Hard Facts About Soft Drinks
Middle-aged soft drink consumers might be increasing their risk of heart disease along with their waistlines
It’s almost a reflex reaction: you’re thirsty and reach for an icy soft drink. The rush of bubbles and sweetness offer instant relief.
But once you’re revived, you may want to give your choice a second thought. That refreshing break comes with a potential downside to your health. You could be increasing your chance of tooth decay, weakened bones as you age, as well as heart disease, say health experts.
If you’re middle-aged and you drink more than one soft drink a day you have a significantly greater chance of developing metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions that increase your risk of heart disease, according to a recent report from the National Institutes of Health.
Becoming overweight or obese (because you’re drinking too many high-calorie soft drinks) isn’t good for your heart.
Surprisingly, a diet soft drink may not improve your potential outcome, according to the data published in the journal Circulation (July, 2007).
One reason may be that consuming non-caloric soft drinks lulls you into a false sense of diet security, says Joan Salge Blake, registered dietitian and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and a clinical assistant professor at Boston University.
“People miscalculate the savings on the soft drink and think it gives them permission to do more snacking,” Blake says.
Taking in too many calories in a non-nutritional beverage should concern you, she says.
“Many Americans don’t have a lot of room for 250 extra calories, which is the amount in a 20-ounce bottle of a soft drink,” Blake says.
But there are other reasons to break the soft drink habit.
Soft drinks can take a toll on your teeth.
“The acids in soft drinks can be irritants to dental enamel,” she says.
When soft drinks are your beverage of choice you’re squeezing out milk. For the same calories you’d get in a 20-ounce soft drink you can have three glasses of fat-free milk, which is an excellent source of calcium, Blake says.
Sports drinks aren’t necessarily a better option.
“They can still add sugar, displace milk and other healthy beverages and can erode teeth,” she says.
Fruit juice delivers vitamins, but that too gets a caution note.
“Ounce for ounce orange juice has more calories than soda [97 calories in 8 ounces of Coca-Cola Classic compared with 110 calories for orange juice],” she says. “You can drink, but be careful you don’t drink juice all day long.”
Instead, Blake offers a tip to help you break the soft drink habit while enjoying a sparkling beverage.
“Take diet cranberry juice and mix with club soda. Add a lime wedge. It has fizz and tastes delicious,” she says.
 |
