4 Reasons to Kick the Soda Pop Habit.

Do you drink soda pop?

Chances are you do. The average American consumes 1.6 cans of soda pop every day, for a grand total of 597 cans of soda pop per year. That’s 32 pounds of sugar–an amount that’s both impressive and frightening all at once. The soft drink industry is certainly glowing about this, BUT YOU SHOULDN’T BE.

Keep reading to learn more about why you MUST stop drinking soda pop:

Your Weight

Do you want to lose a few pounds and be healthier? Most of us do. Scientists at Harvard have narrowed in on one of the key reasons for rising obesity in western countries: soda pop. The new study finds that one-third of all carbohydrate calories in the American diet come from added sweeteners, with half of these calories coming from sweetened beverages. They point the finger of blame at the main sweetener used in soft drinks: high fructose corn syrup. It contains more calories than regular refined sugar and some studies suggest it reduces the body’s ability to process calories.

Of course, obesity is a complex issue – one must take into account diet, genetics, eating patterns, and physical activity – but it is not rocket science to figure out that if you were forced to consume an extra can of Coke per day (155 calories), with all other factors held constant, you could pack on at least 10 pounds by the end of the year. Studies have also found a connection between drinking large amounts of soda pop and consuming more calories through food. Either those taking sugared drinks lack the same restraint with food, or sugared drinks cause a rise in insulin that makes individuals hungrier, causing them to eat more.

But there is some good news: if you’re a regular soda pop drinker, and you want to lose some weight and improve your health, banishing soda pop from your diet is an easy way to start down this path. If you cut out two cans of pop per day from your diet (and maintain the same level of physical activity and eat the same number of calories), you can lose 1 pound in 12 days. Not bad at all.

Your Teeth

As you already know, soda pop contains a high concentration of simple sugars. When you drink pop, the bacteria in your mouth ferment the sugars and produce acid. The problem being that acid dissolves tooth enamel; hence, soda pop is likely to increase your risk of cavities – holes or structural damage in your teeth. Moreover, a large number of soda pop drinks are acidic, with some even having a pH of 3.0 or lower. Sipping on acidic drinks over a long period of time will also erode your tooth enamel. Avoid soda pop and you can reduce your chances of a painful trip to the dentist and a mouthful of fillings.


Your Brain

Most of the caffeine intake in a teenager’s diet is through soft drinks that not only is a source of caffeine, but also gives substantial amount of sugar – empty calories and artificial flavor. Caffeine when taken in moderate amounts can increase mental alertness. However when taken in higher doses, it can cause anxiety, headaches, moods, dizziness and may also interfere with normal sleep. Some teenagers may be unaware of the fact that caffeine in high amounts can cause nervous disorders and may also aggravate heart problems.

Your Heart

Drinking more than one soft drink daily — whether it’s regular or diet — may be associated with an increase in the risk of developing the metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk factors including excess waist circumference, high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL “good” cholesterol) and high fasting glucose levels. The presence of three or more of the factors increases a person’s risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease.


In conclusion, even if the above ingredients or health problems do not bother you for whatever reason, just understand that optimal health is about putting in your body ONLY items that benefit the body and NONE that harm it. It has nothing to do with benefiting your body and everything to do with harming it. Hence, it is obvious that it does not belong in a person's diet who is seeking optimal health, but I would go even further and state that it does not belong in the diet of a person who is even seeking average health.


Today, we simply know too much about health and are continually learning more. Today, major preventable conditions are almost one could say out of control. Today, we are living in a new era where people just don't want to be lied to anymore - we have simply come too far to be amused with things that serve companies' wallets and not our own health and well-being or the greater global good.