The dangerous effect of soda in the human body.
If you see a normal Nigerian woman or man, after working so hard under the hot sun, the next thing they turn to grab is cold soda to make them feel relaxed. On my way back home under, I stopped at a shop to gain protection from the serious heat of the sun while grabbing a cold bottle of water before I continue my journey. I saw a woman who stopped for the same purpose and she choose a very cold bottle of soda to help her calm herself, her son advised her to purchase water instead of soda, but like a typical African Mum, she shut him up by asking about his depth of knowledge through life.
Unfortunately, soda companies continue to sell fast and far daily despite the harmful effect that it causes to the body, are we going to blame this act on the absence of knowledge, NO, I wouldn't agree to that, but I may agree to the absence of sufficient knowledge though. So, this post aims to remind you of the danger you could be doing to your health with the excessive consumption of soda, as I presume everyone must have heard about it before.
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To emphasize the fact that, warning about the excessive intake of soda did not begin today, will take us to 1942, when the American Medical Association specifically mentioned that soft drinks need to be reduced to limit the intake of added sugar in the human body, and at the time of this report, the annual United States production of carbonated soft drinks was marked at 908-oz which is 240mL servings for each person, but as at year 2000, the number has risen to above 600 servings.
Soda isn't healthy according to CDC (center for disease control and Prevention), as it contains lots of sugar, the excessive consumption of soda would result in weight gain, obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, non-alcoholic liver disease, and gout. According to, this source, a soda drink 12-ounce, contains 29.4-42grams of sugar, which is equivalent to 7-10 teaspoons of sugar. Imagine that you take up to 24 or more ounces of sugar in a day, with the consumption of 24 ounces of sugar, you would have consumed 20 teaspoons.
There is an argument some people who say, calories make a person feels full just like soda but that is not true because soda does not make a person feel full in the same manner as calories from solid food make a person feel full, people are still able to take in food despite the consumption of high-calorie drinks. Soda can also cause tooth decay, according to National Health Service (NHS), sugary drinks contribute greatly to tooth decay. Table sugar which is sucrose is usually made up of two major molecules; fructose and glucose in roughly equal amounts. While glucose can be metabolized by every cell in the human body, fructose, on the other hand, can be metabolized only by the liver. If you are looking for a very easy way to consume fructose excessively, just look out for sugary drinks, they are the fastest means to have that happen, and when you consume too much of the sugary drinks, your liver would become overloaded and turn fructose into fat. Some of the fats get shipped out of the body as blood triglycerides, while some parts of it remain in the liver, and as time goes on, it would contribute to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Naturally, the human mouth contains bacteria' s that feed on sugar, which produces chemicals that could break down the hard enamel of the teeth. A cavity is formed when erosion of the enamel exposes the inner, soft care of the tooth. The consistent consumption of sweetened, carbonated soda will lead to sugar remaining in the mouth and then promoting the process that eventually leads to tooth decay. The acid found in carbonated drinks would further lead to the strong possibility of developing cavities as the chemicals erode the enamel of the teeth away slowly as well.
Consuming sugar on a great scale is highly linked with weight gain, especially fructose which is linked to a significant increase in the dangerous fat around the organs and the body. This fat is known as belly fat or visceral fat, and with excessive belly fat, there is an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Hormone insulin transports glucose from the bloodstream into your cells. With the consumption of sugary soda, the cells would become less sensitive or become resistant to the effects of insulin and when this happens, the pancreas must make it a point of duty to produce more insulin and get rid of glucose from the bloodstream, so the level of insulin in the blood increases significantly, creating a condition known as INSULIN RESISTANCE.
LEPTIN RESISTANCE is another issue that excessive consumption of carbonated sugary drinks could cause. Leptin is a hormone produced by the human body's fat cells, it is a hormone that regulates the number of calories that we eat and burn. The level of leptin in the human body changes in response to starvation and obesity, it is commonly known as the fullness or starvation hormone. The consistent consumption of carbonated drinks with their high level of sugar consumption could lead to food (sugar) addiction.
Since cancer goes hand-in-hand with other chronic diseases like type 2 diseases, heart disease, and diabetes, it is not shocking then to find out that, the consumption of sugary drinks is usually linked with the increased risk of developing cancer. Postmenopausal women who consume a significant amount of soda, also stand a high chance of getting endometrial cancer, or cancer of the lining of the uterus.
According to research experts, when drinks are rated based on the best things for our health, sugary drinks are far at the lowest point of the list, as they provide only calories and no other nutrients to the body. On a global scale, the consumption of sugary drinks is rising significantly, due to widespread urbanization and global marketing.
Conclusion.
I personally stopped consuming soda a few years ago and since then, I have remained faithful to the path, getting my family members to join me on this course as however been a difficult one, so I will also be sending them the link to this post after publishing, and help them also make the decision to either stop or even drastically reduce the consumption.
References.
hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource
https://guardian.ng/life/wellness/11-ways-sugary-drinks-affect-your-body-negatively/)
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Was a bit confused at first because in my country 'soda' means 'carbonated water'. If one doesn't like the bland taste of plain water, one could opt for a carbonated water for a more 'spicy' but still healthy choice!
Oh, that's serious, in my country we refer to soda as a sweetened carbonated soft drink, this is so hilarious right now, I can imagine how you felt when you saw the topic.
It's so good to learn about existing differences in culture.