The Truth About Soft Drinks - Swapping Sugar For Some Natural Fizz

By Graham Park

In today's world we are spoiled for choice in everything from footwear to food, and the beverages industry is no different with around a thousand new beverages coming out every year. So in our haste to try out all these options have we neglected water, the age old beverage that our bodies need? And is the substitution really worth it?

American researchers attempted to answer this question in the latest American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, in which they stated that, as a beverage, soft drinks are the worst of the worst, and were even ranked below moderate alcohol intake. Soft drinks (whether or not they're fizzy) are usually sweetened by high-fructose corn syrup or sucrose, which is high in kilo-joules that contribute to dental cavities, obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Some sports drinks also fall into this category, as do energy drinks, which often have the added negative impact of caffeine and taurine. Some studies also suggest that the carbonation of fizzy drinks and the phosperic acid that many soft drinks contain causes calcium loss and potentially weakens bones, and leaves them more brittle. As if this wasn't bad enough, research done in 2005 showed a strong correlation between esophageal cancer and the drinking of carbonated beverages.

Water on the other has no cancerous properties, and in fact it has no kilojoules at all, and although it has no nutrients either, that's not a problem as our bodies are designed to get nutrients through a balanced diet and not our beverage intake. This isn't the only benefits of quenching your thirst the old fashioned way; water circulates blood around your body, allows air and oxygen to enter your bloodstream, carries digestive enzymes around your digestive system, so that your food can be broken up into all the bits your body needs, powers and mobilizes your joints and works to keep your body temperature even.

How much water should you drink? Adults use up to two litres of water a day, although the amount may vary slightly from person to person. Experts suggest that if you keep some water close by then you can have a drink whenever you feel thirsty. It's almost impossible to drink too much water as the kidneys excrete the excess out almost straight away.

If you find it hard to drink enough water then why not try getting some of your daily requirement with herbal tea, or add a squeeze of fresh lemon to give your drink a bit of extra flavour?

Bottoms Up.

background image

background image

Get started now button