We recently published an article telling why drinking any kind of cola is bad for your bones. New research shows that soft drinks are one of the primary causes of the obesity epidemic in the US?AND they rot your teeth!

Carbonated soft drinks are the single largest source of calories in the American diet, according to a 2005 report called “Liquid Candy,” produced by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). Companies annually manufacture enough soda pop to provide more than 52 gallons to every man, woman and child in the United States.Obesity expert Kelly Brownell says, “Nobody claims there is a single cause to the obesity problem, but the existing science certainly puts soft drinks in the list of leading contributors.”

Of 21 studies, 19 show that as people drink more soda pop, the number of calories they consume rises. Instead of satisfying a sweet tooth, soft drinks may do just the opposite. Several studies found that the caloric increase is actually greater than that contained in the soda, raising the possibility that soft drinks increase hunger. And diet sodas are no panacea, because they may increase your craving for sweets!

The “most striking link” in the new study is between soft drink consumption and the incidence of type 2 diabetes. In a study of 91,249 women followed for eight years, those who consumed one or more soft drinks per day were twice as likely as those who consumed less than one per month to develop diabetes. The study says, “This result alone warrants serious concern about soft drink intake, particularly in light of the unprecedented rise in type 2 diabetes among children.”

In LiveScience.com, Robin Lloyd reports more bad news about soft drinks. She writes that many popular sodas “are nearly as corrosive to dental enamel as battery acid.” Academy of General Denstistry spokesman Kenton Ross recommends sipping sodas through a straw, so the liquid won’t touch your teeth. He says that if you must drink sodas, you should know that RC Cola was found to be the most acidic soft drink studied, with a pH of 2.387. Cherry Coke was found to be the next most acidic (pH of 2.522), and Coke was the third most acidic soda tested (pH of 2.525). Battery acid has a pH of 1.0. Root beer is the least acidic of all soft drinks.

Art credit: freeimages.co.uk

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