Cola is legally sold anywhere you look, gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants.. everywhere! So it is strange to think that cola can be linked in the same league as taking heroin. These drinks cause more deaths every years than illegal drugs, and they also add billions of dollars to your health bills through the diabetes, cancers, and heart diseases they are causing.
The major risk of soda is that it can cause of worsen diabetes. This disease is responsible for 133k of the 183k deaths associated with the drinks. In addition there are 44k deaths from cardiovascular disease and 6k from cancers, all from people who share in common drinking soda.
In the United States alone, 25k people die from regularly drinking soda, compared to 18k who are murdered, and 20k people who die from taking illegal drugs.
These grim results might actually be optimistic, the Harvard researchers warned. Their research focus on the deaths related to soda for adults, these figures could be much worse if children and teens were included since they probably drink more sugary drinks than any other age group.
So how much soda is safe to be consumed? If the Harvard research is to be believed, that is like asked how much cocaine can I safely have every day! When you drink cola your metabolism begins to change within 30 days. Your insulin resistance will increase and you will start to put on weight. These are the precursors to diabetes and heart disease.
What about diet sodas? These are usually sweetened with aspartame, and as you know, this chemical is about as liked as measles and is also deadly. Aspartame is linked to every major chronic disease, especially cancer and heart disease. People have even marched at the White House to ban aspartame!
There is a good use for aspartame though, ant killer! It works better than most deadly poisons made to kill ants. Simply sprinkle a couple of packets in the corner of the rooms or garage you found the ants in, and they will disappear. However, it is recommended to wear gloves while doing this, I mean you wouldn’t want to mistakenly ingest this stuff after all.
I did drink the occasional soda as a child. It was not kept at home, but it was like a treat I would buy myself, along with candy from the corner store if I saved up enough money that week. I was young an did not know any better, so there is my excuse. As an adult at first I stayed away from it for vanity reasons… wow that is a lot of calories and sugar, I can’t drink that! I later discovered while attending college that these chemicals are insanely harsh and dangerous! We did learn of other uses for these chemicals though through experiments, such as ant killers!
Have you kicked cola to the curb? Was it hard for you to stop or are you still not ready to give it up?
I regularly drink Diet Cola drinks and I do so without the first bit of guilt, fear, or regret.
I was so happy to get this article in my inbox today. I used to love drinking Coke Cola. I never was big into diet sodas although I would drink them when I was trying be behave. However I learned early on that aspartame is a terrible and toxic thing to put into your body so back to regular soda I went. Since July 2013 I have been trying very hard to live a healthier lifestyle and so I have let my love for Coke go. I still tend to crave it from time to time and I have a hard time not wanting soda at all. I have had a few soda sine July which is good from my drinking Soda every day. I tend to lean towards sprite, but I really want to leave Soda alone for good and reading articles like this is a helpful motivation for me to do so. Thank you for sharing this with us, and I hope others find it helpful. I don’t think any one of us want to put toxic things into our bodies that can cause cancer, heart risks, or diabetes. Soda is addicting because there are things in there that trigger the body and force it to want more. Thanks again
I gave up smoking at 26 (started at 15). I gave up wine two years ago. I used to guzzle diet coke in high quantities. Now I will have a DC with Splenda very occasionally. But I notice a change in my mood the next day. It ain’t pretty. The hardest was the cigs.
I have never been a big fan of sodas (here in Canada we call it “pop”) preferring the cleaner taste of water. As a kid I did drink it occasionally but colas were considered adult beverages so whenever we were treated with a pop we could have orange, cream soda or root beer. I never really developed a taste for cola. Nowadays I drink carbonated water with fresh key lime. We have a Sodastream that holds a canister of CO2 and carbonates plain tap water. There are syrups and flavourings available to add to the carbonated water but I prefer the tart, refreshing taste of fresh key limes squeezed into a cold glass of sparkling water. My 4 year-old granddaughter loves it, too. In fact, here we call the drink “GG Pop”! Ha! Its a great alternative to sodas, Koolaid, and other sugary drinks!
