. Oxygen in converted in the lungs and releases One Carbon atoms attached to Two Oxygen atoms out. CO2
Sugar is a carbohydrate, Carbon and Hydrogen, as are other Starches. Yet Benzene by it's self is poison. All Vitamins are also of this Benzene structure.
Gasolines on the other hand and those types of Hydrocarbons are long strings of Carbon with Hydrogen atoms attached in a straight line. Octane is 8 carbon atoms with 18 Hydrogen atoms 8 across the top, 8 across the bottom and one extra at each end. Interesting? So sugar away.
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Does this include Champagne and sparkling wines?
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Is the author talking about drinking, maybe, one cola a day, or many? I think you should take into consideration moderation, and also, ask your doctor if it is alright for you to have maybe one cola a day. Otherwise, really cold seltzer is a good base for adding flavors and tastes great (and clean).
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