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How Soft Drinks Can Impact Your Health
If you can't quite imagine your day without a soda or two, it's definitely time to think again.
Unless, that is, you don't care much about your body, and the long-term effects soft drinks can have on your well-being.
Take a look at some of the harmful effects of soda consumption over time:
(Click on the image to see a larger version)
Via: Term Life Insurance
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It's certainly something to think about, but do these harmful effects put you off drinking soft drinks?
Image source: dolar
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46 Comments
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Created / Updated: November 10, 2011
Thank goodness I don't drink soft drinks at all.
I am not sure that some or many would be put off drinking even if they know about the harmful effects.
Knowing the harmful effects of smoking, drugs, alchohol, fatty foods etc etc has stopped us from consuming them.
Replyoops
that should read...hasn't stopped us from consuming them.
ReplySorry, it's the only thing that reliably stops nausea for me.
ReplyMy mom just finished chemotherapy and she is having a hard time keeping food down. The other day she asked my dad to get her a 7up and that calmed her right down.
Thats what we are used to using when we are sick. We used to use ginger ale but that isn't always easy to find anymore. But it works, and on headaches too.
Replyinstead of the deadly deadly soda try a lime mixed with sparkling water...
Replyif you must add a little sugar, but it really is best to cut out refined sugar whenever possible.
instead of the deadly deadly soda try a lime mixed with sparkling water...
Replyif you must add a little sugar, but it really is best to cut out refined sugar whenever possible.
i think this is genius! It reminds me of what goes up in a doctor's office. It is easy to read and does a god job of illustrating all the evils of soda. I'm impressed.
ReplyI don't appreciate this at all but it's great propaganda. I have one diet drink about 5 days a week. Less in winter. Big whoop. How many do you have to drink to have it really be definitively harmful? As much as the lab mice they use in their "studies"? That would probably be about 1000 drinks a day.
ReplyPeople still drink soda?
ReplyI drink diet soda and I still think it's not as bad as regular soda. Maybe some of those points are true, but I don't think the side effects of drinking soda are as bad as that poster depicts. It's slight overkill...scare tactics usually work to get people to stop doing what they're doing, I guess.
ReplyThere is still the acidity of the soft drink that does damage. Not to mention the other chemicals. Just ditch the soda period.
ReplyPersonally, soft drinks don't have a place in my diet... they don't offer anything useful. If I need hydration, I'll stick with water.
For those of you drinking "diet" drinks... what about the artificial sweeteners?
ReplyYah! I agree 100% couldn't have said it better myself. Although I am in love with Aquafina's Vitamin water, sweetened with stevia as a hydration alternative to water. But it's not soda!
ReplyI drink diet soda and I still think it's not as bad as regular soda. Maybe some of those points are true, but I don't think the side effects of drinking soda are as bad as that poster depicts. It's slight overkill...scare tactics usually work to get people to stop doing what they're doing, I guess.
ReplyHow unfortunate consumers are presented yet another sensationalized, unbalanced article about soda drinking. I wonder if the readers realize this article also contains inaccurate, unscientific information.
As a Registered Dietitian who relies on credible, current science to help people choose foods and beverages wisely for their individual needs, I’m disappointed so much alarmist, misleading hype is used in this diagram. Soda does not cause asthma or osteoporosis or diabetes or obesity or bad teeth. Review the scientific facts yourself regarding these issues at credible, accurate, science-based websites like www.FoodInsight.org, www.BeverageInstitute.org and www.CalorieControl.org. And check out the helpful information about diet soda, too, because artificial sweeteners are indeed safe and are one of the most useful and effective tools in calorie balance and weight management.
This ridiculous over-focus on soda today is not helping consumers learn how to respect and balance ALL sugary foods and beverages. So instead of scare tactics that suggest elimination or avoidance of soda or sugary treats, I’d like to see everyone learn how to enjoy moderate amounts within their own personal calorie level. But don’t forget the activity part of a healthy lifestyle; we all need to move more and include more regular physical activity.
Thank you. Kim Galeaz, RD CD
Nutrition Consultant to the food, beverage and agriculture industry including Coca-Cola
ReplyWell said from someone whose income is made from said soda manufacture.
ReplyThank you for sharing your comments, Kim. Although I agree that the anti-soda/anti-sugar campaigns are both far-fetched and alarmist, you understand that it's difficult to see your position as objective.
The sites you've mentioned are far from "credible", Kim - their purpose is to show a beverage-industry-friendly spin on the science.
And while I agree with you that artificial sweeteners for most people under most circustances are safe - I disagree that they are "one of the most useful and effective tools in calorie balance and weight management".
I would have to ask you too, Kim - what would you consider "normal amounts" of soda? Roughly. Do you think our current US consumption of 216L is moderate and therefore ok?
Point blank: Do you think 216L per year of soda is healthy?
ReplyUmmm I fail to see how ANY daily consumption of full sugar soda is good for the health. But you work for Coca Cola so I'm hardly shocked!
ReplyIndustry hack. Liquid candy in excess is bad for you, pure and simple. Why dont you tell the posters about VITAMIN water, which is crammed with sugar. Once in a while does no great harm but gulping huge buckets of liquid candy laden with HFCS helped create our flabby wheezing society.
