Soft drinks a curse in disguise?

ALLAHABAD: With the scorching heat steadily making every passing day comparatively warmer than the previous one, the demand of drinking items is also on a high. Cold drinks are the most popular one, especially among the youth, despite the fact that health experts do not favour consumption of such drinks.

"Today you may find water or not at public places but one thing is for sure you will get cold drinks everywhere. Lassi, fresh juice or jaljeera etc are like drinks for old fashioned and lime water, coconut water or other healthy drinks have met with the same fate that have been forgotten by the younger generation," said Dr SK Shukla, former head of the department of medicine, MLN Medical College.

 Soft drink consumption is a risk factor for developing metabolic syndrome, a combination of the symptoms such as high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol and insulin resistance. There is evidence that consumption of too many soft drinks puts one under increased risk of liver cirrhosis similar to what chronic alcoholics have, he added.

About the consumption of cold drinks and its ill-effect on teeth, Dr Sandeep Singh, a dentist, said that soda decays and dissolves the enamel. Researches point out that soft drinks are responsible for doubling or tripling the chances of tooth decay. The acidity can dissolve the mineral content of the enamel, making the teeth weaker, more sensitive and susceptible to decay. Soda's acidity makes it even worse for teeth than the solid sugar found in candy. "People should drink less soda, especially between meals, to prevent tooth decay and dental erosion," said Dr Singh.

Talking of the harmful elements present in the cold drinks, Dr Manisha Dwivedi, head of the gastroenterology department, MLN Medical College, told TOI that there are several elements present in such drinks which eventually means that one is drinking carbonated, caffeinated, sugared or artificially sweetened beverages, which harm the body. Giving up soft drinks can be one of the best things one can do to improve health.

Many people either forget or don't realize how many extra calories they consume in what they drink. Several scientific studies have provided experimental evidence that soft drinks are directly related to weight gain. The relationship between soft drink consumption and body weight is so strong that researchers calculate that for each additional soda consumed, the risk of obesity increases 1.6 times, she added.

Medical officer SAM Meesum said that anything that promotes weight gain increases the risk of diabetes. Drinking soda not only contributes to making people fat but also stresses the body's ability to process sugar. Rapidly absorbed carbohydrates like high fructose corn syrup put more strain on insulin-producing cells than other foods. When sugar enters the bloodstream quickly, the pancreas has to secrete large amounts of insulin for the body to process it.

Linking the consumption of soft drinks and weakening of the bones and osteoporosis, Dr KD Tripathi, orthopaedic surgeon, said frequent consumption of soft drinks may increase the risk of osteoporosis, especially in people who consume soft drinks instead of calcium-rich milk. In 1950s, children used to drink three cups of milk for a cup of sugary drinks and today that ratio is reversed to three cups of sugary drinks for every cup of milk. Osteoporosis is a major health threat for Indians and experts say that the real culprit is the replacement of milk by soda in the diet. Some experts believe that the acidity of colas weaken bones by promoting the loss of calcium.

  Talking about the effect of soft drinks on kidney, Dr Dilip Chaurasia, urologist, said that every diet contain calcium and oxalate and even as calcium is useful, human body does not need oxalate and when it get crystallized, it leads to formation of stones in kidney.

Researches point out that large quantities of cola result in enhanced kidney stone formation. The body must buffer the acidity of soft drinks with calcium from bones. As this calcium is eliminated through your urine, it slowly forms kidney stones, he explained.