 When it comes to getting healthy and making lifestyle changes, there are a few things I generally assume people are doing as first steps, but I am often proven wrong. I am not judging - well perhaps I am judging ME because, as we all know, one should never assume anything. One of these false assumptions is soda. I assume people know just how terrible soda is for them, but many do not. Again, not judging, but if you are not aware, I do want to educate and clarify so you can then make a more informative choice.
First, when I talk about soda, I am talking about all kinds of soda (Coke, Sprite , etc.) including diet soda that contains artificial sweeteners. No soda is good for you. Regular soda because of its high sugar content — more specifically high fructose corn syrup, and diet soda due to it containing artificial sweeteners which are known to increase your risk of many diseases including Crohn's disease and cancer.(1) According to research the consumption of sugar sweetened beverages are responsible for 133,000 deaths from diabetes, 44,000 deaths from cardiovascular disease, and 6,450 deaths from cancer annually.(2) Drinking just one can of soda a day raises the risk of heart disease by 20%.(3) And, if that is not enough, the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states, "Frequently drinking sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with weight gain/obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, kidney diseases, nonalcoholic liver disease, tooth decay and cavities, and gout, a type of arthritis.”(4) Yet people continue to drink soda in an attempt to use it as a pick me up or diet soda as means of losing weight, all with lost cause because drinking any kind of soda does nothing but give you the opposite effect. Here are a few more statistics just for fun:
Finally, taken from an awesome diagram by The Renegade Pharmacist, here is what happens one hour after drinking a can of Coke. Oh, and BTW, this process is going to be the same when you drink any soda or sugar filled drink.(11) 0-10min. — 10tsp of sugar immediately enter your system, 100% of your recommended daily intake. Phosphoric acid cuts the flavor of the overwhelming sweetness, therefore you do not vomit. 10-20min. — blood sugar spikes, insulin floods your system, liver responds by turning all of the excess sugar into fat — which there is a lot of. 20-40min. — by 40min you have absorbed all of the soda's caffeine, pupils dilate, blood pressure rises, and the liver dumps more sugar into the bloodstream. Brain blocks adenosine receptors in the brain to prevent drowsiness. 40-45min. — dopamine production is amped up stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain, the same way heroin works BTW. 45-60min. — metabolic boost with phosphoric acid binding to calcium, magnesium, and zinc in your lower intestine, accompanied by increased excretion of urinary calcium due to the high doses of sugar and artificial sweeteners. >60min. — you begin to feel the need to pee, due to the caffeine’s diuretic properties. Along with eliminating sodium, electrolytes and water, you will assuredly evacuate the bonded calcium, magnesium, and zinc that was supposed to go to your bones. >60min. — the sugar crash begins, potentially making you fatigued, sluggish, and irritable. You have now peed out all of the water from the soda as well as any nutrients your body could have potentially used. Okay, given all of this information, my hope is that you ban all soda and sugar filled drinks from your diet as well as those from your families' diets — even the diet soda. There are healthier options that have far better benefits, such as filtered water with lemon, iced or hot herbal teas but again, reduce the amount of sugar you put in your teas. Try healthier sweeteners such as honey, or if you’re a vegan, Stevia or Monk fruit. Kombucha is another great swap, which is a beautifully fermented beverage that is bubbly and similar to soda. This is my drink of choice when I am feeling fancy. I pour kombucha into a pretty wine glass and pretend it is my wine spritzer! Other than lemon water however, green tea is probably my most go to drink, for a whole host of reasons. A few being it fights inflammation, improves brain function, and combats several types of cancers.(12,13) So, have I persuaded you to stop drinking soda yet? I sure hope so. But again, I am not here to judge, this is your body and your journey. Perhaps just think about it.;-) Please post a comment below and let me know your thoughts about soda? Do you like? Have you given it up? If not, why? Just curious… xx Also FYI: I revamped a few of my cleansing recipes and you can get 3 of them FREE! These 3 cleansing recipes are the ones I use most often when I am trying to clean up my diet and gain some extra energy. I have given them to my clients as well when they are trying to gently detox. Click on the link below!
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