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Bingeing on sugar and artificially-sweetened soft drinks can increase your susceptibility of developing diseases that can lead to mortality. © Shutterstock
That glass of fizzy, bubbly soft drink may be tempting, especially on a hot and sultry day. But there's bad news for soft drink lovers. A new research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association tells us that having two or more glasses of soft drinks on a daily basis can cut years from your life, leading to premature death.
According to the study, bingeing on sugar and artificially-sweetened soft drinks can increase your susceptibility of developing diseases that can lead to mortality. For the research, the scientists enrolled 452,000 men and women from 10 European countries. Some of them were asked to have two or more soft drinks every day whereas others were given less than one glass every month. The scientists followed the participants for 16 years.
Later, it was found that people in the former group were at a greater risk of dying from all causes during the follow up compared to the individuals belonging to the latter group. In fact, amongst those having drinks heavily, 41,693 died in just next 16 years. According to the researchers, 43 per cent of the subjects died due to cancer, while 21.8 per cent lost their lives because of circulatory diseases, and 2.9 per cent people died due to digestive disease.
Binging on soft drinks is linked to more risks than you can imagine. They can damage your organs and can eventually claim your life. Containing carbonated water, soft drinks are acidic in nature and can be irritating for your organs. First and foremost, by exposing your teeth to carbonated water you are unknowingly damaging your enamel, the protective layer of teeth. In fact, various studies have found that sugar-sweetened carbonated beverages can erode tooth enamel. This is one of the minor damages associated with having soft drinks. There are more serious health hazards that they bring along. Here is a low-down on them.
Unlike glucose that forms after digestion of starchy foods, added sugar (sucrose), fill your body with large amount of simple fructose. It cannot make you feel fuller the way normal sugar does, says a study published in the journal Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care. This means that drinking liquid sugar only increases the number of calories in the body, further increasing your weight. According to another study published in the International Journal of Obesity, drinking soft drinks like soda can lead to 17 per cent increase in calories in the body. And as you all know, obesity is associated with various cardiovascular diseases like stroke, heart attack, and heart failure etc.
How to prevent it: Indulge in regular exercise and avoid having fast foods. You can opt for healthy once like green vegetables, nuts, fiber-rich foods etc.
As already mentioned, soft drinks contain fructose. Unlike glucose, fructose cannot be metabolized by every cell in your body. Only your liver can help in its breakdown and absorption. Notably, your liver metabolizes sugar/fructose the same way as alcohol, and converts it into fat. So, excessive consumption of these drinks can make your liver start turning fructose into fat, says a research published in the journal Diabetes. Some part of these fats manages to shift out as blood triglycerides, however other remains in the liver gradually contributing to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. This condition is characterized by symptoms like abdominal swelling, enlarged spleen, pain and discomfort in the upper right abdomen, red palms etc.
How to prevent it: In order to keep this disease at bay, you firstly need to stop eating foods rich in cholesterol. Also, start sweating in gym and take enough sleep.
When you consume fructose in a higher amount, your body cells become less sensitive to insulin and become unable to absorb the sugar for energy.This means that your body cells become insulin resistant. In this case, to drive the accumulated sugar from bloodstream into cells, your pancreas makes more insulin. This results in an increased level of this hormone in the blood. This condition is called insulin resistance, which is known to cause type 2 diabetes. It is characterized by symptoms like excessive thirst, frequent urination, fatigue, unexplained weight loss etc.
How to prevent it: Manage your weight by hitting gym regularly and having a balanced diet. Also, limit your alcohol intake, quit smoking, and keep your blood pressure under control.
According to a study published in the Journal of Lipid Research, excessive sugar intake has been associated with increased risk of developing heart conditions like hypertension, heart attack, heart failure etc. Soft drinks are rich in added sugar, which if present in large amount, can cause inflammation in the arteries causing high blood pressure. Also, as we know that excessive sugar can cause obesity, increased levels of cholesterol in the body can potentially block your arteries limiting the blood flow to the heart muscles. This can cause heart attack. There is possibility that some cholesterol travel to arteries supplying blood to the brain and create a clog. This can potentially lead to a stroke and even death.
How to prevent it: Do yoga or sweat in the gym daily. Even indulging in 30 minutes of cardio exercises like running, walking etc. would do good. Also, keep a check on your daily diet. Increase heart-friendly foods like green vegetables, whole grains, walnuts, avocados, etc.