Caffeinated Drinks and Soda

CAFFEINATED DRINKS AND SODA

For many people, there is nothing more refreshing than a cold bottle or can of their favorite soft drink. The cool, sparkling taste of soft drinks is enjoyed around the world. In the United States for example, soft drinks have emerged as America’s favorite beverages—they have become more popular than coffee, tea, and juice combined. But America is not alone; across the globe, people everywhere are drinking more soft drinks than ever before.

Have you ever wondered if these drinks have any impact on your personal health and well-being? When most people open the pull tab on their favorite can of soda, it doesn’t come to mind that they are about to take a long drink of an artificially colored, chemically flavored mixture of carbonated water, phosphoric acid, sweeteners, preservatives, and caffeine. Research suggests that these soft drinks present personal health risks, both because of what they contain and what they replace in the diet.

Let’s begin by taking a look at the sugar these drinks contain. Carbonated drinks are the single largest source of refined sugars in the American diet; more than 1/3 of the total sugar consumption. Talk about the associated lifestyle diseases such as Diabetes Mellitus, Osteoporosis, Arthritis etc. got from the consumption of these seemingly unharmful drugs. Refined sugar has claimed more life than even road accidents both in the developed and the developing countries. It presents no nutrients but rather depletes the body's mineral deposit stores causing a breakdown of the human machinery.

Aside refined sugar, another ingredient is caramel (A smooth, chewy, sticky confection made by heating sugar and other ingredients until the sugars polymerize and become sticky). These are hazardous materials ingested to promote the surge in lifestyle diseases. To subsist on these as source of energy is no better than taking a piece of paper.

Another ingredient in most soft drinks that has become very popular is caffeine. Today, different types of energy drinks dosed with caffeine are widespread on the market and in various shops. The side effects of this dangerous drug are numerous. They include anxiety, insomnia, digestive problems such as loose stools, nervousness, restlessness, muscle breakdown, high blood pressure, rapid heart rate and frequent urination and urgency.

These are only a few of the negative ingredients that are placed in various soft drinks around the world. Don’t be deceived by the impressive advertisements that promote these liquids of poison on radio and TV. Be content with the divine gift of fresh water and healthy diet, and you will save yourself from sickness in the soon coming future. Know that God has a purpose for your life, and thus He expects you to stay strong by refraining from harmful products that will destroy the mind and body temple.

SELECTED REFERENCE

Health Ministry of the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church

Jude Adjei Asamoah