Most people cannot go a day without staying of sugary drinks. This might not be difficult to understand because sugary drinks are sweet, and the more you consume sugar, the more your brain gets used to it. Sugary drinks include soda (or the ones we call soft drinks), juice, energy drinks, fruit punch, tea, and so on. Any drink with lots of sugar in it falls under sugary drinks. They come in different forms and flavours, with some targeted at kids while some are meant for adults. So, it is not just children that have a thing for sugary drinks.
But are sugary drinks the best for you? Many people consume these drinks without considering the health effects they have on the body. How much sugar is in soft drinks? Most soft drinks contains 7 to 10 tablespoons of sugar.Â
In today’s post, we would be looking at some of the health effects of sugary drinks.Â
1. Increases Risks Of Diabetes
One of the major health effects of consuming sugary drinks is that it increases the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is marked by an increase in blood sugar. The more sugary drinks you consume, the more you develop insulin resistance, which means your body would find it difficult to regulate the sugar in your system, which can become a very big problem.Â
2. Causes Weight Gain
Consuming sugary drinks can also cause one to put on weight. This is because the sugar in it adds to your total calorie intake. But while drinking sugary drinks, you are unlikely to feel full. This means that when you consume sugary drinks, it adds to your calorie count, but does not fill you up, meaning you would have to eat more at the end of the day. In addition to this, some of this sugar goes to your belly where it increases your belly fat. This can also increase your chances of becoming obese.
If you are someone who is trying not to put on weight, rather than starve yourself, consider cutting your intake of sugary drinks down to zero.Â
3. Affects Your Dental Health
Sugary drinks cause serious damage to your teeth. Some drinks, like soda, contain certain acids, which can increase the risk of decay. It can also cause your teeth to lose their whiteness over time. Added to this is the sugar from these drinks, which provides bacteria in your teeth something to survive on, which makes them more active. Â
4. Affects Your Bone Health
Many sugary drinks contains high levels of phosphate, but do not have calcium or other minerals. Consuming more of phosphate than calcium can have a negative effects on your bone health. Drinking milk – which is rich in calcium – is much better for your bones.
Let us face it, these sugary drinks offer nothing to the body besides sugar, which does more harm than good. There are no vitamins and minerals, instead what you get is calories you can live without. There is no reason why you should be consuming something that offers your body no health benefits.Â
5. It Is Highly Addictive
When people think of addictive substances, sugary drinks rarely come to their minds. But research has shown that these sugary drinks are very addictive and that your brain begins the crave them, like hard drugs, when you take them in excess. This is the reason why many people cannot go a day without having something sweet. This is not good, especially for those looking for a way to lose weight or reduce their belly fat.Â
Bottom Line
These health effects of sugary drinks all negatively impact your health. So, you should avoid them as much as possible. Rather than take sugary drinks, you can try freshly-squeezed fruit juice which has natural sugar and lots of vitamins and minerals that are good for the body. You can also make for yourself a smoothie with fruits, nuts, and vegetables at home. These more natural options are far healthier than processed sugary drinks.Â
YOU SHOULD ALSO READ:
- 7 Worrying Health Effects of Late-night Sleeping
- The Health Effects of E-waste in Nigeria
- 5 Health Effects of Carbonated Drinks on the Body
- 5 Must-Know Health Effects of Junk Food
- Adverse Health Effects of Smoking Shisha
- 6 Unknown Health Effects of Air Pollution in Nigeria
Collins Nwokolo is a human physiologist, writer and health enthusiast. He loves writing helpful articles on health and fitness, which he enjoys sharing with everyone.
