In Part One, we looked at five ways that pop can cause health concerns that can ultimately reduce your life expectancy. If the only reason you would cut down on the amount of pop you drink is to lose weight, it’s time to rethink that position.
From increased risk of diabetes to the decreased absorption of essential nutrients, like magnesium, which helps your body rid itself of harmful toxins, pop simply does nothing for your health and nutrition, but it does a lot to ruin them.
Perhaps most surprisingly, while many of the health risks of drinking pop are associated with the massive amounts of sugar in each can or bottle, many other health risks are common to all pop, including diet and “zero calorie” varieties.
Here are 5 more ways that pop can shorten your life:
6. The Acid in Pop Corrodes Your Teeth
pH levels are used to determine the acidity of liquids. Water, which is not considered acidic, has a pH level of 7. Battery acid, which can burn and seriously damage your skin, has a pH level between 1 and 2. Pop has a pH level of 2.5. Unhealthy teeth can lead to a host of problems, from gum disease to lung infections and diabetes.
7. Pop Reduces the Mineral Density in Your Bones
The phosphoric acid in some sodas affects the absorption of calcium into your bones. A Tufts University study showed that drinking three cola-based drinks per day caused an almost 4% reduction in the bone mineral density in the hips of women. And that was even though the researchers supplemented the study participants’ diets to compensate for calcium and vitamin D deficiencies. Needless to say, anyone suffering from osteoporosis should avoid pop at all costs.
8. Drinking Pop Affects Your Metabolism
From spiking your blood sugar levels, to affecting the production of metabolism-regulating hormones, the sugar and artificial sweeteners in regular and diet pop play havoc with your metabolism. This is especially a problem if you are trying to lose weight. When your body is tricked into increasing your metabolism by artificial sweeteners, you may not have the nutrition and energy to deal with it, which can cause fatigue. If you cut calories as part of your weight loss program, and the empty calories from sugar trick your body into thinking you are starving, your body can lower your metabolic rate to a point where you are still putting on weight, even on the calorie-reduced diet.
9. Pop Can Trigger the Production of Benzene, a Known Carcinogen
If the pop you drink, diet or regular, has ascorbic acid and potassium benzoate, the combination of the two can cause benzene to form. Benzene is considered a carcinogen by both the Canadian and American Cancer Societies.
10. Pop Linked to COPD
A study of 16,907 people over the age of 16, conducted by the University of Adelaide, Australia, concluded that “there was a positive association between the consumption of soft drinks and asthma/COPD” (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). COPD is most commonly caused by smoking. The study compared participants who drank more the half a litre of pop per day with those who did not consume soft drinks.
Whether you do it to lose weight, or to improve your health and nutrition, or to accomplish them all, the evidence is clearly there to support at least a reduction in the amount of regular and diet pop and other sugary drinks that you consume.
If you would like to learn more about how you can increase your nutrition levels, improve your health and manage your weight, please visit your local Herbal One Centre.
* Image provided by Abramova Elena / Shutterstock.com