Growing up in the 70’s we never had soft drink or “lolly water” (as my Mum called it) at home. Lolly water was the domain of Christmas festivities, birthdays and my Gran’s house (along with Chocolate Royals and Jelly slice and the best roast potatoes ever). My Gran had the Loy’s truck turn up where she would order the crates of soft drink for celebrations and particularly Christmas. My favourite was “creamy soda” and I never did understand the weird “sarsaparilla” my cousins loved.
Now, soft drink is far more routine and many people drink nothing but soft drinks.
In fact, Australians consume more than 2.4 billion litres of soft drink every year - that’s enough to fill 960 Olympic sized swimming pools.
Soft drink has no nutritional benefit other than sugar. In an average 375ml can of soft drink there are 8 to 12 teaspoons of sugar (33-50 grams) - more than the daily recommended amount of sugar in one drink.
Frequent consumption of sugary drinks is associated with a range of health problems such as poor dental health, weight gain, obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, gout and cancer. Research data indicates a clear and consistent association between soft drink consumption and increased energy intake and body weight. In other words, there is a clear link between consuming soft drink and weight gain.
We have multiple sources of energy intake in our body so the fact that a single source of energy - soft drink - can have such a massive impact on total energy intake is huge.
Not only does soft drink have no nutritional benefits, it also displaces other nutrient sources and consumption has been directly associated with the risk of fracture.
What about carbonated water - mineral water or soda water?
Carbonated water is bubbly water that gets its fizz from being infused with carbon dioxide gas under pressure. No calories, no added sugars and often the only water many people drink.
But…
A small study published several years ago linked drinking carbonated water to weight gain, essentially by leading to overeating. Drinking plain or artificially sweetened carbonated water led to more weight gained than those who drank plain water or degassed carbonated water (mineral water gone flat). The carbonated water increased levels of a hormone called ghrelin which, amongst its many functions, signals to the body it is time to eat. It makes us hungry. So the presence of carbon dioxide leads to an increase in ghrelin production and an increase in hunger.
The body is designed to drink water - plain and flat.
And many of us are chronically dehydrated without even realising it.
As we age our senses lose their perceptive capabilities including their ability to realise thirst. General symptoms of dehydration include dry mouth, fatigue, anxiety, irritability, cravings and a headache. More persistent symptoms can include joint pain, headaches, blood pressure issues and constipation. Once dehydrated the body will scavenge water from vital organs, but first it will draw water from mucous membranes and when these become dehydrated they are unable to provide the necessary amount of mucous.
The bottom line is there are no health benefits from drinking soft drinks. They have a nonexistent nutritional value and are high in sugar and calories often leading to more long term health issues. Any carbonated beverage can also increase your weight through increasing hunger.
On the other hand changing soft drinks and mineral water to plain water can improve your general health.
If you don’t like the taste of plain water try putting lemon, lime or orange slice in your glass.
Or even better, drink it in a fancy glass - as my friend Marnie would say, Cut Chrystal makes everything taste nicer.
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