Effect of soft drinks on human health

Soft drinks are industrial drinks that contain preservatives, flavors and gases. It is among the most popular and widely consumed industrial beverages in the world.

Soft drinks are also known as “soft drinks”, which were introduced to humans in 1886 AD by an American pharmacist, John Pemberton, who succeeded in promoting these drinks until they became the most widespread around the world.

types of gas products

There are many types of carbonated products, and they differ according to the purpose of the drink, and these types are:

Soda

It is a kind of carbonated product that is promoted as natural water with pure carbon dioxide added.

This water is sold like mineral water, but it has a special taste, as it does not contain any sugars, while the study proved that to balance the benefits of regular water, you must drink approximately 8 cups of carbonated water, which is good. If it contains the same benefits as plain water.

Soda drink

On the contrary, soda is considered a harmful soft drink, and it does not benefit human health, because it contains large amounts of acids, sugars, and manufactured substances, so it is recommended to limit the consumption of these drinks.

Soft drink ingredients

Soft drinks consist of groups of elements and compounds, as shown:

• Sugar and its presence in one drink ranges from 40 to 60% of the package concentration.
• Flavors, to give the drink a special aroma and taste, such as cola and natural fruits.
• Fatty acids, which are added to one bottle in the amount of 1% of the drink concentrate.
• Ascorbic acid: to prevent changing the taste of the drink and protect it from oxidation.
• Phosphoric acid is added to one package at a rate of 0.06% of the package concentration.
• The color, like the caramel color that is added to the cola drink.
• foam materials.
• Preservatives to prevent the formation of bacteria such as sorbic acid 0.1% of the package concentration.
• pure carbon dioxide gas.
• sodium.
• Carbonated water.
• caffeine.

Benefits of soft drinks

The World Food and Drug Organization announced that soft drinks have become relatively safe drinks, after setting conditions to ensure the health of their ingredients and safe manufacturing practices.

It is believed that consuming soft drinks in moderation without excessive consumption benefits human health without causing any health problems, and the most prominent of these benefits include the following:

The benefits of caffeine

Caffeine is one of the ingredients in soft drinks, and it has many benefits, such as:

• Strengthening and stimulating the nervous system.
• Eliminate or relieve headaches.
• Mood improvement.
• Elimination of fatty acids in the liver.
• Reducing the risk of Parkinson’s disease.
• Reducing the risk of colon cancer.

Benefits of carbonated water

Carbonated water is one of the main components of the soft drink industry, and it has a number of benefits, including:

• Reduce stomach pain.
• Helping get rid of the problem of constipation.
• Reducing the feeling of nausea and the desire to vomit.

Sodium benefits

Sodium is also one of the main components of soft drinks, and its importance lies in the following:

• The ability of this substance to retain water inside the body.
• Prevention of the effects of aging.
• Prevention of muscle cramps.
• Contributes to preventing low blood pressure.

Harm of soft drinks

There is no doubt that soft drinks cause great harm to human health, despite what the World Food and Drug Organization announced regarding ensuring their health, even in cases where they are not consumed excessively.

Among these damages:

• Obesity and weight gain occur as a result of these drinks containing a high percentage of sugars.
• Liver diseases, such as liver damage, as a result of consuming large amounts of soft drinks, whose effect exceeds that of alcoholic beverages, according to the latest studies conducted in this regard.
• Oral and dental diseases, such as caries, which result from the interaction of acids and sugars present in soft drinks, which remove the outer layer of the teeth known as tooth enamel.
• Diabetes mellitus, which occurs as a result of the effect of soft drinks on the work of the pancreas, in the secretion of the hormone insulin.
• Kidney diseases such as stones, and this happens as a result of these drinks containing phosphorous acid in high proportions.
• Stomach diseases, such as reflux esophagitis, occur as a result of excess stomach acid, which travels up into the esophagus, causing spasms in the esophagus.
• Heart diseases that occur as a result of these drinks containing high levels of cholesterol and obesity-causing sugars, which are among the causes of heart and arteries diseases.
• Bone diseases, such as osteoporosis, which is one of the most common diseases among soft drink addicts, because it contains a high percentage of phosphorus, which in turn leads to a decrease in the level of calcium in the blood.
• The caffeine present in these drinks in large quantities leads to dehydration, insomnia, anxiety and stress.
• High blood pressure, which is one of the pathological conditions that result from consuming soft drinks that contain many substances and acids, increases blood viscosity and increases its acidity, which leads to an effect on the functioning of the human immune system, which causes many differences. . diseases. .
• Other diseases According to many studies, it has been proven that consuming soft drinks increases the chances of developing serious diseases such as cancer as a result of adding some chemicals to soft drinks known as “diet”, such as aspartic acid and phenylalanine. , and methanol, two of the substances that can turn into carcinogens in the body.

Effect of soft drinks on pregnant women

A pregnant woman is an exceptional medical condition, and she always needs medical care and consultations before consuming any drinks or medicines, such as soft drinks, because they cause many risks and damages to the health of the mother and fetus, including:

• These drinks stimulate the pregnant woman’s body to produce large amounts of harmful insulin, due to soda.
• These drinks also prevent blood flow to the fetus, due to the caffeine they contain.
• Caffeine also breaks down calcium and vitamins that the fetus needs.
• These drinks open up the pregnant woman’s appetite for sugars and sweets that do not benefit the health of the fetus.
• These drinks make childbirth more difficult because they cause infections in the vagina and uterus.