Are You a Soda Addict? How to Stop Your Addiction?

Beverages containing carbonated water, added sugars, and artificial sweeteners and flavors are called sodas. Get over soda addiction by drinking diet soda, drinking more water, drinking sparkling water, or drinking other beverages with caffeine like green tea.

Beverages containing carbonated water, added sugars, and artificial sweeteners and flavors are called sodas. Although they’re very popular among people across ages, it’s also a well-known fact that they’re not healthy. Soda addicts report several health conditions such as obesity, poor dental health, and other chronic diseases.

Sodas have long held a special place in the American diet. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost half of all American adults drink at least one sugary beverage daily and 63% of young people drink at least one beverage containing added sugars every day.

Despite knowing the harmful effects of drinking sodas, many people struggle to give it up or even cut down their intake. This article looks at some of the harmful effects of sodas and how you can stop drinking them.

Drinking carbonated beverages triggers several biochemical reactions in your system, especially in a part of your brain called the reward system. This region of the brain releases a chemical that stimulates reward centers when you complete any action that’s supposed to help you survive, like eating. A specific type of diet called the “cafeteria diet” disrupts your regular appetite but stimulates pleasure centers. Cafeteria diets are rich in sucrose (a form of sugar) and high-fat food.

The pleasure centers release a neurotransmitter called dopamine, which makes you feel good (hence called the feel-good hormone). Your brain continues to seek more of this chemical, which leads to a craving for such food and causes the release of the neurotransmitter. Sodas and other sugar-rich foods trigger the release of higher amounts of dopamine than other healthier foods causing a vicious cycle to elicit a specific response to satisfy the cravings.

Most people choose to drink soda with certain meals such as fast food or when dining out. But many prefer drinking soda instead of water or other beverages to hydrate themselves. While the occasional soda is not a cause for concern, having one or more sugary drinks daily is detrimental to your health.

May erode enamel and your teeth

The acidity of any medium is measured in terms of a pH range from 0 to 14. A pH of 7 is considered neutral. The lower the pH, the more acidic the medium, while a higher pH indicates an alkaline medium. Sodas typically have a pH of 2.5, which means it’s highly acidic. Reducing your soda intake lowers the harmful effects of the sugar and acid eating away at your tooth enamel. Your enamel protects your teeth, and once the enamel wears off, your teeth are more likely to decay.

The protective effect of enamel becomes even more vital when you consider the fact that your body cannot replace the lost enamel. This makes it critical to prevent enamel decay.

Could cause obesity

Sodas are high in calories and don’t have any nutritional value. Drinking sodas also doesn’t cause satiety, which means you can drink large quantities of sodas without feeling full, thus increasing the chances of high caloric intake.

A 2017 study found that drinking beverages containing sugar causes obesity in children and adults. The study involved more than 240,000 participants and recommended replacing sugary beverages with healthier alternatives such as water.

Could accelerate aging

According to research, increased intake of sugars accelerates skin wrinkling. A 2010 study found that elevated sugar levels in the dermis cause the skin to age faster than it would normally. As per the study, high sugar levels in combination with the sun’s ultraviolet rays induce aging.

May damage your liver

Sodas contain high fructose (a type of sugar) levels. Your liver is the only organ that can metabolize fructose and high levels of this sugar can burden your liver and cause chronic conditions. Drinking sodas regularly leads to the collection of fat in the liver, which causes nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a condition believed to cause metabolic syndrome in about 70% of the incidences.

A 2019 study found that regular intake of sugar-sweetened beverages increases the risk of NAFLD and recommends improving dietary patterns to reduce the risk of NAFLD.

May cause diabetes

Sodas contain large amounts of high fructose corn syrup (HFCP), which is the main sweetening agent used in these beverages. It contains glucose and fructose, two simple sugar forms that are easily absorbed in the body. Drinking soda leads to a sudden surge in the sugar levels in your body, something it’s not used to, and causes a spike in the blood glucose levels and a subsequent rapid increase in insulin levels to break down the sugars. This cycle is what causes a sugar rush followed by a crash. Repeatedly doing this leads to a disruption of your body’s regulation of insulin levels, thus causing diabetes.

Starting small can help you get over your soda cravings. If you feel giving it up is difficult for you, you can begin by reducing your intake and gradually weaning off it. You can also explore other options listed below.

• If you’re finding it difficult to get out of your soda addiction, you can switch to diet soda, which contains artificial sweeteners like aspartame, saccharin, and neotame. But keep in mind that although the sugar content in diet sodas is low, they don’t have any nutritional value and could still pose other serious health risks including type-2 diabetes, dental issues, and heart conditions.
• You can increase your water intake by carrying a bottle of water with you at all times.
• If you crave some taste in your drink, you can add some fresh fruit or flavor to your water to make it more palatable.
• If you’re used to carbonated water, you could explore fizzy alternatives like sparkling water that don’t contain sugar or seltzer.
• Stopping your soda intake could cause withdrawal symptoms such as headaches or lethargy, usually due to the sudden absence of caffeine. In such cases, you can try green tea or iced tea (without sugar).

Totally removing sodas from your diet needs discipline and consistent effort. Doing this can improve skin and dental health, reduce the risk of obesity, heart disease, kidney disease, and prevent obesity.