Pros and Cons of Fizzy Drinks
Human beings often come up with new creations and one such creation was introduced in the 17th century.
These drinks were first termed “soda water.” Later these carbonated drinks became common and are now referred to as fizzy drinks. Fizzy drinks, also known as cold drinks or soft drinks, are accessible worldwide and consumed at a very high rate.
In this article, I’ll discuss fizzy drinks’ major pros and cons. Although the cons side is heavier, there are a few pros as well, which you might be surprised to find out.
I will be discussing the cons first. So, let’s dive right in!
Cons of Fizzy Drinks
You must have often heard from people that fizzy drinks are hazardous to health, they have chemicals, etc. Do you know that all they say is true?
The only difference between coking cigarettes and drinking cold drinks is that the first one is criticised a lot.
If you’re a fizzy drink lover, it might be hard for you to digest this fact and you might even ignore the cons but is the taste the priority or your health?
Well, let me rephrase my words. It is not only affecting health but the environment as well.
Below, I explain all the cons of fizzy drinks that one must know in today’s world when fizzy drinks are more like a social norm and societal pressure.
- Drinking Acid
Cold drinks have a pH level of 2.5–3.5. If you’ve ever studied Chemistry, you should know what it means.
Cold drinks are highly acidic!
The level of toxic chemicals, acidity, and strong gas in it is so high that if someone attempts to consume it on an empty stomach, they vomit or are hospitalized or in extreme cases, they may die. There have been dozens of cases where people have drunk cold drinks after starving the whole day and ended up in a bad condition.
- Weaken the Bones
Doctors and health caretakers usually claim that cold drinks/fizzy drinks weaken the bones.
Fizzy drinks like cola beverages contain phosphoric acid, which causes an imbalance in the body's ratio of phosphorus and calcium. This decreases bone density and results in osteoporosis (porous bones) that could cause the breaking of bones/fractures.
Interestingly, your teeth are the first bones that come in contact with cold drinks when you consume them so they are also greatly affected by it. In some schools and colleges, campaigns are organized where children are shown an experiment by placing a tooth in a cold drink and leaving it overnight. The next day the tooth disappears as it dissolves in that fizzy drink! It’s not just merely an experiment, but a big lesson to be learned.
If you don’t want a toothless smile, stop buying fizzy drinks right there.
Not only do fizzy drinks adversely affect bone, but the high level of sugar in it can disrupt the sugar levels in your body and can also cause acidity problems.
- Addictive
It is often difficult to get rid of the habit of consuming fizzy drinks. It is so because a ton of artificial flavours/colours/ chemicals/ acids are used to make drinks addictive.
The caffeine and sugar that soda contains make it highly addictive for people of all ages. Caffeine is an element that is found in tea and coffee.
Caffeine releases a hormone, dopamine, in your brain that makes you feel great. This makes the body crave more and you feel addicted to fizzy drinks.
Addiction is no good, especially to health hazardous substances like fizzy drinks.
- Negative Impact on Financial Situation
It is a societal norm or pressure to serve cold drinks at any function or event, whether with friends or family. People even feel really bad when they find that there is no cold drink with the food served somewhere.
Moreover, when we go out with friends or family to a restaurant or stop by a shop while travelling, the first thing we ought to buy are cold drinks. Half of our bill is occupied by cold drinks and the rest half with edibles.
Did you know that when you eat food with cold drinks, you are unable to eat full stomach as the strong gases in fizzy drinks fill up your stomach? That’s why you can eat only a small portion with cold drinks. But that doesn’t help you maintain your weight so it’s no good.
In addition to this, cold drinks are expensive and serving them to guests at weddings or events could be great financial pressure on the host.
We can make organizing events easier and less expensive by not reacting when we do not find cold drinks in a function. Instead, this should become a norm without making the host feel guilty.
Well, that was the financial effect on person to person, but what about the economy of the country?
The economy of a country has a long-term impact due to the excessive importation of fizzy drinks.
Consuming fizzy drinks is not only affecting you and your financial condition but the country’s overall economy as well.
- Environmental Hazards
Tin/aluminium containers are expensive for production, so companies go for a less expensive way which is plastic bottles.
Have you ever wondered what happened to those plastic bottles that you throw away after drinking a fizzy drink?
They are taken to the trash and left to decompose or thrown into the sea. About 29.3% of trash is plastic bottles. Burning plastic bottles releases extremely dangerous chemicals causing air pollution. Therefore, plastic trash is often not burned.
It takes almost 450 years for plastic bottles to decompose. That’s a very long time!
1.5 billion plastic bottles are consumed per day in the world. Out of which, 8 million pieces of plastic end up in the sea/ocean. Since most of the plastic waste goes to the sea bed, only 1% of the plastic waste floats.
A meagre amount of plastic is recycled, whereas, most of it is just a cause of death of marine creatures.
- Dangerous for children
Children are fragile and highly sensitive. Just imagine that if fizzy drinks are this much of a threat to elders, how much destruction it would be for young children?
Usually, mothers keep cold drinks away from their babies in the cot but give them to them when they turn 7 or 10 years old. They are still children and consuming fizzy drinks could affect your growing child. It gives a bad temptation for children.
Although, no one must consume fizzy drinks children must be strictly prohibited from it since they don’t know what is good or bad for them but we as adults know and should protect them at all costs. It’s just like giving poison to your child. Thus, think wisely!
Pros of Fizzy Drinks
You might be disappointed to find out that cold drinks/fizzy drinks have no such pros except a few that too doesn’t involve drinking them.
Let’s have a look at one of the good uses of fizzy drinks that you can benefit from.
- Washing Hard Stains
Yes, that’s the only good use of cold drinks. Due to their acidic nature and dozens of chemicals, they are excellent cleaning substances.
If you have got any hard-to-remove stain somewhere, rust of iron, and things that are unable to be cleaned, even after washing aggressively, then you should try putting some cold drink on it.
There have been a lot of DIYs over the internet where fizzy drink hacks are used for cleaning. They are a cheap alternative to expensive chemicals.
Final Words
I’m well aware that the majority of the world’s population is a fan of fizzy drinks, but it’s high time that we sort out the good and the bad.
By the time you’ve reached the end of this article, you must now be knowledgeable about the downside of fizzy drinks.
Fizzy drinks are only good for washing and cleaning, not for drinking! Be a good cause to humanity and save your dear ones from the consumption of this toxic substance.
