9 disturbing side effects of soda

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9 Disturbing Side Effects of Soda

By Emily Main, Rodale

Sodas Bittersweet Side Effects

If youve been reading health magazines and websites for any length of time, youve

read a litany of reasons why soda is bad for you. Its nothing but sugar water. Its

devoid of any nutritional value. It leads to obesity and diabetes. But weve dug up nine

other disturbing facts about what soda does to your body, besides packing on the

pounds, that dont get much attention in broader discussions about soda and its impact

on your health.

Weird Fat in Weird Places

In the latest bad news for the soda industry, Danish researchers discovered that drinking

non-diet soda leads to dramatic increases in fat buildup around your liver and your

skeletal muscles, both of which can contribute to insulin resistance and diabetes. The

study revealed that people who drank a regular soda every day for six months saw a 132

to 142 percent increase in liver fat, a 117 to 221 percent jump in skeletal fat, and about a

30 percent increase in both triglyceride blood fats and other organ fat. Their

consumption also led to an 11 percent increase in cholesterol, compared with the people

who drank other beverages such as water or milk.

Diet Not Working? Try This

Diet-Soda Belly

Its not surprising that drinking all the sugar in sodas would cause weight gain, but what

is surprising is that even diet soda will pack on the pounds: Researchers from the

University of Texas Health Science Center monitored 475 adults for 10 years, and

found that those who drank diet soda had a 70 percent increase in waist circumference

over the 10-year study, compared with those who didnt drink any soda. Those who

drank more than two diet sodas per day saw a 500 percent waist expansion! A separate

study the same researchers conducted on mice suggested that it was the aspartame,

which raised blood glucose levels, that caused the weight gain; when your liver

encounters too much glucose, the excess is converted to body fat.

Diet Soda = Diabetes Soda

Caramel Cancer-Causers

In 2011, the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest petitioned the Food and

Drug Administration to ban the artificial caramel coloring used to make Coke, Pepsi,

and other colas brown. The reason: Two contaminants in the coloring, 2-

methylimidazole and 4-methylimidazole, have been found to cause cancer in animals, a

threat the group says is unnecessary, considering that the coloring is purely cosmetic.

According to Californias strict Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to cause cancer,

just 16 micrograms per person per day of 4-methylimidazole is enough to pose a cancer
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chemical. And while Pepsi and Coke are currently locked in a battle to see which

company can be the first to develop a 100 percent plant-based-plastic bottlewhich

theyre touting as BPA freeneither company is willing to switch to BPA-free

aluminum cans.

7 Best Ways to Avoid BPA

Dead Birds

Before you switch from cans to bottles, though, take a look at the photographs of Chris

Jordan, an environmentalist and photographer who visited the Midway Atoll area in

2009. Its close to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a mass of plastic debris in the

Pacific Ocean where things like soda caps (which often arent recycled) and plastic fish

netting float just beneath the surface of the water. Birds, sea turtles, and other wildlife

mistake the debris for food and eat large quantities of the plastic, which they are unable

to digest. Ultimately, the plastic causes them to starve to death. Its estimated that

thousands of animals die this way every year.

Unknown Side Effects of GMOs

Take a look at the ingredients list for any soda and chances are most of those ingredients

are derived from corn. As much as 88 percent of the corn grown in the U.S. is

genetically modified to resist toxic pesticides or engineered to create pesticides within

the plant itself. Thanks to lax government safety regulations, and tight corporate control

over who gets to test these proprietary seeds, there are no human studies that can prove

or disprove whether these crops are safe. Independent scientists have found that, in

animals, genetically modified crops, or GMOs, are linked to digestive tract damage,accelerated aging, and even infertility. By drinking soda, youre taking part in the

biggest science experiment on the planet.
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9 disturbing side effects of soda

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