How Soft Drinks Can Weaken Your Bones and Make You Age Faster

When I was a child then, my auntie would ask me to run and buy softdrink for her. It's already a normal part of her daily life to drink at least a 250 ml bottle of softdrink each time she takes her meal or snacks. It would have been beneficial at such point for her since she can easily burp out the gas in her stomach. There is common belief that softdrinks hasten food digestion. Indeed, scientific studies point out that sofdrinks have high acidic pH. This, however, can upset the acid-alkali balance of the stomach. It is possible that when one is dependent on it to digest food, then he or she is hooked for life.

Some thirty years later my auntie is a crippled woman on a wheel chair. The reason: she fell on her side, not that bad, but her bones easily broke. The doctor said she had acute osteoporosis and it will be very difficult to repair the broken bone at her age.

What's in the Carbonated Soft Drinks?

I learned during my college days since I studied biology that indeed, softdrinks can weaken our bones aside from other ingredients which likewise pose health risks. If you would look at the contents of the bottled softdrinks here are the ingredients: phosphoric acid, caffeine, artificial flavoring or sweetener, carbonated water, among others, usually preservatives.

Phosphoric acid. Many studies pointed out that Phosphoric acid contained in many soft drinks has been correlated to lower bone density or in its worse state, osteoporosis. It's like having your bone pockmarked by small holes, thus making it susceptible to breakage. In fact, dentists use phosphoric acid to clean the enamel of the teeth, of course in controlled amounts.

I remembered reading an archeological find where a woman thousands of years ago, has a bone density way high above that of contemporary women. Nutrition has something to do with it according to scientists. And I am pretty sure, that at that time, there were no softdrinks around yet.

Caffeine. Caffeine is is a stimulant that can keep you awake. That's good if you're rushing out some work but on the negative side, would cause addiction. Besides, it can cause insomnia. Whenever I take softdrinks late in the afternoon, my sleep is disturbed in the evening. In addition, caffeine can also lead to increased risk of osteoporosis and kidney stones. On the more serious effects, caffeine is linked to miscarriage and low birth-weight infants as well as high blood pressure. I remembered cautioning a friend not to take any softdrink during her pregnancy. She still did. When she gave birth, her child had a mental disorder and I was inclined to believe that her softdrink consumption had something to do with it.

Sweeteners or Artificial Flavoring. Lately, there was alarm due to too much sugar intake in consuming softdrinks. "Diet" or "zero sugar" softdrinks claiming to have very minimal or none of the sugar became a fad. It uses aspartame instead as sweetener. Research showed that aspartame causes migraines, dizziness and can cause forgetfulness. Another study pointed out that one liter of aspartame sweetened soda contains approximately 56 milligrams of methanol. When consumed, the body breaks down the methanol into formic acid and formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is one of the main substances used in embalming dead bodies. Who wants to be preserved alive.

Carbonated water. Carbonation can also break down calcium in the body, thus weaken the bones and teeth. This could also lead to osteoporosis. Carbonation also increases the absorption of alcohol in the body. This may be the reason why we can easily get intoxicated if we mix carbonated water with an alcoholic drink.

Preservatives. Benzoates and sorbates in softdrinks are used to prevent molds. Recent studies point out that these preservatives, benzoate in particular, when mixed with Vitamin C produces benzene, a known carcinogenic substance. Further, Professor Piper at Sheffield University found out that sodium benzoate can cause severe damage to the body cells (particularly the mitochondria, which consumes the oxygen to give you energy) causing it to malfunction. Cell damage can cause Parkinson's disease and speed up the aging process.

More: The Ill Effects of Plastic Containers

Previously, softdrinks were contained in bottles but now these are contained in plastics. Probably due to the greater weight and more expense in transporting softdrinks in this form, Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is now used extensively in soft drink containers.

I noticed that softdrinks contained in bottles tasted differently than it is using the plastic bottles, and of course those in the aluminum cans. There's a funny taste associated with the one in plastic. According to experts PET bottles can release small amounts of dimethyl terephthalate which can possibly cause cancer. We're very much conscious of this because since my wife contracted cancer we have to be careful of what we eat or drink for that matter. It's better to be safe than sorry so we stopped consuming softdrinks at one point, especially those contained in plastic.

Precautionary Measure

Ever since my child was born, we didn't give her any softdrink and told her that it's bad for the body explaining the above reasons in understandable terms. The funny thing is that when she reached nursery, one of the questions asked was how softdrink tasted. Of course my child doesn't know, and she answered "SOUR". That's when we decided that at least she would have a taste of softdrink. From then on, and I regret it, we resumed consuming a little amount of softdrinks although very occasionally.

It is always wise to bear in mind the idea that the best way to enjoy life is "do everything in moderation". Anything in excess is bad.