Replyanyone who works for the soft drink industry is evil.
ReplyNo, the folks on the assembly lines and the drivers are just working folks... until you have corporate prostitutes saying all is well, consume more....they're the evil ones..but I do give Ms Galeaz credit for posting. Hazardous duty pay for Coke Pepsi and Frito Lay must be pretty sizeable.
ReplySure, all things in moderation, but people need to seriously question the foods and drinks they consume on a regular basis, asking themselves if what they are taking into their body is really healthy, nutritionally balanced, and "good" for them.
I have a hard time thinking that a 12-oz soda, with around 10 teaspoons of sugar (not to mention the other ingredients), is really good for me. It's certainly not necessary, so why bother with it?
Soft drinks are far, far, far from whole and healthy — that's the ethos I subscribe to. I really couldn't promote them to my clients as something to be consumed regularly.
ReplyWhy is it when I use to drink diet soda it would make me feel like I was starving to death 20 minutes after drinking it? Even if I had a full meal just before. It was like my brain was not getting the message my stomach was full!
ReplyShe must have gone to some corporate university where she was brain washed into thinking things like "mercury fillings for you teeth are good for you" or "fluoride in your tap water from the aluminum industry strengthens you teeth".
ReplyYour post reminds me so much of the movie "Thank-You For Smoking"...But I do agree, if people are provided with enough information they have a right to chose.
Replyhow can you say that artificial sweeteners are safe? they are all chemically altered! the only safe sweeteners are Stevia, Xylitol, and Agave nectar. do you see any of those in soda? there's just no nutritional value in soda anyway, i think it's a waste to even drink it and i don't want to take the risk of it causing damage to my body further down the road. you know, later in life when the cause of all you have done in your earlier years causes diseases from eating unhealthy. thanks for listening!
ReplyYes. We know who writes your checks.
Soda is full of sugar. Some people drink 3 cans or a few 48ouncers a day! You can't say that doesn't contribute to diabetes, asthma and tooth decay.
ReplyIf, people only had a soda now and then, I'd say not. But, you know the sales stats.
Why not do a literature search using pubmed for peer reviewed journals? instead of sourcing sites published by Coca-Cola, and the "Calorie Control Council" a group "representing the low-calorie and reduced-fat food and beverage industry. Today it represents 60 manufacturers and suppliers of low-calorie, low-fat and light foods and beverages, including the manufacturers and suppliers of more than a dozen different dietary sweeteners, fat replacers and other low-calorie ingredients." Sounds fishy to me!
ReplyI don't think the asthma and soda connection is that far off. I just pulled this up http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8952792 Sodium Benzoate a common ingredient in sodas can exacerbate asthma.
Replyso I have to stop drinking soft drinks right :(
Replyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM&feature=PlayList&p=B62D86E4A69D1A79&index=0&playnext=1
Great lecture by Doctor Robert Lustig on the effects of Sugar and HFCS in our bodies. I'd like to see the above "registered sellout" spin this.
ReplyWow. I believe many Americans drink way too much soda, but this graphic really comes off as propaganda.
I mean, seriously... ""Those who drink more soda have an 80% increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes"??? More soda than what?? 80% is an exact number, there must be a corresponding increase in soda intake that is just as exact. If Bob drinks one soda a week and Mary drinks two, does Mary have an 80% higher risk? Or does Mary have to drink one a day to reach 80%?
"Researchers calculate that for each additional soda consumed, the risk of obesity increases 1.6 times." Each additional soda consumer TOTAL across your whole life?? So if I've never drunk any at all, and one day I drink one, now my risk for obesity is 160% higher? Or do they mean each additional soda per week? Per day?
Leaving out all of these essential details turns this into fearmongering, and makes it look like they couldn't include the details because if they did, people would realize that soda isn't as scary as they want it to be. People might think that having a pop a few times a month actually doesn't hurt you that badly, and it's only the people who drink a can a day or more who are at increased risk. And when you're demonizing something, you certainly wouldn't want anyone to think that a little bit of it is okay!
ReplyI think moderation is key. Many people drink several sodas a day. It is better to limit it to 12 ounces each day of diet soda and maybe once in awhile drinking a sugared soda, preferably with a high fiber, nutritious meal, which would slow down the absorption of the sugar from the soft drink. I got the idea of limiting diet drinks to one a day from the dietitian Roberta Anding, not associated with the soft drink industry, whose lectures "Nutrition Made Clear" I purchased and viewed several times from the Teaching Company. I try very hard to limit it to one can of diet soda a day and very rarely drink sugared drinks. I also don't find that consuming artificial sweeteners whets my appetite for more sweets- as some research studies suggest. This happens more with something that is a bit richer and is made with real sugar- at work I once nibbled on a pineapple upside down cake crust and this ignited my cravings- I then stopped eating it.
ReplyPLEASE is there a way to get a copy of the poster?
ReplyI would like to put one on the frig to read before I mindlessly grab a soda.
THANK YOU !
Hi Frances,
ReplyIf you click on the image above it will take you to a larger image... have you tried printing it from that page?
I'm glad I don't drink softdrinks. I'm trying to get my husband to stop.
Reply