Ten Reasons to Stop Drinking Soda – Are You Ready?

Ten Reasons To Stop Drinking Soda (carbonated Soft Drinks)

1. Soda does not satisfy thirst. Many commercially and popular brand sodas contain sodium. Sodium is a form of salt and makes you more thirsty. Many Americans already consume far more sodium in processed foods than the daily recommended amount.

2. Soda can be addictive. If you drink soda pop every day, try going just one day without it and see how you feel. You will probably be in a bad mood until you get your soda kick. That should tell you something. If you drink soda with caffeine you will likely experience withdrawal symptoms including headaches, anxiety, fatigue and nausea. It could take several days for the symptoms to go away if you were a heavy soda drinker and just stopped consuming it.

3. Medical Studies have shown that Sodium benzoate has been linked to cancer because when it is mixed with the additive vitamin C in soft drinks, it causes benzene, a carcinogenic substance.

4. Carbonated sodas are often packaged in bottles and cans, and although these containers can be recycled, they still add more garbage to our environment. Not everyone recycles and even with items that are recycled, they are not 100 percent recyclable, there is some waste in the recycle process. Additionally it takes energy and manufacturing processes to recycle. If you switched to tea or filtered tap water as your beverage of choice there would be far less garbage generated.

5. Space. If you stopped drinking soda and instead made your own iced tea or lemon water, you would require less storage space for beverages and it would take less energy and time to lug your beverages from the grocery store.

6. The Teen Effect. Studies have shown that growing teens who consume soda in large quantities have bone weakening and low bone density because they are lacking in calcium rich beverages.

7. The New Tobacco. Doctors, such as Paul Plasky, M.D. regard soda as the new tobacco. He believes soda vending machines should be removed from hospitals the same way many public places have been forced to become smoke-free. He says fluids are for thirst and rehydration and believes soda is simply a harmful holdover from the 1950’s.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A07E3DB1131F934A25755C0A9609C8B63

8. According to the Beverage Institute, “fluids are important for healthy heart function and play a role in regulating blood pressure. Dehydration decreases cardiac output, which may lead to increases in heart rates and reduced blood pressure.

http://www.beverageinstitute.org/beverages_and_your_health/beverages_and_your_heart.shtml

So I say again, see reason number 1.

9. Soda harms your teeth. Ask your dentist. Even if you drink sugar free soda, the acid content in sodas can be destructive to enamel tooth surfaces.
I remember in the first grade a teacher placed teeth in a glass of soda and after a few weeks it was obvious how destructive the soda was even to a hard object like a tooth. It was shocking.

10. Socially responsible citizens believe that some soft drink companies have been “committing environmental and human rights abuses in the countries in which they operate.” See the following links to read more about this story and you decide for yourself.
http://www.killercoke.org/
http://www.indiaresource.org/
www.responsibleshopper.org

Even if you don’t believe reason number 10, or don’t even care, the 9 other reasons should convince you to rethink your soda consumption. Carbonated soda irritates the stomach, reduces calcium in the bones, causes burping and has been linked to cancer. Read this article for further details

http://www.mindconnection.com/library/health/softdrinks.htm

Other interesting links:

http://news.independent.co.uk/health/article2586652.ece

http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20040211/americans-advised-cut-salt-follow-thirst

http://board.dietcosmos.com/Health/Your_Addiciton_to_Soda_Pop

http://www.uistudenthealth.com/question/default.asp?ID=6

http://www.bphc.org/bphc/gethealthy_drinks.asp