Great idea!
I’ve never been much of a sugar-water drinker. Luckily, I suppose, I just don’t like it.
Over the past five years I’ve required a lot of surgery to my abdomen, which has left me with a legacy of nausea. Just an inevitable result of the surgery. It’s okay, I deal with it, and weirdly enough we had some cans of Coca Cola in the fridge after a visit from my FIL. For some reason, unknown to me, perhaps something to do with all the burping, drinking the coca cola helps with the nausea.
I’m not about to drink it regularly, but now and again, I’ll glug a can:)
brendan
jamie…its apple cider season here in michigan and as much as i love it, its filled with sugar too. So even the supposedly healthy sounding stuff has to be approached with care. Certainly theres more nutrients in apple cider than cola but as a type 2 diabetic, the sugar is just as much of a concern as sugary pop. Great post by you as always!
Tell me what you think about the diet coke with splenda??
I gave it up, too. Unfortunately, My husband still drinks diet cola. He says that is his only vice, so I don’t bug him too much. He comes from a long line of very healthy people; his parents are in their 90’s. Hopefully his genes will win out!
I really believe in this article I shared it on Facebook
Thanks for sharing!
Yes, I have kicked colas to the curb, and YES, it was really hard to do so. I drink flavored carbonated water now. NOT, the kind that has any kind of sweeteners in it. Le Crox is the brand I started with, but now I use the store brand of Le Crox. I have helped other people kick the can habbit by introducing them to the flavored, but carbonated waters. I don’t know if they are bad for me, but at least I don’t drink pop anymore. I feel my consumtion of pop as damaged my body to a point of no return, and all I can do is to try to save what is left of it.
I was addicted to coca cola. I drank 2 cases a week. I knew I had to give it up so I started brewing tea and adding less and less sugar with each batch. When I got to the point where I could drink it without sugar I gave that up and have been drinking water ever since. It took about 7 months to quit. I also gave up cigarettes after smoking for 37 years. I began with inhaling less and less until I was only holding unlit cigs. It took 2 years and I’ve not had a cig in 8 years and I also have only a few sodas a year. Water is my beverage of choice now!
Great job on kicking two very tough habits!!!
I was never a big soda drinker. My mother did a great job keeping soda away from us when we were kids. On occasion we drink Zevia (natural soda) sweetened with stevia with no guilt! Cola and cherry cola are the best. They have most all regular soda flavors.
I haven’t given it up entirely but I drink the stuff sweetened with Stevia and erythritol. Zevia soda pop, sold at natural food markets (Whole Foods, New Seasons, etc) and even regular grocery stores in their health food section, is a really incredible alternative. Yes, you’re still getting the carbonated water which isn’t the best, but there are no carbs (other than a bit of erythritol), no calories, no unnatural sweeteners, and the flavors are better than other soda in my opinion. They have cola flavored and the best ginger root beer I’ve ever had. There is caffeine in some but not all and if you HAVE to have a soda, it’s a really good alternative.
have also purchased the Zevia soda, I don’t see anything bad on the ingredients list. its a really good alternative if you’re craving soda. I
I CAN REMEMBER BUYING A 16 OZ.COKE AND A HOSTESS TWINKEE FOR A QUARTER.YES,I MUST BE OLD AS DIRT,SO I GUESS ITS TIME TO ELIMINATE ONE MORE BAD HABIT.WISH I KNEW ABOUT THIS A LONG TIME AGO,THANKS
Remember when Coke was made with actual cocaine? They just found a replacement for the cocaine–SUGAR!
Great post, I’m so glad you took the time to write this article. I couldn’t agree more, sugar is more addictive and poisonous than any of us realise. And don’t get me started on aspartame; that stuff is deadly!
NIce article, But i think that not only cola , also other soft drinks like pepsi etcc are not good for health, these drinks are the combination of chemicals soda so these are injurious to health, and specially for children and young generation, who like so much these type of drinks..