Finally, some good news regarding sodas! (From a health perspective, there usually isn’t anything “good” to talk about concerning them…) In recent months, there have been numerous reports confirming that overall consumption of carbonated soft drinks (soda) has been steadily declining. As a doctor, I couldn’t be happier because they are frequently a contributing factor to many health conditions that we see in the office such as weight issues, diabetes and gastrointestinal problems. The fact that Americans are slowing down their consumption gives me hope that more people are realizing that regular soda is nothing more than liquid candy (and diet sodas aren’t any better for you with all their chemicals).
Over the last 20 years, sales of full-calorie soda have dropped by more than 25%. Soda consumption, which grew mainly from the 1960’s to the 1990’s, is now experiencing a sustained decline. Researchers found that 30.1 percent of adults reported drinking sugar-sweetened beverages at least once a day in 2013, according to the report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2010, 50.6 percent of adults reported drinking at least one sugar-sweetened beverage a day, according to the report, which gathered data from survey respondents in 23 states.
Drinking at least one sugar-sweetened beverage daily was most common among 18- to 24-year-olds, with 43.3 percent of all people in this age group reporting that they consume a sugary drink at least once daily. Adults in this age group were 2.3 times more likely to have a sugary drink once a day than adults ages 55 and over, according to the report. Other groups in which consumption was high included African-Americans (39.9 percent); men (34.1 percent); people who reported being unemployed (34.4 percent); and people with less than a high school education (42.4 percent).
Part of this declining trend is due to people making smarter beverage choices. More people are opting for bottled water to quench their thirst instead of sugar-laden drinks, which is a great shift as most people do not consume enough water daily and are living in a state of partial dehydration. Ironically, this can be exacerbated by the caffeine in sodas as it has a natural diuretic effect on the body and will cause you to lose more water. Moving away from sodas also offers other benefits as well. The carbonation in sodas produces a very strong acidic environment (just search for the videos online that show people using it to take the rust off of metal!) that the body will attempt to buffer. One way it does this is with calcium from the body’s own supply. If it takes it from our bones, it can contribute to osteoporosis and osteopenia. If it takes it from our muscles (and remember the heart is a muscle!), we can get muscle cramps or contraction problems. Lastly, the option for diet soda in the attempt to avoid excessive calories does not offer any real health benefit. In addition to causing hormonal and neurological issues, the artificial sweeteners still drive the insulin response in the body in response to the perceived sweetness. However, since there are no calories (sugar) for the body to act upon, it leaves the body looking for more and this has been shown to lead to overeating.
Overall, there really are no benefits to drinking sodas and the negative effects they produce on the body far outweigh any perceived short-term enjoyment value one would get from consuming them. Stick to pure water or other natural alternatives like cold-pressed fruit and vegetable juices or coconut water and give your body a healthier hydration option.
And for a little (truthful) humor:
In Health,
Dr. Brad Niewierowski
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