Aerated drinks are full of sugar, unless they are of the diet variety, in which case they are full of artificial sweeteners. Some of them also contain caffeine and artificial colours and flavours. What really makes them bad for our health is that they have no nutritional value. The reason people drink them is because of the taste factor. When considering soda, think
about what it contains.
Here is a breakdown of its ingredients: ·
• Carbonated water: This is plain water infused with carbon dioxide.
• Caramel colour: It is chemical, methylimidazole, and not natural.
• Natural flavours: These are mainly citrus flavours used for taste.
• Caffeine: Those who drink coffee know what this drug can do. It is a diuretic and stimulant that can be addictive. It tends to dehydrate the cells.
• Phosphoric acid: When this is added to soda, it gives the liquid a tangy or sour taste by breaking down starch to sugar.
• High-fructose corn syrup: It is very unhealthy because it has no nutritional value. Instead, it has lots of calories. Those who consume it end up with heart disease as it causes hardening of the arteries.
By drinking aerated drinks, you are loading up on sugar and calories. A Can of an aerated drink gives you 10-12 tsp of sugar. This is certainly not good if one is looking for shedding some weight. It makes your pancreas produce and release more insulin. This action takes the sugar out of your bloodstream and places it in your cells for energy. This result in a quick blood sugar drop which makes you hungry and you tend to binge on something that contains more sugar. Not only that, but the 10-12 tsp of sugar that you get from a can of aerated drink cuts your immunity to half for the next 4-5 hours. During these 4-5 hours, if your body is exposed to any foreign bodies which could also be carcinogens, you are more likely to catch that disease in no time.
When sugar is dumped into your cells, it gets stored as fat. And when more and more sugar is stored in these cells, it eventually results in weight gain.
Another reason why aerated drinks are detrimental when consumed in excess is because of the caffeine. As mentioned above, it is a diuretic and will dehydrate you if you are not careful. It causes your kidneys to work harder to push the extra liquid out of your body. Caffeine also reduces the calcium in your body and increases your stress levels. It causes insomnia/sleeplessness and nervousness. Similarly, phosphoric acid tends to leach out calcium from your bones, making them porous and brittle over a period of time. The above reasons are enough for us to give up these effervescent drinks and it is better if we reach out for a glass of pure water, a glass of vegetable juice, butter milk, lemon water or even better, green tea, the next time we are thirsty.
