Soft drinks, also known as carbonated drinks because of added carbon dioxide (CO2) which gives sparkle to all soft drinks and prolong the shelf life of the product.
Introduction:
Soft drinks, also known as carbonated drinks because of added carbon dioxide (CO2) which gives sparkle to all soft drinks and prolong the shelf life of the product. The main constituents of carbonated soft drinks are flavored syrup, water, carbon dioxide, acidulant, preservative, color and stabilizer etc. Now a days, carbonated soft drinks are popular among all ages around the globe due to their unique taste, zest and sparkle imparted by CO2. Mostly individuals consume it as refreshment.
Examples: Pepsi, Coca cola, Fanta, Sprite, Frozen carbonated drinks, grape soft drink, lemon-lime drink, orange soft drink and sport drinks etc.
Soft drinks have many harmful effects on health. Some of them are discussed below:
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Type-2 Diabetes:
Soft drinks contain nutritional sweeteners like sucrose, High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and artificial sweeteners like saccharin, cyclamates, aspartame or sucralose. These sweeteners are very harmful for diabetic patients. Whenever a person consumes these types of soft drinks, blood glucose level spikes up which can’t be felt. In 2010, a research was conducted which showed that chances of type 2 diabetes increased by 26% in individuals who consume sugar sweetened soft drinks. Possibilities of diabetes can be reduced by avoiding the consumption of soft drinks.
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Obesity:
Consumption of soft drinks is reason for obesity because they have high caloric and low nutritional value. These drinks are also responsible for increasing hunger because 139 calories are present in 330 ml of coke. When a person consumes it, it actually increases calories intake but can’t fulfill craving, as a result the person eats more. Excess sugar in the body is converted to fat by the action of insulin. These fats have no use in the body and are stored in the abdominal area (belly fat).
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Joint Pain:
Carbonated soft drinks have carbon dioxide that reduces the absorption of minerals like Calcium and Phosphorus which are very essentials for bone strength. Deficiency of these minerals results in Osteomalacia (softening of the bones with resultant pain, weakness, and bone fragility) or Osteoporosis (bones become brittle, increasingly porous and subject to fracture, owing to loss of calcium and other mineral components).
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Tooth decay:
Teeth are blessing of Allah, without teeth you can’t chew a single piece of food. When a person consumes soft drink it attacks on teeth enamel and destroys it. Preservatives, artificial colors and sugars found in drink are trapped beneath gums. If it is not cleaned thoroughly, bacteria grow there and cause infection, deterioration and destruction of gum tissues.
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Kidney Stone:
Kidney stone occur due to accumulation of minerals in kidney over a long period of time. A person consuming soft drinks on regular basis is at higher risk of developing kidney stones because fructose present in soft drinks tends to increase the urinary excretion of minerals like phosphorous, magnesium and calcium etc. As a result, kidney losses the ability to filter the blood.
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Cancer:
Most carbonated soft drinks cause cancer. One study showed that Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola, Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi have high amount of 4-methylimidazole (4-MI), which is known as an animal carcinogen. Different type of colors especially caramel used in different drinks is also responsible for cancer.
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Conclusion:
Carbonated soft drinks are not human health friendly because they are responsible for many life threatening disorders as discussed above. Consumption of these types of drinks should be avoided especially for growing children and adults for optimal health and a healthier future.