In 2015, a research team at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden performed an extensive study of 42,400 males over 12 years and the effects of soda drinks over the health of these people and concluded that the use of carbonated beverages tends to increase the chances of attaining a heart failure by 23% in men. The study also postulated that the same results could be applied to women. This among various other factors was attributed to the presence of artificial sweeteners in soda that are known to cause diabetes and other obesity related problems besides cardiac arrest.(source)
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9 Did you know that soda cans are coated with resin? And resin contains bisphenol A (BPA)- a chemical that results in abnormal reproduction by weakening the endocrine system.
The soda cans are coated with a resin which is made with a chemical called bisphenol A (BPA). This chemical is the same which is used plastic baby bottles, water bottles and tinned food cans. BPA is a chemical that has been evidenced to interfere in the reproduction process by weakening the endocrine system and altering the structure of the uterus in ways that are hazardous and can lead to severe infection, thereby, causing reproductive abnormalities. The evidence of the effect of BPA was found by the Researchers at the University of Cincinnati in 2012, in a study that was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Science of the National Institutes of Health.(1, 2)
8 Only 2 soda cans a day have been found to trigger end-stage kidney disease; This is because the fructose present in the drink makes kidneys increasingly sensitive to a protein that regulates salt.
Researchers in Osaka University in Japan linked a kidney diseases named “proteinuria” with the regular consumption of just 2 soda drinks each day. The research was conducted on nearly 8,000 university employees with normal kidney function. The employees were then segregated in three groups- those who drank one soda a day, those who enjoyed two, and those who abstained from the fizzy stuff. After three years and regular monitoring of their health, the results displayed that more than 10% of the group that drank two sodas a day developed proteinuria- the presence of abnormal quantities of protein in the urine, which may indicate damage to the kidneys.
Although the exact reason could not be discovered, the researchers indicated that the fructose present in the soft drinks increased the sensitivity of the kidneys to the protein that regulates salt and this increased sensitivity resulted in the kidney disease.(source)
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7 The caramel coloring that is imparted to soda drinks is an artificial chemical called 4-methylimidazole (4-Mel); This chemical is present in quantities high enough to increase your risk of cancer; Moreover there are no regulations on how much this chemical should be used.
The caramel color which is present in the soda drinks is actually a chemical that when taken in small quantities regularly, increases your chances of incurring cancer. This was found and published in a study by research scientists at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in which they found that the caramel chemical used is 4-methylimidazole (4-Mel) and 2-methylimidazole which is present in high quantities that increase the risk of cancer.
According to the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, 29 micrograms is an adequate limit. Also, according to California’s strict Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to cause cancer, just 16 micrograms per person per day of 4-methylimidazole is enough to pose a cancer threat. However, it has been found that most of the drinks regularly contain 200 micrograms of the chemical per 20-ounce bottle.(1, 2)
6 Soda drinks are known to create problems of Water pollution; This is because the artificial sweeteners used in diet sodas cannot be broken down by wastewater-treatment plants before they enter waterways.
In 2009, a team of Swiss scientists conducted a thorough study and analysis of the water samples from wastewater-treatment plants, rivers and lakes in Switzerland. The study found acesulfame K, sucralose, and saccharin, which have regularly been used as ingredients in diet sodas. In addition to this, analysis of 19 municipal drinking water treatment plants in US was conducted to detect presence of sucralose. These water treatment plants provided water to more than 28 million people.
The sweetener was found to be present in the source water of 15 out of 19 of drinking water treatment plants, in finished water of 13 out of 17 plants and in 8 out of 12 water distribution systems. This contamination is due to the fact that the artificial sweeteners cannot be broken down by the water treatment plants and they end up in the drinking water of people.(1, 2)
