Soft Drinks 101: Benefits, Risks, and (Slightly) Healthier Alternatives
Soft drinks provide you a tiny caffeine rush that is beneficial if used in moderation, but overall they are bad for your body.
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Although you probably don’t consider soda to be healthy for your health, it is undoubtedly delicious. It is common knowledge that soft drinks have a lot of sugar and empty calories. But does soda have any advantageous impacts on the human body?
Are There Any Health Benefits of Soft Drinks?
According to Harvard Health Publishing, soft drinks have a negative reputation due to their high sugar content, and sugar-free diet beverages are just as divisive. However, not all of these beverages are unhealthy, and some even have some positive health effects (but they are few and far between).
First off, modest amounts of the caffeine found in some soft drinks can energise you. A 12-ounce can of ordinary Coca-Cola has 33.3 milligrammes of caffeine in it, which is nearly three times less than a cup of coffee, according to the USDA.
According to the American Heart Association, small amounts of caffeine have been demonstrated to strengthen and increase the effectiveness of workouts while also helping with focus and brain function.
The Health Risks of Drinking Soda
Beware of believing that soda is the perfect afternoon pick-me-up. It might give you a boost for an hour or so, but because of the high sugar content, you’ll probably feel your energy level drop soon after.
According to a 2012 study published in Nutrition & Metabolism, many common soft drinks contain high-fructose corn syrup, which raises blood sugar levels and quickly turns into fat. They give you a short-term boost, but over time they make it hard to keep a healthy weight on, not to mention that sugar can be addictive.
Although diet beverages have no calories and no sugar, they are by no means the healthiest cola and may not always be healthier for your general wellbeing. According to Harvard Health Publishing, little is known about the long-term effects of artificial sweeteners like aspartame on the body and they may have adverse impacts on taste receptors and appetites. If you enjoy soft drinks, diet sodas may help you reduce your sugar intake if you drink them in moderation.
Do You Should Drink Soda?
You can choose to drink soft drinks on a regular basis, but you should be aware of both the health advantages and disadvantages of doing so. Examples of soft drinks include Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and others.
As a treat every now and then, soda is acceptable. Soft drinks should be used in moderation as they are more harmful than beneficial, just like any other processed food.
Healthy Soft Drinks
Even though “healthy” probably isn’t the first thing that springs to mind when you think of sodas, beverage businesses are increasingly selling goods intended at the health-conscious consumer, one of which are better sodas.
While still sweet and bubbly like classic soda, these “healthy soft drinks” may have some health benefits, such as reduced or no calories, natural ingredients, and/or added vitamins.
Low-sugar soft drinks can be a useful substitute for sugary drinks if you have a condition like diabetes that requires you to limit sugar because they have little to no impact on your blood sugar levels. Low-calorie soft drinks with less sugar can also be incorporated into a weight loss plan because they often have very few calories.
Tip
Before you assume a soft drink is healthy, check the nutrition label. Some sodas marketed as healthy drinks may have the same sugar content or artificial ingredients found in regular soda.
1. Diet Soda
The “healthy soft drink” that you’re most accustomed to is probably diet soda. Due to their lack of calories and added sugar, diet sodas may be healthier than regular sodas. Diet sodas typically include sugar-free sweeteners such sucralose, aspartame, saccharin, or acesulfame potassium.
Diet sodas may aid in the management of diabetes and weight because they don’t contain calories or sugar. Additionally, according to the Mayo Clinic, artificial sweeteners used in diet sodas do not cause dental damage, unlike high-fructose corn syrup used in the majority of regular sodas.
However, artificial sweeteners in low-sugar soft drinks trigger the brain’s reward regions, which respond to sugar, without really offering much energy in the form of calories. Your brain’s capacity to control energy may consequently be harmed. According to a March 2014 study published in the American Journal of Public Health, those who consume low- or no-sugar soft drinks consume more calories from solid food than those who consume sweetened beverages.
2. Natural Sodas
Another variety of soda that is promoted as healthful is that which is referred to as “natural.” Instead of chemically processed sweeteners like high-fructose corn syrup or aspartame, “natural” soft drinks may be sweetened with cane sugar or fruit juice.
Even though other soft drinks with “natural” on the label may also have some natural components, they may still contain high-fructose corn syrup. Although many people mistakenly believe that “natural” means “healthy,” the Mayo Clinic notes that there is still insufficient proof to support either the claim that artificial chemicals found in soft drinks are unhealthy or that naturally occurring sugars are any healthier than high-fructose corn syrup.
And any type of added sugar, when consumed in excess, can lead to weight gain, diabetes, dental cavities and other health problems, per the Mayo Clinic.
3. Vitamin-Fortified Sodas
Some diet and nondiet sodas have additional antioxidants, vitamins, or minerals. For instance, a well-known soda manufacturer introduced a soft drink enhanced with the minerals chromium and the vitamins B3, B6, and E in 2007.
A different version of its most well-known diet soda brand that had been enriched with niacin, magnesium, zinc, vitamins B6 and B12, was revealed by another soda-pop juggernaut in 2007. In both diet and non-diet varieties, yet another significant soda manufacturer sells a “antioxidant” variation of a well-known brand that has been boosted with 10% of the daily recommended amount of vitamin E.
The best way to acquire your nutrients is through food, even if these vitamin-fortified soft drinks may be healthier for you than conventional cola.