Drinking Soda Pop can Ruin Your Bone and Joint Health
In my San Diego Chiropractic office we see many people for neck pain, back pain, headaches and various other types of pain. In the summer time it is not uncommon to see many of those people walk into my office with a Big Gulp from the 7 Eleven across the street.
Sometimes I like to depart from the obvious when discussing the health of your spine. There are probably many of you who are reading this article while enjoying a tall glass of soda over ice.
This article should make you second guess EVER reaching for soda again.
Did you know that the average American drinks an estimated 56 gallons of soft drinks each year? Next time you are craving a soda, consider this: one can of soda has 10 teaspoons of sugar, 150 calories, 30 to 55 mg of caffeine, and is loaded with artificial food colors and sulphites.
Soda has absolutely no nutritional value. Studies have linked soda to osteoporosis, obesity, tooth decay and heart disease. Despite the long list of negative health effects, soda accounts for more than one-quarter of all drinks consumed in the United States, and its consumption is becoming more prevalent. In the last 10 years, soft drink consumption among children has almost doubled in the United States. It is estimated that teenage boys drink three or more cans of soda per day, and 10 percent drink seven or more cans a day. The average soda consumption for teenage girls is two cans per day, and 10 percent drink more than five cans a day.
Let’s take a look at the major ingredients in a can of soda:
• Phosphoric Acid: May interfere with the body's ability to absorb calcium, which leads to osteoporosis of the teeth and bones. Phosphoric acid neutralizes hydrochloric acid in your stomach, which interferes with digestion, making it difficult to utilize the nutrients from the healthy foods that we eat.
• Sugar: Soda manufacturers are the largest single user of refined sugar in the United States. Sugar consumption increases insulin levels, which lead to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, weight gain, premature aging and many other undesirable side effects. Most sodas include over 100 percent of the RDA for sugar. Think of the average teenage boy who has 3 cans per day!
• Aspartame: This chemical is used as a sugar substitute in diet soda. There are over 92 different health side effects associated with aspartame consumption including brain tumors, digestive problems, birth defects, diabetes, emotional disorders and epilepsy/seizures. When aspartame is stored for long periods of time or kept in warm areas it changes to methanol that converts to formaldehyde and formic acid. Both are known carcinogens. Formaldehyde is the stuff they preserve the dead with!
• Caffeine: Caffeinated drinks cause anxiety, insomnia, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, elevated blood cholesterol levels, vitamin and mineral depletion, breast lumps, birth defects, and perhaps some forms of cancer.
If you are still drinking soda, stopping the habit is an easy way to improve your health. Pure, filtered water is a much better choice. If you must drink a carbonated beverage, try sparkling mineral water.
From a chiropractors stand point, bone weakening is a major concern. As a chiropractor, I spend my days helping my patients improve the biomechanics of their joints. If the patients are consuming soda and engaging in other detrimental practices, our efforts become less likely to have desirable results.
Animal studies demonstrate that phosphorus depletes bones of calcium and two recent human studies found that girls who drink more soda are more prone to broken bones. Phosphorus appears to weaken bones by promoting the loss of calcium. With less calcium available, the bones become more porous and more brittle.
As long ago as a 1994 Harvard study of bone fractures in teenage athletes found a strong association between cola beverage consumption and bone fractures in 14-year-old girls. The girls who drank cola were about five times more likely to suffer bone fractures than girls who didn't consume soda. All of this is due to phosphorus consumption.
The potential damage of bone loss is compounded by the growing numbers of obese people in the United States. The combination of weakened bones with increasing body weight can certainly undermine our future health.
Trying to stop drinking soda is difficult. Both sugar and caffeine make soda an addicting substance. It is best to stop drinking soda by going “cold turkey”. Remember if you slip up to keep trying to quit.
Stop drinking soda today. Your body will be much healthier without it.
Writers Bio
Dr. Steven R. Jones is a licensed Chiropractor in the state of California. He received his doctorate from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in Sunnyvale, California. Dr. Jones has treated his patients for over 15 years at his own San Diego Chiropractic practice.
Dr. Jones is accepting new patients and would be happy to consult with you regarding your chiropractic needs.
Call Steve Jones at
(619) 280 0554
San Diego Chiropractic
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