Must Read: 6 Ways Sugary Beverages Are Damaging Your Body

All that glitters is not gold, so the old
saying goes. Interestingly, this adage
finds application with regards to
sugary beverages and the increasing
rates of their consumption nowadays.
Soft drinks of diverse sorts and
varieties including soda, sports drinks
and fruit juices are in vogue
everywhere. While they may be
friends with your tongue, they are not
that nice to your body.
Though sugary drinks are indeed
refreshing and energizing, what the
manufacturers of these products often
fail to tell us is the potential havoc
they can wreak on the body organs if
consumed in excess. In fact, sugar-
sweetened beverages have been
documented to account for about
180000 global deaths annually. To
buttress the aforementioned facts,
numerous studies have established
strong links between heavy
consumption of sugary beverages and
obesity, type 2 diabetes as well as
heart diseases. And note that no
amount of exercise can completely
neutralize, as some would prefer to
believe, the harmful impact of excess
sugary beverage consumption.
Some of the risks you invariably
expose yourself to when you indulge
in those sugar-sweetened beverages
are discussed below,

1. Obesity/Weight Gain
It is worthy of note that sugary
beverages are calorie-dense but offer
little or no nutritional benefits.
Unfortunately, the body does not
compensate for these extra calories by
reducing your intake since you hardly
feel full after consuming these drinks.
So how does the body then handle this
extra load of calories? The liver
converts it to fats, eventually setting
the stage for obesity and its associated
problems. Statistically, it has been
shown that one extra soft drink a day
makes it 60% more likely that your
child would become obese. Similarly,
adults who regularly drink one or
more sugary beverages per day are
27% more likely to be obese than their
counterparts. Hence, if you are hoping
to shed some weight and enjoy the
benefits of healthful weight loss, then
you need to cut down on those soft
drinks.

2. Diabetes
This is a chronic metabolic disorder in
which the body is unable to properly
handle substrates especially glucose.
Sugar-sweetened beverages have been
linked to increased incidence of
insulin resistance such that the
hormone insulin is unable to drive
glucose from the bloodstream into the
cells where it is actually needed for
metabolism. The result is that diabetic
patients often end up losing weight
despite increased appetite. In a recent
study, it was discovered that
individuals who consistently
consumed 1 - 2 sugary drinks
everyday increased their risk of
developing type-2 diabetes by up to
26%. Sadly, diabetes mellitus is a
multi-systemic problem that may
damage several organs in the body
including the brain, eyes, heart and
kidneys.

3. Heart Disease
Several risk factors for heart disease
like obesity, elevated triglycerides and
LDL cholesterol are promoted by
sugar-sweetened beverages. Hence, it
is understandable how they contribute
to the incidence of heart disease.
According to a research, it was
observed that men who drank at least
one can of sugary drink everyday
increased their risk of suffering a
heart attack or dying from a heart
attack by up to 20%. A similar trend
has also been demonstrated among
women.

4. Cancers
As earlier discussed, the risk of
obesity is significantly higher among
those who indulge in excess sugary
drinks. Invariably, their risk is also
increased for cancers associated with
obesity such as colorectal and
pancreatic cancers. For instance, the
risk of pancreatic cancer is 87%
higher among those who drink two or
more sugary beverages in a week.
Similarly, post-menopausal women
with heavy intake of sugary sodas are
at an increased risk for developing
endometrial cancer.

5. Tooth Decay
It has been shown that sugary drinks
are associated with almost twice the
risk of tooth decay. The reason for this
is not far-fetched. First, sugar makes a
good substrate for cavity-forming
bacteria in the mouth. Also, carbonic
and phosphoric acids found in
carbonated soft drinks create an
acidic environment inside the mouth
which favours tooth decay.

6. Gouty Arthritis
Numerous studies have shown that
sugary soda increases the risk of gouty
arthritis among women by up to 75%.
Gout is characterized by painful
inflammation of the joints especially
of the large toes. It usually results
from elevated uric acid levels in the
blood (hyperuricemia), which
crystallize and get deposited in the
joints. Fructose has been shown to
increase uric acid levels and several
beverage manufacturers prefer high-
fructose corn syrup for sweetening
their products.
In conclusion, in order to minimise
the deleterious effects of sugary
beverages on your health, you may
decide to cut down on your daily
intake today.