A learner's diary: Drinking Water or Soft Drinks?

With the frequent use of soft drinks and sodas, we are replacing it with water. Is it ok to drink soda drinks and leave our bodies thirsty? Our kids and teens are becoming addicted to the soft drinks, rather than taking enough water which is essential for their health.

The average American drinks more than 53 gallons of carbonated soft drinks each year, more than any other beverage, including milk, beer, coffee or water.

Harmful effects of taking too much sodas in place of water:

Did you know that just one can of Coke contains 10 teaspoons of sugar?!
This is 100 percent of your recommended daily intake (which is more than double my recommended daily allowance to begin with). Within 20 minutes of drinking that soda, your blood sugar spikes, and your liver responds to the resulting insulin burst by turning massive amounts of sugar into fat. Within 40 minutes, your blood pressure rises due to your body having absorbed all the caffeine, and then your liver dumps even more sugar into your bloodstream.

After about one hour, you’ll start to have a sugar crash, which often times leads you into a vicious cycle of consuming more sugar - and caffeine-laden stimulants, followed by crashes, throughout your day.

It is a proven fact that sugar increases your insulin levels, which can lead to not only weight gain, but also high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, premature aging and many more negative side effects. n soda pack on the pounds, it can also deteriorate the body as well.

One of the more troubling health risks soda drinkers face (as if obesity isn’t bad enough) is a higher cancer risk. Numerous studies have pointed out the link between sugar and increased rates of cancer, suggesting that regulating sugar intake is key to slowing tumor growth.

Studies have linked sugar intake with different types of cancer, such as:

Breast cancer
Throat cancer
Colon cancer

Soda has even been shown to cause DNA damage, courtesy of sodium benzoate, a common preservative found in many soft drinks, which has the ability to switch off vital parts of your DNA. This could eventually lead to diseases such as cirrhosis of the liver and Parkinsons.
Have you heard about that artificial sweeteners are linked to brain tumours?
Caffeine is another major issue for not just soda drinkers, but coffee and energy drink buffs as well. Caffeine consumption can cause dehydration and when not consumed, terrible headaches, shakes and irritability. While a morning boost may not have serious long-term effects, constant consumption will indeed take a toll on the body.

The biggest, most important reason to steer clear of the fizzy beverage is mineral depletion. The long term the effects of colas are devastating to the body. Acidity, sugars, and artificial flavours and sweeteners can actually shorten your life. There is enough acid in a can of soda to kill, that is, if our body did not contain mechanisms to neutralize it. But, that means our bodies' precious minerals, such as calcium, are being used for this instead of what they are intended for! Did you know that it takes 32 glasses of water to neutralize the acid from one 12 oz. cola or soda?

Other drinks that cannot be replaced by water are coffee and tea. Much has been said about coffee drinks as a source of fat and empty calories. Many of these coffee speciality drinks have become more like desserts and should be treated as such, not drank on a regular basis. Coffee may be a great way to wake up in the morning, but after 8 hours of sleep, bodies need to be hydrated again, not dehydrated, as coffee will do.

Soft drinks steal water from the body. They work like a diuretic which takes away more water than it provides to the body. Furthermore, the high levels of sugar in soft drinks steals a considerable amount of water from the body. To replace the water stolen by soft drinks, you need to drink 8-12 glasses of water for every one glass of soft drinks that you consume!

Your body needs 8 - 10 glass of water per day. If you are drinking soft drinks you need to drink an additional 8 - 12 glass. That means you need to drink 16 to 22 glasses of water per day to hydrate and replenish your body's water requirement.

Soft Drinks never quench your thirst, nor your body's need for water. Constantly denying your body an adequate amount can lead to Chronic Cellular Dehydration, a condition that weakens your body at the cellular level. This, in turn, can lead to a weakened immune system and a plethora of diseases.Nothing beats pure water when it comes to serving your body’s needs. If you really feel the urge for a carbonated beverage, try sparkling mineral water with a squirt of lime or lemon juice.