Dangers of sugary drinks

Sugary drinks are often called “soft” drinks; however, they are very “hard” for your body. Frequently drinking sugary drinks is associated with weight gain, obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, kidney diseases, non-alcoholic liver disease, tooth decay and cavities, gout, elevated blood pressure, low nutrient levels, and hypokalemia (low potassium levels). Beyond all of these, routinely drinking sugar-loaded beverages has been linked with an increased risk of premature death.

 It has been known for years that cancer seems to have a sweet tooth. Back in 1931, the Nobel laureate in medicine, German Otto Warburg, first discovered that tumours and cancers both use sugars to “feed” themselves and/or to increase in size. In order to proliferate, cancer cells seem to prefer feeding on fructose-rich sweeteners like high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS); the reason is that HFCS is being metabolized by cancer cells most quickly and easily.

Most popular sugary drinks are:

• iced tea
• fruit juice
• soft drinks
• sports drinks
• energy drinks
• alcoholic beverages
• fruit-flavoured drinks and punches
• sweetened plant-based beverages
• flavoured waters with added sugars
• sweetened milks like chocolate milk
• sweetened hot or cold tea, coffee, hot chocolate and other specialty drinks

 How much sugar is too much?

There are 4.2 grams of sugar in a single teaspoon. Now, imagine scooping up 7 to 10 teaspoons full of sugar and dumping it into a glass of water – that’s how much added sugar is in the typical can of soda. The average can of sugar-sweetened soda or fruit punch provides about 150 calories, almost all of them from added sugar.

High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)

Yes, too much table sugar is bad for your health. But there is another type of sugar that is worse – high-fructose corn syrup that is widely used instead of table sugar. It is made from corn starch that has been processed by glucose isomerase to convert some of its glucose into fructose. HFCS is less expensive, a few times sweeter, and easier to handle. But there is always a “but”.

Genetically modified maize (corn) strains are now in wide use in multiple countries. GM maize has not passed the test of time and raised great concern with respect to health effects, impact on other insects and impact on other plants via gene flow. Although it’s not completely clear how it affects human health, but it’s a proven fact that when in the late 1970s HFCS became a sucrose replacement for honey bees in the United States, bees started dying. Since then HFCS has been investigated as a possible source of bee colony collapse disorder.

Choose water instead of sugary drinks

When it comes to your health, it’s clear that sugary drinks should be avoided. There is a range of healthier beverages that can be consumed in their place, with water being the top option. Be mindful of when you may be likely to have sugary drinks. This may be when you are:

• thirsty
• eating out
• enjoying leisure time
• breaking for a coffee or tea
• celebrating a special occasion
• being physically active or playing sports
• choosing a drink to go along with your food

Bottom line – beware of sugary “soft” drinks. Try to avoid carbonated soda drinks because the ingredients in them create a witches’ brew – a toxic cocktail of chemicals that cause changes in basic metabolism, brain chemistry, and cellular communication.