Beware of Soft Drinks as they may lead to Obesity

Soft Drinks, aerated drinks or cool drinks are generally taken in many occasions as a beverage and they are favorite to many persons. There are many brands of cool drinks like pepsi, coca cola, thums up, fanta, sprite etc. Now we are also seeing other aerated drinks like diet coke etc.

Daim and fanta (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Recent research on Soft drinks has shown that it is one of the main reason for obesity. The person unknowingly gains more calories by drinking soft drinks and the weight gain is related proportionally to the amount of the drink taken.

Obesity Campaign Poster (Photo credit: Pressbound)

Soft Drinks even though they are tasty, they have many side effects, some of the side effects are:

Diabetes : Soft drinks also may lead to Diabetes and it is the most common effect of soft drinks. This is because soft drinks contain large amount of sugar in them and they get increased with every extra can of drink. If soft drinks are taken habitually for long periods of time, it can lead to ineffective insulin production by the pancreas and thus effects the sugar levels in the blood which finally leads to Diabetes.

Osteoporosis : If soft drinks are taken frequently, they may lead to weakening of the bones and also osteoporosis. Soft drinks also affects the children by impairing the calcification of the growing bones.

Tooth Decay : Soft drinks are slightly acidic and hence they increase the risk of tooth decay. The acidic content present in the cool drinks dissolves the enamel of the tooth and makes them weak. So it is recommended not to take cool drinks between meals to protect our tooth from tooth decay and dental erosion.

Kidney Stones : Recent researches have shown that habitual and constant intake of cool drinks may result in the formation of stones in the kidneys. Though it may be shocking, it is true. The formation of stones is due to acidic and mineral radical balance. The body tries to balance the acidity of the cool drinks by releasing the calcium from the bones. This may result in the erosion of the calcium and this settles in the kidneys in the form of stones.

Indigestion and Gas: Soft drinks may impair your digestive system. As soft drinks contain phosphoric acid, it competes with the digestive hydrochloric acid in the stomach and impairs its functioning. This results in the indigestion of the food and leads to gas formation.

Dehydration : Soft drinks dehydrate your body. The sugar and caffeine in the soft drinks are dehydrating agents and they stimulate urination. So you feel more thirsty than before with the consumption of the cool drinks.

Blood Pressure : Soft drinks contain caffeine that causes restlessness, irritability, tension, frequent urination and high blood pressure. Some studies also shown that they affect the liver.

Artificial Sweetener : Aspartame is the artificial sweetener used in the soft drinks. It is 200 times more sweeter than the normal sugar and has many side effects. Symptoms of asthma, breathing difficulties, chest pain, chronic cough and shortness of breath may result due to Aspartame.

So from now when you want to consume a cool drink think of all the side effects caused by them.