Pace Paw Print

Media Credit: antwerpenblogt.be The choice is yours.

Cola drinkers usually enjoy the rich bubbly sweet taste of the drink. However, do these soda drinkers realize what they are actually consuming?

Soda, in general, is an acidic drink. Like other acidic foods and beverages it can be harmful to the lining of the stomach leading to severe digestive problems. Yet our bodies work to fight off any wrongful doing that occurs to it. There needs to be an excessive drinking of cola to see the effects from the drink. However, effects will most likely occur quicker if you are having issues with indigestion and acid reflux. In conditions such as these, soda should be avoided.

The bubbles and fizz in soda contains phosphoric acid. Phosphoric acid keeps the bubbles in soda from going flat. When we drink the soda calcium is released from our teeth and bones in order to maintain a balance in the body. As a result, when phosphoric acid is secreted it takes calcium with it. This leads to bone weakness and eventually osteoporosis. Phosphoric acid also disturbs the hydrochloric acid in stomachs, which encourages indigestion, bloating, and gas in some people. However, not all soda drinks, including Diet Pepsi, 7-Up, and Mountain Dew, contain this acid. Therefore it is important to read all soda labels before you decide to drink.

Since soda companies produce a large portion of the economic stability in the US, effects that soda does to the body are sometimes ignored. For example, a doctor working at Naval Research Institute conducted an experiment. The doctor, Clive McCay, placed human teeth in Cola beverages and let them soak for two days. At the end of the second day the teeth were soft. In addition, the enamel surface of the teeth lost most of it calcium. In a different experiment that he performed, Dr. McCay allowed rats to only drink soda. In the last six months of the experiment the rats' molar teeth dissolved all the way to the gum line.

Dr. McCay brought his findings to Delaney hearings about chemicals in food. He was urged by lawmakers that the soda industry was a big economic investment and that if this information was released it could disturb the economy as a whole.

In addition to McCay's findings about soft drink beverages, another doctor, Dr. Morando Soffritti, has made the notion that aspartame, a sugar sweetener, such as Equal and Nutra-Sweet, that is found in Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi, can lead to cancer. As reported by the New York Times in February 2006, Soffritti and his partners studied the effect of aspartame on 1,900 laboratory rats over the period of seven years. He fed the rats four to five 20-ounce bottles of diet soda a day. His experiment showed an increase in lymphoma, leukemia, and other cancers in the rats.

McCay's research prompted other scientists to continue researching aspartame. They found that Equal and Nutra-Sweet is a toxin and that is closely associated with headaches, dizziness, and more severely blindness and seizures.

Based on the results of the experiments regarding aspartame, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that people should not be alarmed. The FDA claims that they have already been studying the effects of aspartame and there are no concerns. Some have speculated that FDA's negligent response is due to the fact that aspartame is a major money maker for food companies. Last year, $570 millions dollars was spent on aspartame.

However, aspartame is not the only dangerous ingredient found in diet soda. It has been proven that artificial colorings in soda, such as Amaranth and Orange I, cause neurological problems.

Furthermore, soda beverage bottles contain a substance called ethylene glycol. Ethylene glycol is derived from ethylene oxide, which is present in petroleum and natural gas and used in antifreeze. Pouring soda over your windshield will prevent the windshield from freezing in a snowstorm or rainstorm. Imagine what this can be doing to your insides.

Is this something that you want in your body? Drinking soda occasionally will not have a dramatic effect on you. However, consuming more three 20-ounce bottles a day over the course of seven years has been proven to cause cancer. The long term potential effects that soda has are serious and lead to many diseases. Now that you know all of this information about soda, the choice of continuing to drink is still yours.

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