10 Reasons Why You Should NOT Quit Drinking Soda

You must be tired of hearing from health experts that soda is bad for you, that you must quit soda as it is as addictive as alcohol, tobacco and drugs, that soda increases your risk of cancer and so on. We are sure that you aren’t convinced and that you still enjoy your soda on a daily basis. You shouldn’t be bothered with what people say, just follow your taste buds and stay loyal to your soda – because when you don’t quit, THIS happens to you…

1. Your Heart Rocks, Literally

In 2012, a study from Harvard University found that drinking just one can of soda a day dramatically increases the risk of chronic heart disease. Soda lovers who can’t stop at one can are 20 percent more likely to have a heart attack. “Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages was associated with increased risk of CHD and some adverse changes in lipids, inflammatory factors, and leptin,” the researchers concluded.

2. You GAIN…………………………………………… Weight

Drinking one can a day of sugary drinks translates to more than 1lb of weight gain every month. For each additional soda consumed the risk of obesity increases 1.6 times. Soda is a direct contributor to the obesity epidemic. If you ditch soda, you’ll ditch those pesky lovehandles too.

3. You Become Sweeter

A single can of soda contains the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar. This amount of sugar, especially when dissolved in water, skyrockets the blood sugar and causes an insulin reaction in the body. A diet high in sugar can interfere with a number of neurological processes, particularly those involved in memory making.

4. Your Kidneys Are As Tough As Stones

Drinking two or more soda-based drinks a day considerably increases the risk of chronic kidney disease. Soft drinks often lead to the formation of kidney stones because of their acidity and radical mineral imbalance. Your body must buffer the acidity of soft drinks with calcium from your own bones…. As this calcium is eliminated through your urine, it slowly forms kidney stones…. you’ve always wanted balls of stone, grow your pair today!

5. Don’t Worry About The Weight Gain. Your Bones Get Skinny!

Soda contains phosphoric acid, which interferes with the body’s ability to absorb calcium and can lead to osteoporosis, cavities and bone softening. Phosphoric Acid also interacts with stomach acid, slowing digestion and blocking nutrient absorption.

6.  Save Time! Save Money! No More Stress…. Get Death and ImpotenceNOW!

A few soda cans contain Bysphenol-A, or BPA, which is linked to breast and prostate cancer, metabolic disorder, impairment of the endocrine system, premature puberty, infertility, and Type II diabetes.

7. You No Longer Have To Fake A Smile

Drinking soda regularly causes plaque to build up on the teeth and can lead to cavities and gum disease. Soda also lowers the pH of the saliva, boosting bacterial proliferation and dental erosion. Diet soda is no exception. In a 2013 study, researchers found that a woman who drank 2 liters of diet soda every day for 3-5 years had the same level of tooth decay as a meth addict.

8. You Will Always Be High…. Sort of

Soda drinks are a major source of caffeine. High doses of caffeine can cause irritability, restlessness, tension, insomnia, high blood pressure, gastrointestinal disturbance, excessive urination, irregular heartbeat and other side effects.

9. You Will Be Made Breathless With Your New Lifestyle Options

Scientists have linked soda consumption to an elevated risk of pulmonary complications, such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD). “The amount of soft drink consumption is associated with an increased chance of asthma and/or COPD. There exists a dose-response relationship, which means the more soft drink one consumes, the higher the chance of having these diseases,” researchers found in a 2012 study.

10. Beat Alcohol Addiction! Soda will Destroy Your Liver So Alcohol can’t!

There is evidence that consumption of too many soft drinks puts you under increased risk for liver cirrhosis similar to what chronic alcoholics have. Sodas contain High Fructose Corn Syrup. The process of making High Fructose Corn Syrup involves traces of mercury. High fructose consumption is directly linked to fatty and toxic liver.

Why Aspartame May Prevent Weight Loss

Reaching for a diet soda may actually hinder weight loss efforts, a new study done in mice suggests.

In experiments, researchers found that the artificial sweetener aspartame, which is found in some diet drinks, may contribute to the development of a condition called "metabolic syndrome," which involves a cluster of symptoms, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and a large waist size. People with metabolic syndrome face an increased risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

The researchers found how aspartame could be linked with metabolic syndrome: Aspartame may stop a key gut enzyme from performing its work in breaking down fat during digestion. [7 Biggest Diet Myths]

"This is the novel mechanistic insight," and it may explain why diet drinks can be ineffective at helping people to lose weight, Dr. Richard Hodin, senior author of the study and a professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School, told Live Science.

The study included three separate experiments. In the first, researchers added the gut enzyme to solutions of diet soda and regular soda. They found that the activity of the enzyme was significantly lower in the solutions of diet soda as compared to the solutions of regular soda.

Normally, the enzyme — intestinal alkaline phosphatase, or IAP — works in the intestines to break down cholesterol and fatty acids. Previous studies by the researchers showed that levels of IAP may be linked with people's risk of obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

In the second experiment, researchers looked at the effects of aspartame in the small intestines of male mice. They injected either a solution containing aspartame or a placebo solution of salt water into the small intestines of the mice, and then measured the same gut enzyme's activity. They found that 3 hours later, the enzyme's activity was 50 percent lower in mice that were injected with the aspartame solution as compared to the mice injected with the salt water.

In the final experiment, the researchers looked at four groups of male mice over a period of 18 weeks: The mice were all allowed to eat as much food as they wanted, but two groups were given normal food and two groups were given high-fat food. Within each division, one group received water to drink that contained aspartame, while the other received regular water to drink. [5 Experts Answer: Is Diet Soda Bad for You?]

At the end of this experiment, the researchers found that the mice given the high-fat food and the aspartame-infused water gained more weight than the mice fed a high-fat food and the regular water.

However, the aspartame did not seem to make a difference for the mice on the normal diet: There was no difference in weight gain between the group given aspartame water and the group given regular water.

In addition to the difference in weight gain among the mice on the high-fat diet, the researchers also found that the mice on both diets that drank the aspartame-infused water had significantly higher levels of glucose intolerance than mice that drank the regular water. Glucose intolerance is a condition in which the body has trouble using the glucose in the bloodstream, leading to higher levels of glucose in the blood, and which may lead to diabetes.

Also, both of the groups of mice that drank the aspartame-infused water showed increased markers of inflammation, which previously has been linked to the development of the metabolic syndrome, the researchers said.

The new results should be confirmed in experiments with a larger sample size, the researchers said. In addition, only male mice were used in the experiment, which is significant because male and female mice tend to react differently to dietary changes; for example, male mice tend to have higher levels of diet-induced inflammation, and female mice have better insulin sensitivity.

It remains unclear whether the findings may apply to people.

The effects of aspartame may be more complicated in humans, due to a "number of factors related to human behavior," Hodin told Live Science. However, he said, all else being equal, "diet drinks are probably not a great alternative to sugary sodas. Water is probably better."

Original on Live Science. 

By Stephanie Bucklin, Live Science Contributor

http://www.livescience.com/57065-why-aspartame-may-prevent-weight-loss.html